A sunbed-addicted teenager said she will never give up her tan despite being bombarded with insults by trolls.
Megan Blain, 18, who has used sun loungers daily for two years, has even been compared by trolls to a “dirty twopence coin” – but she insists she is stuck in a tanning cycle and can’t imagine how to stop.
The student, from Seaham, County Durham, started using sunbeds at the age of 16, hoping to maintain a year-round tan.
She swapped fake tanning products for loungers and even started injecting tanning agents to achieve a deeper glow.
Although she “didn’t know much about tanning beds” at first, she spent up to half an hour in the beds under ultraviolet lights for more than a year, often slathered with baby oil to improve results.
Teenager Megan Blain, 18, admitted to being addicted to sun loungers, despite facing harsh criticism online and noticing worrying changes to her skin.
Trolls have compared Megan to a “dirty twopence” but she insists she is stuck in a tanning cycle and can’t imagine stopping.
She said: ‘I just liked how tanned I looked. I’m a bright color person and I liked how the colors popped. I started seeing results and how good it made me look and I started doing it more often.’
However, her intense tanning regime has raised health alarms, prompting Megan to acknowledge her “addiction” and cut back on her use of tanning beds.
The student admits that tanning injections make her nauseous and has even noticed that a suspicious spot has recently appeared on her skin, but the fear of cancer hasn’t made her stop tanning yet.
Megan said: ‘I’ve noticed a patch on my skin that keeps changing size. I’ve tried to go to the doctor like five times but I’m still frozen at the door.
“I’m one of those people who worries about anything, so not worrying about having a melanoma that I noticed a few months ago and continuing to abuse the sun loungers has made me realize that this is an addiction.” I just never think it’s dark enough.
She explained: ‘I’m stuck in a cycle of abusing sunbeds and taking tanning injections which make me feel unwell and sometimes unable to eat. I used to go every day and now it’s four times a week.
Megan says her extreme tan has attracted attention from strangers, with some comparing her to a “burnt chip” or saying she looks like a “cremated” version of herself.
However, despite the online backlash, she insists she never feels “dark enough” and finds it hard to imagine a life without sunbeds.
The student, from Seaham, County Durham, started using sun loungers aged 16, hoping to maintain a year-round tan.
She swapped fake tanning products for loungers and even started injecting tanning agents to achieve a deeper glow.
The student admits that tanning injections make her nauseous and has even noticed that a suspicious spot has recently appeared on her skin.
Despite “not knowing much about tanning beds” at first, Megan spent up to half an hour in the beds under UV lights for over a year, often slathered with baby oil to improve results.
She said: ‘Everywhere I go, I see people looking at me. When people say I’m dark, I actually find it hard to believe. I don’t feel dark at all, it’s like I’m physically blind.
‘I want to stop one day, but I can never imagine not going to the sun loungers. I wouldn’t recommend anyone do this. You could end up being addicted without even realizing it, like me.
In a bid to regain control, Megan has reduced her sunbed use to four times a week and is now using her TikTok platform to warn “the younger generation” about the dangers of sunbed addiction.
She said: “The younger generation seems to be using (solar hammocks) more than the older generation, which is worrying because if I became addicted without even realizing it, the same thing could happen to other people.”
On TikTok, Megan has become the target of trolls, who have joined forces to mock the teenager’s appearance.
As for Megan’s tanned skin color, one person wrote: “French fries that fell out of the oven.”
Another said: ‘Do you know when you get those dirty 2p coins?’, while a third commented: ‘Did they (the deck chairs) cremate you?’
While her views on tanning have changed, Megan admits she still finds it difficult to free herself from the compulsion to jump under UV lights.
Megan says her extreme tan has attracted attention from strangers, with some comparing her to a “burnt chip” or saying she looks like a “cremated” version of herself.
Despite the online backlash, she insists she never feels “dark enough” and finds it hard to imagine a life without sunbeds.
Megan has reduced her sunbed use to four times a week and is now using her TikTok platform to warn ‘the younger generation’ about the dangers of sunbed addiction.
She said: ‘After two years my opinion on sun loungers has changed. If I could go back in time, I would never have started. I just have the feeling that I have to lie on the sun loungers; I don’t even feel like tanning anymore.’
‘I find it difficult to turn off the lounger once it’s on. I don’t even like sunbathing, it scares me, but I feel like physically I have to keep going.’
Meanwhile, a tanning addict who used tanning beds almost daily for 15 years has said she feels “lucky to be alive” after things took a turn for the worse.
Fionnghuala Maguire, 35, from Belfast, started using tanning beds at the age of 14 and never applied SPF during her tanning years; Now he warns others not to make the same mistake.
She admits to using the machines routinely for more than 15 years, visiting salons up to seven days a week at the peak of her addiction.