I’m a sunbed addict and I’ve got scary moles all over — but I can’t stop tanning

A teenager admitted that she regrets becoming addicted to tanning beds — and is now warning others against following in her footsteps after a cancer scare.

Megan Blain, 19, traded out fake-tan bottles for sunbeds so she could achieve a darker tan year-round, lying on the beds every day for two years and often staying under the UV lights for as long as half an hour.

She even injects herself with tanning shots five times a week before going to the tanning beds to get an even darker hue.

“I just liked how I looked with a tan. I’m a person that wears bright colors and liked how it made the colors pop,” she told Kennedy News and Media.

Two years later, the student from Seaham, England, admitted that she feels “addicted” to tanning and she never feels like she’s dark enough.

On top of that, she had a bit of a cancer scare after she noticed a questionable patch on her skin recently — but that still hasn’t made her stop.

“I’ve noticed a patch on my skin which keeps changing size. I’ve tried to go to the doctors, like, five times, but keep freezing at the door,” Blain said.

She added in a video posted by Truly, “I started noticing moles on my back, my hands – I’ve got moles all over, but you do get moles off the sunbed. I didn’t know if the moles were cancerous.”

“I’m one of those people that will worry over anything, so for me not to be worried about potentially having melanoma I noticed a few months ago, and still abuse the sunbeds, has made me realize this is an addiction.

“I just never think I’m dark enough.”

Despite her saying that she worries over everything, the addiction to tanning overpowered her fear of cancer.

“It doesn’t even faze me that I could have melanoma and could turn into something life-threatening, it doesn’t scare me at all.”

Blain admitted that before she started tanning, she didn’t know much about it, and now she’s gotten addicted — regardless of how physically sick it makes her.

“I didn’t know much about sunbeds when I first started. So for the first year, I used to go on for half an hour at a time covered in baby oil. It made me feel really confident at first,” she said.

“I started seeing results and how good it made me look and started going on more often. Next thing I know I’m stuck in a cycle of abusing sunbeds and taking tanning injections which make me feel sick and sometimes unable to eat.”

Now, Blain is finally starting to wean herself off of the tanning beds, going four times a week rather than every day — and she’s sharing her journey on TikTok to warn others not to make the same mistakes she did.

“After two years, my views on sunbeds have changed. If I could go back in time, I would’ve never started,” she shared. “I just feel like I have to go on the sunbeds — it’s not even a case of wanting to be tanned anymore.”

“The younger generation seem to be using [sunbeds] more than the older generation which is concerning because If I got addicted without even realizing it then the same could happen to other people.”

Blain shared that she wants to stop using tanning beds “one day” — but she can’t imagine herself not going.

“I find it hard to turn the sunbed off once I’m on. I don’t even like going on sunbeds, I dread it, but I feel like I physically have to go on,” she said.

“I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do this. You could end up addicted without even realizing like me.”

In the Truly video, Blain shared that she sometimes cries after using the tanning bed because of all the damage it’s doing, but she believes she is “too far gone.”

The tanning addict has gotten looks from strangers on the street, as well as internet trolls who have labeled her a “burnt chip.”

“Everywhere I go, I see people staring at me,” she said. “When people say I’m dark, I actually find that hard to believe. I don’t feel dark whatsoever — it’s like I’m physically blind.”

One internet user compared Blain’s skin color to “the chips that fell off the tray in the oven and I forgot about.”

“Did [the sunbeds] cremate you?” another said.

Blain admitted that her family also said she’s too dark, and she does care about what people online think.

“I’ve received hate through TikTok. I thought the video that went viral looked nice at the time and wondered why I received so much hate, but now I realize why and that the video actually didn’t look nice at all.”

However, amid all the hate, Blain received some nice comments as well, encouraging her on her journey to let go of the addiction.

“You’re beautiful either way don’t let anyone tell you any different,” one said.

“You’re gorgeous in every way possible. Don’t let anyone tell you different. So proud of you,” another added.