An influencer has issued a grave warning after having the skin on her face burnt off when trying a 'dangerous' sunbed hack.
We all know how important it is to look after our skin when out in the sun, and this certainly applies when it comes to using sunbeds.
Well, the harsh reality of using sunbeds too much or incorrectly has been outlined by an influencer who was recently left in agony and unable to sleep for days after deciding to switch up the way she used the bed.
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Natalia Armstrong, 23, has spoken out about the horrific experience she had after lying down on a sunbed the wrong way in a bid to get a better tan.
It all happened on 18 January, when Natalia went on a 20-minute sunbed - something she's done weekly for around two years.
But instead of lying down like she usually would, she put her face where her feet would normally go after being told by a friend that lying this way would give her a much better tan.
The influencer, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, UK, explained: "One of my friends previously told me to try it. I just thought while I was down there I'll give it a go because I had never heard anything bad.
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"I didn't know facial tanners were a lot less strong than the tubes so I did it. I laid for the full 20 minutes that way. I felt alright when I got off the sunbed, I didn't even feel like I tanned."
That night, she soon noticed her face was becoming red and over the next few days, Natalia watched on in horror as her skin grew tight and began to blister.
"All of a sudden that night my face started to go red," Natalia said of the reaction. "I can't even explain it. You know when you smile and your face is tight and you feel like it's cracking.
"It tightened up then it blistered, then a really thick layer of skin started peeling off."
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Just days later when her fingers began to swell, she went to Montagu Hospital in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, where doctors cut off four of her rings and gave her antibiotics for her finger and cream for her face.
But the worst was far from over.
"I couldn't sleep honestly," Natalia said. "It was itchy, I had pains in my finger when my ring was off. I could not sleep for days and I'm not even exaggerating. I got cold sores all over my lips, I burnt all my lips."
The NHS has long outlined the dangers of sunbeds, with the British Association of Dermatologists advising people against using them altogether.
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They can be more dangerous than natural sunlight because they use a concentrated source of UV radiation, which can lead to health risks such as:
- Skin cancer
- Premature skin ageing
- Sunburnt skin
- Eye irritation
Despite Natalia being lucky enough to recover from her burns and being told her face will heal, doctors at the hospital warned her if she had waited much longer, she may have lost her finger.
She is now using her platform to raise awareness of the dangers of sunbeds, with her telling her 144,000 TikTok followers: "The moral of the story is, do not listen to f**king anyone's advice."
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"I will never do that again," she added. "I do regret it, I'll never do that on a sunbed again.
"I'm glad it's happened to me and not someone else, I actually am. That's the kind of person I am. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, it's very dangerous.
"I won't be using sunbeds again any time soon. I can't, I need to focus on my face and keep putting SPF on it."
Natalia concluded: "It needs to be out there. I'll never forgive myself if I let someone else do it and that happens to them.
"Do not do it honestly. Please do not lay where your feet should go because it's very dangerous. It's not worth the tan."
Emily Puckering