Dying to be brown: The women who'll risk their lives for the sake of their tan

Dying to be brown: The women who'll risk their lives for the sake of their tan

'Everybody has to die of something, you can't spend all your time worying': Lauren's story

Lauren Bangle, a former charity fundraiser, is 50 and lives in Basingstoke. She’s single and has no children.

I have always been a sun worshipper. The first sign of sunshine and I’m in the garden â€" in-between times you’ll find me on a sunbed.

It’s part of my gym routine. I work out, swim, have a steam and a jacuzzi, and then three times a week, I go for a sunbed session.

I usually do four minutes at a time, but if I’m feeling particularly pasty or have a special event coming up and want to be browner, I’ll do two four-minute sessions, one after the other.

I don’t even dare to try and count up how much it costs.

I’ve been using sunbeds since I was 18 and have even owned a couple over the years.

I have psoriasis, a skin condition, and I find it helps with this.

Everybody has to die of something and if you spent all your time worrying you’ll never do anything.

If I’m out in the sun and it’s really hot then I might use suntan lotion but a very, very low factor.

I don’t want to prevent myself tanning. But I never use any protection on a sunbed.

I once used baby oil but I burned really badly and it was so sore I had to take time off work to recover.

I would never use fake tan though because it would irritate my psoriasis.

I have fair, freckly skin but I still go a good colour.

I don’t think using tanning beds has aged me at all and people tell me I don’t look a day over 40.

I also suffer with winter blues so actually need sunbeds to make me feel happier in the cold months. I’d become very depressed otherwise.

I’m not stupid about sunbeds like that American woman who hit the news recently for taking her child into a tanning booth. That’s just mad.

I just need them to feel better and having a tan is therape utic to me.

'If i could have a permanent tan but lose a few years off my life, I’d do it': Louise's story

Louise Green, 30, lives in Bangor, Co Down, and is a full-time mum to her children Cameron, seven, and Taylor, three.

 

Tan addict: Louise uses injections and tanning tablets

I’m a self-confessed tanning addict. I take tanning tablets and even use injections I buy off the internet that make me feel really sick.

For me, it’s a small price to pay to maintain my colour all year round.

My obsession started when I was 17 and worked as a holiday rep in Tenerife.

We did 18-hour days and on our days off, we were so tired we just slept.

There was no time to sunbathe so I used tanning beds to avoid looking pale next to the holiday-makers.

Now I think the browner I am the better. I recently hired a stand-up capsule at a cost of £40 for four weeks, which had to stand in my kitchen.

But now I’ve bought a lie-down, canopy-style sunbed.

I can’t go to a tanning salon daily, it’s too expensive, but I usually go three or four times a week for the maximum minutes I’m allowed each time.

I slather myself in oil to get a deeper tan and only use sun protection on my face. I don’t want to get wrinkly.

< p>I also bought some tanning tablets in a health food shop.

They’re supposed to make your skin more receptive to the sun.

I don’t know if they did any good because I took them before I went to Tenerife in January and it rained.

I did a £30 course of Melanotan injections, which were brilliant though. I was SO brown after using them.

I did have to buy some anti-sickness tablets as well though as they made me feel seasick.

I don’t know what’s in the injections, which is a risk, but one I’m willing to take to be brown.

The funny thing is I don’t actually like sunbathing. It’s hot and uncomfortable.

And if I get my tan pre-holiday, my children will have a better time because I’ll be happy to play with them instead of worrying about getting some sun.

I make sure they’re covered in SPF even if I’m not.

If someone said they could give me a permanent tan but they’d have to take a few years off my life, I’d do it.

I did find a mole on my breast last year and panicked slightly but it was fine and I was soon back in the salon.

As ironic as it sounds I would never let my children use sunbeds when they’re older.

I know I’m not doing myself any favours and I don’t want them to get hooked like me.

'My family has a history of skin cancer but you can't worry about tomorrow': Laura's story

Laura Hamilton, 23, lives in Rhondda Cynon Taf near Cardiff. She is single and a PA.

Not worrying: Laura is happy with her tanning regime

I have sunbeds every other day and if I miss a session I panic, thinking I look white. I like to keep my tan topped right up.

I had a breast enlargement in January and was told I couldn’t use sunbeds for a minimum of six weeks because of my scars and my skin stretching.

But after four weeks passed, I felt so hideous I stuck plasters on my wounds and got on. I felt instantly better once I had some colour.

A tan really improves my confidence. Lots of my friends use sunbeds and I think that men prefer women with a bit of colour. We look thinner tanned anyway.

I started using beds when I was 16, before I should have done legally, but I was never questioned about my age.

I think it is probably wiser to wait until you are 18 so you really know what you are doing.

I use lie-down beds and pay £3 for 12 minutes, which is very cheap.

I have only used a stand-up booth once but I did too much on it and was sick when I came out, so that put me off.

I love sunbathing too and I never use suntan lotion. I don’t need to.

Proud: Laura shows off her tan line

I’m half Maltese so have skin that doesn’t burn. I often use a lotion that helps you tan faster, and I would definitely consider tanning injections, which I’ve heard are really good.

Everyone has tans these days, all the celebrities, especially the The Only Way Is Essex girls.

They look better with them and I can’t imagine a day when I won’t use sunbeds.

My sister Rebecca, 26, really disagrees with what I’m doing.

We look like photo negatives when we are together because she is so white.

Rebecca worries I will get skin cancer, particularly because there is a history of it in our family.

But I don’t. What is the point in worrying about tomorrow?

And I am going to get wrinkles at some point so I will deal with that when it happens.

What are the risks of faking it?

Melanotan jabs have been dubbed the ‘Barbie Drug’ because they give an instant golden glow.

But medical professionals have warned that women are putting their health in jeopardy by using the unregulated, illegal injections because the main ingredient activates melanocytes in the skin.

These are the cells that become cancerous in malignant melanoma, so it’s feared the injections could bring on cancer with long-term use.

Melanotan, which is a synthetic version of a natural hormone that stimulates the skin to produce more melanin, and therefore a tan, also has other side-effects including depression, suppressed appetite, nausea, high blood pressure, and panic attacks.

Meanwhile, sunbeds are NOT a safe alternative and are estimated to cause around 100 deaths from melanoma every year in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.

What’s more, the 82% of people who told Cancer Research they used sunbeds for the first time before the age of 35 increased their risk of developing skin cancer by 75%.

And not only are sunbeds potentially life-threatening, they also cause premature skin ageing, which means your skin becomes wrinkled at a younger age.

When the tan fades, the damage remains.

Sunbed use: The facts

* 7% of the UK’s adult population uses a sunbed

* 70% of people want to be tanned

* 38% of sunbed users do so for a pre-holiday tan

* 83% of sunbed users claim to be quite or very knowledgeable of the possible risks from over-exposure to UV

For more information see Cancer Research UK’s SunSmart campaign at www.sunsmart.org.uk