This new form of body art is taking the social media by storms and people everywhere are taking to it as the new in-thing in skin beautification; however health experts are calling for it to be stopped because of the higher health risks association with it. According to Flynn, each form of sunburn is unsafe as it damages the DNA in the skin, and causes irreparable damage at cellular level.
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People might consider this “sunburn art” creative or innovative, but in reality, sunburns are nothing but self-inflicted and unsafe ways of raising your skin cancer risk.
While it’s now common knowledge that excessive sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer, Karpman said, many don’t think of the potential of developing melanoma.
“It’s increased significantly partly because of the time people spend in the sun and its intensity, but also because people are recognizing melanoma sooner and coming in for treatment”, he said, adding that “the best way to not get melanoma is to avoid fads like sunburn art”. Instead, follow the Skin Cancer Foundation’s advice and cover up with clothing, seek shade, apply sunscreen daily, wear a broad-brimmed hat and dawn ultraviolet (UV) blocking sunglasses. And Sarnoff explained that the cancer risk is cumulative – the risk goes up with each tan and sunburn a person sustain throughout their lifetime.
Almost 10,000 Americans lose their lives to melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
Some look simple enough, like someone applying a sticker to their skin to later show the symbol through the person’s tan or sunburn (again, nothing new).
Sunburn Art is popping up on Instagram and Twitter displaying detailed body art made with sunscreen.
Dr. Jonathan Kurohara, a family practice doctor at Simi Valley Hospital, said that once melanoma spreads, “it’s very unforgiving and very hard to detect”.
“Once melanoma spreads, the survival rate at 10 years is about 10 percent”, the doctor said. At the start of his career, he saw about five patients per year.
The most sensitive areas of the body, such as the face and the ears still require a stronger sunscreen, and since these are unusual locations for sunburn anyway, this should not interfere with the body art.
What are your thoughts on sunburn art?
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The secret is to turn the sunburn art into tanning art, so that this could be a fun summer experience, rather than an irresponsible act that might trigger devastating consequences along the line. “The name alone denotes the dangers because you have to actually burn to get the temporary art”.
