I love my tan lines and use sunbeds three times a week – people say they’ve made me look 40 but I hate being pale
A NAIL tech has revealed she loves tanning so much that she goes on sunbeds three times a week – and thinks she looks ill when pale.
Ella Thompson, 19, regularly shows off her tan lines after sessions on the sunbeds on social media.
Posting on TikTok (@ellathompson6), she said she goes to the sunbeds up to three times a week “depending if she’s busy or not”.
Ella, who lives in Glasgow with her Rangers starlet boyfriend Ross McCausland, insists she “looks so ill” when she’s pale so always makes an effort to keep up her tan.
The influencer, who is affiliated to a tanning product company, uses tanning creams to further maximise her glow.
She also admitted to using nasal sprays and drops if she’s had a break from sunbeds and needs a tanning boost.
Such creams and sprays contain specific ingredients that are absorbed into the skin to encourage the movement of melanocytes to the surface of the skin, maximising the tanning potential of a sunbed session.
Ella also tops up her colour on holidays abroad, with recent trips to Ibiza and Thailand.
The blonde beauty, originally from Northern Ireland, boasts 50,200 followers TikTok followers but her tanning videos have racked up millions of views.
She has been hailed by fans as a “tanned queen” on the social media platform thanks to her bronzed looks.
One also gushed: “You’re actually a goddess.”
And another added: “Ahhhh stop, I’m so jealous.”
But other social media users were stunned at Ella’s sunbed usage and took to the comments to warn her of the dangers.
One asked: “Why don’t you like being your skin colour?”
A second said: “Pass, I like not having skin cancer.”
A third added: “When did it become a bad thing to be white ffs.”
While a fourth wrote: “The scary thing is that you’re probably 20 but you look 40 from sunbeds.”
Defending her use of sunbeds, Ella said: “I live in a colder country that probably sees proper sun a week out of a whole year.
“There’s days I look blue I’m that pale and that’s not normal.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking.
Like the sun, they give out harmful UV rays that damage the DNA in your skin cells.
Over time, this may lead to malignant melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – studies have shown.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there is significant evidence to show that using tanning beds causes melanoma.
They report that sunbeds increase the risk of skin cancer by up to 20 per cent, and also state that they have no positive benefits to our health.
Cancer Research backed this statistic, adding that ” there is no such thing as a safe tan from UV radiation”.
When it comes to nasal sprays, some nasal spray sellers insist their products are safe – but the British Association of Dermatologists’ Dr Catherine Borysiewicz says the only safe tan is fake tan.
She said: These products have not been studied properly, you don’t know what you are using, that’s the bottom line.
“These products are very, very dangerous. They can potentially lead to cancer.
“I talk about the skin risks, but who knows what else it might be doing. It’s incredibly worrying.
“If you’re using Melanotan, stop. Don’t use it any more and really importantly make sure your skin is assessed and checked.
“Be honest with the doctors that you’re seeing so they’re aware of the potential risks you may have been exposed to so your moles can be properly checked and analysed if needed.”