What are tanning injections, are they safe and do they trigger side effects?
MANY people like a golden tan as summer approaches, but experts have warned against turning to deadly tanning injections to achieve the look.
But what is the skin-darkening “Barbie drug” and what are the health risks?
What are tanning injections?
Some people use melanotan injections to change the colour of their skin, but they are illegal in the UK.
The synthetic hormone works by stimulating pigment cells in the skin, causing them to produce more of the melanin that gives skin its darker colour.
The NHS warns against use of the injections as it has “not undergone the stringent safety and effectiveness testing that all medicines have to undergo before they can be licensed for use.”
There are two forms available, Melanotan I and II, which are diluted in water before being injected.
Experts say demand for Melanotan 2 has risen in recent years, especially in the north of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Are tanning injections safe? Are there any side effects?
The injections have not been tested for human use and there are possible side effects and dangers that could occur.
Some side-effects can include acne, stomach pains, eye disorders, sickness and even heart problems.
Sharing needles can lead to blood-borne diseases like hepatitis or HIV being spread, and skin and tissue damage can also occur if substances are injected by an untrained individual.
Dr Carol Cooper said: “It is incredible that people are willing to risk their lives for a tan by injecting an illegal drug.
“Side-effects of Melanotan 2 include nausea and vomiting. Users face high blood pressure, heart issues and blood disorders.
“The jab makes moles darker, which could lead to skin cancer.
“Anyone who uses a sunbed is around 20 per cent more likely to develop malignant melanoma. Those who use sunbeds before 35 are 87 per cent more at risk.”
What do you look like before and after tanning injections?
In 2015, a woman was left scarred for life after overdosing 100 tan injections.
Call-centre worker Chantelle Tolson shared images of her skin dying and turning black around the edges of abscesses gouged across her stomach.
She injected herself in the stomach and side more than 100 times in four months.
Chantelle, from Castleford, West Yorks, said: “I used to think I was ugly without a tan. I was so desperate I tried everything without thinking about any possible health risks.
“I did it all for vanity but now I am covered in scars for the rest of my life.”
Meanwhile a white air hostess who identifies as BLACK after tanning injections and 32S boob job claims her hair has turned "naturally African".
Our Dying For A Tan campaign
There are an estimated 7,000 tanning salons in Britain, used by around one in ten young Brits, including some children as young as eight.
But using sunbeds before you’re 35 increases your chance of developing melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer - by a horrific 87 per cent.
Sunbeds pelt skin with ultraviolet (UV) rays, which are often stronger than the midday Mediterranean sun - 20 minutes on a sunbed is equivalent to four hours in the sun.
The UV radiation causes melanin to be released in the body, which gives skin a tan, but also causes skin cancer.
More on health
Cancer Research has revealed that rates of melanoma have soared by 45 per cent since 2004, with skin cancer now the fifth most common cancer in the UK.
That's why the Sun's Fabulous has launched the Dying For A Tan campaign to raise awareness of the dangers associated with sunbed use.
We'll be telling stories of women who have lost an eye to cancer, had huge holes gauged out of their skin, and been left looking decades older than their age - all because of sunbeds.