Experts have issued an urgent warning after social media users began using a dangerous new tanning hack.
A number of videos show that the tanning trend is to pour beer on the skin, with some claiming it provides “the very best tan ever” while being reasonably priced.
But experts have described the dubious so-called “hack” as downright dangerous, Sun reports.
Not only does it make you sticky and a magnet for pesky bugs, but it surely also puts you in danger of heatstroke, sun poisoning, and deadly skin cancer.
“I can hardly imagine this madness exists. That is a particularly dangerous so-called ‘trend’ with potentially very serious consequences,” Kathryn Clifford, co-founder of the skin cancer awareness charity Skcin, told the British publication.
![Experts warn of a new social media trend of using beer to get a tan.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/newspress-collage-xr4m9zuyd-1688201882967.jpg?1688187544&w=1024&1688187544)
“Tanning seekers of every kind are at serious risk of developing every type of skin cancer, and skin burning is strongly related to the event of melanoma – essentially the most serious, life-threatening form of the disease.”
“Furthermore, skin cancer is disproportionately high in young adults and is one of the largest cancer killers within the 15 to 34 age group – the identical age group that uses this social media platform greater than some other.”
Australia has the best rate of skin cancer on this planet, with two out of three Australians expected to be diagnosed of their lifetime, and nearly 2,000 Australians die of skin cancer annually.
“Excessive exposure to UV radiation causes 95 percent of melanomas, which makes it almost completely preventable,” the chair of the Council’s National Cancer Committee, Professor Anne Cust, told news.com.au.
“We’re urging people to not proactively pursue a tan.”
Other sun protection experts shared the identical concerns concerning the “unthinkable lengths” people undergo to attain a tan.
![A number of videos show that the tanning trend is to pour beer on the skin, with some claiming it provides](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/tanning1.jpg?w=682)
Stefano Pietrini warned that using beer as a tanning aid could lead on to sun poisoning.
“Using tanning beer, especially without SPF, significantly increases the danger of sunburn, heatstroke, and with continued use, premature aging,” he said.
“Without SPF, it only takes 10 minutes within the sun to begin burning. Over time, this creates a risk of skin cancer, with 70 percent of cases being brought on by sun damage.”
![Not only does it make you sticky and a magnet for pesky bugs, but it also puts you at risk of heatstroke, sun poisoning, and deadly skin cancer.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/tanning2.jpg?w=682)
‘Insanity’
Pietrini said people probably think beer could be an excellent tan enhancer because hops, a key ingredient, allegedly increase the production of melanin, the substance that causes our skin to darken.
But that does not make it suitable for tanning.
“Any method used to speed up tanning actually does more harm than good and can cause everlasting damage to the skin,” he added.
“Remember, irrespective of how attractive a tan could appear this summer, nothing is definitely worth the irreparable damage done by this trend.”
While UK pundits have been calling for this type of content, mainly on TikTok, to be banned – the platform has already began to make progress on this area in Australia.
![Pietrini said people probably think beer can be a good tan enhancer because hops, a key ingredient, allegedly increase the production of melanin, the substance that causes our skin to darken.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/tanning3.jpg?w=682)
TikTok actively blocked videos encouraging tanning last yr after Melanoma Institute Australia raised concerns over the platform’s “burnt tanlines” hashtag, which has greater than 200 million views.
These videos mainly consist of teenagers and young adults showing off sunburns.
TikTok also launched “Tanning. The “It’s Cooked” campaign – which runs from December 1 – prompts an alert message for users after entering search terms equivalent to “beach”, “sunburn” and “summer sun”.
Anyone on the lookout for content about tanning will get a message that reads: “Australia is no 1 on this planet for skin cancer. Learn more about the right way to protect yourself from melanoma.
“We hope we are able to save lives,” said Lee Hunter, CEO of TikTok in Australia and New Zealand.
“We hope that folks will really start to alter the message concerning the dangers of tanning.”