sun vampires
They’re desperate for a sun fix. They spend hours incarcerated in hi-tech coffins. Cayte Williams meets the “tanorexics”
You're lying in a big plastic cocoon. Weird blue light beats down at you through hi-tech glass and there’s a strange humming noise. You're naked and sweating profusely. Have you been abducted by aliens for experimental tests? No, you're lying on a sunbed and if you're doing it more than once a week then you could be seriously addicted. The Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) recently released a fact sheet outlining the dangerous effects of indoor tanning. “There is extreme concern for ‘tanorexics’,” says Christine Suggars, a spokesperson for the ICRF. “Especially people who have a dangerous desire for a permanent tan and use sunbeds more than once a week.” So who are these walking raisins, and why do they need a regular sunbed fix? Often tanorexics prefer to buy a sunbed rather than visit a suntanning salon. And let’s face it, anyone who’s prepared to fork out £1,600 on the initial machinery must have one hell of a habit. “I bought a sunbed 10 years ago,” recalls Jane Horwood, a 37-year- old interior designer. “I used it once a week at first, but this gradually became once a night. I used to go on it religiously after work and hated it when I couldn't go underneath.” "It’s like smoking. Even though I knew I shouldn’t be under there, I couldn't stop myself,” she confesses. “I wanted to look healthy and was really upset that when I got pregnant my doctor told me I couldn’t go on the sunbed. It’s an obsession with self image and self esteem, like anorexia. If you’re browner, you think you’re going to have a nicer lifestyle, be more attractive. If I hadn’t got pregnant I would never have stopped.” Over use of sunbeds can lead to all kinds of nasty side-effects. “Apart from premature skin ageing, people who use sunbeds for more than 20 sessions of 30 minutes per year run the risk of developing skin fragility,” says Doctor
You're lying in a big plastic cocoon. Weird blue light beats down at you through hi-tech glass and there’s a strange humming noise. You're naked and sweating profusely. Have you been abducted by aliens for experimental tests? No, you're lying on a sunbed and if you're doing it more than once a week then you could be seriously addicted. The Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) recently released a fact sheet outlining the dangerous effects of indoor tanning. “There is extreme concern for ‘tanorexics’,” says Christine Suggars, a spokesperson for the ICRF. “Especially people who have a dangerous desire for a permanent tan and use sunbeds more than once a week.” So who are these walking raisins, and why do they need a regular sunbed fix? Often tanorexics prefer to buy a sunbed rather than visit a suntanning salon. And let’s face it, anyone who’s prepared to fork out £1,600 on the initial machinery must have one hell of a habit. “I bought a sunbed 10 years ago,” recalls Jane Horwood, a 37-year- old interior designer. “I used it once a week at first, but this gradually became once a night. I used to go on it religiously after work and hated it when I couldn't go underneath.” "It’s like smoking. Even though I knew I shouldn’t be under there, I couldn't stop myself,” she confesses. “I wanted to look healthy and was really upset that when I got pregnant my doctor told me I couldn’t go on the sunbed. It’s an obsession with self image and self esteem, like anorexia. If you’re browner, you think you’re going to have a nicer lifestyle, be more attractive. If I hadn’t got pregnant I would never have stopped.” Over use of sunbeds can lead to all kinds of nasty side-effects. “Apart from premature skin ageing, people who use sunbeds for more than 20 sessions of 30 minutes per year run the risk of developing skin fragility,” says Doctor