Burn notice: Youngsters sporting ‘sunburn art’

They say, ‘an empty mind is the devil’s laboratory’ and a few online trends certainly attest the saying. A bizarre new trend known as sunburn art is catching on with people using the sun’s rays to burn patterns on their skin. It’s their attempt at getting tattoos — naturally they’re sharing the results on Instagram.

“This trend is pointless and — it is very dangerous. It’s one thing to draw a smiley face on your belly with sunscreen and click a picture but this is a bit ridiculous. I am glad that doctors have come out and warned against the trend,” shares consultant dermatologist and cosmetologist Dr Varun Katyal. He warns, “The growing hashtags #sunburnart and #tantattoo that are wrong on many levels, remind us about the dangers of sunbathing and endless appeals by doctors to apply sunscreen.

Sunburn can cause DNA damage to the skin, accelerate skin ageing, and increase your lifetime skin cancer risk. Other issues include melanoma and eye problems such as cataracts too.”

Dermatologist Dr Satish Yadav avers, “I feel that people have obtained this ‘art’ by purposely covering up only one part of their body by either drawing shapes on the body with sunblock or applying shaped stickers. While it may seem entertaining, there are more than 1,00,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer every year. 72 per cent of people admitted to being sunburned last year.”

“I don’t know what led this brigade of ‘artists’ to want to flaunt their marred skin? What will be next in line? Pictures of people getting intravenous injections lying supine?” questions an astonished Instagram user, Akansha Ahuja.”

“I have a dusky complexion have been subjected to unhealthy remarks because of this,” says event management professional Niharica Anand. “It takes me months, numerous treatments and several parlour visits to get rid of a tan and feel secure in my original skin tone. So for me getting a sunburn for the purpose of making a fake tattoo makes my skin crawl a little.”