Well, you learn something new every day, and today I learned that there’s a new TikTok trend in which people are forgoing sunscreen in order to “burn off” their acne. Yes, you read that right. The latest trend is to intentionally get a sunburn in order to treat acne. And this skincare foolishness doesn’t stop there. There are also other misinformed, irresponsible TikTok influencers that are pushing “natural” sunscreen using “beef fat” because it can “prevent sunburn” while gracing your skin with “all kinds of vitamins.” Needless to say, doctors are aghast at people putting themselves at risk for skin cancer for these terrible practices that don’t even work in the first place.

Doctors are urgently warning Brits to ignore a bizarre TikTok trend that encourages people to avoid using sunscreen in order to get an intentional “healthy boost” or “burn off” acne. The reckless trend, which involves exposing the skin without sun protection, has been slammed by medical professionals who say it is incredibly dangerous and could lead to devastating skin cancer.

As the UK endures some of the highest temperatures of the summer so far, millions are expected to be out sunbathing this weekend – putting themselves at serious risk. Dr Claire Merrifield, GP and medical director at Selph, is horrified by the dangerous advice being spread on social media.

“This is yet another TikTok trend that is incredibly dangerous and misleading,” she warns. “It is completely false that exposing acne to sunlight ‘burns’ spots away. UV rays directly damage the DNA in skin cells, which can lead to mutations that cause skin cancer.”

She stresses that “if you expose the skin without protecting it with SPF, then you automatically increase the risk of skin cancer. Not to mention premature skin ageing.”

Broad spectrum UVA and UVB sun protection in factor 50+ is recommended for use by experts. We love this one from Ocean Freedom’s collection of mineral sunscreens and ALLSKIN|MED’s Mineral Fluid Sunscreen SPF50.

Worryingly, the “sunburning” craze is just one of many bizarre and hazardous sun protection trends emerging on TikTok. Some influencers are even encouraging users to make their own “natural” sunscreen from ingredients like beef fat, falsely claiming it has “all kinds of vitamins” and can “prevent sunburn”.

But Dr Merrifield is quick to shut down this advice: “Commercial sunscreens are carefully formulated and rigorously safety-tested to ensure they provide effective UV protection. When you make your own, there’s no way of knowing if it provides any SPF at all.”

[From Express]

I just…it’s like, what are we doing here, people? Surely, there can’t be that many easily-influenced viewers who care about “natural” remedies but don’t stop to think of the long term effects? I thought it was pretty well-known at this point that too much sun damage has an increased risk for skin cancer. I kid you not, almost every Boomer and a handful of the Gen Xers in my life has had some form of suspicious growth removed at some point or other. Do these acne treatment extremists not have anyone in their lives reminding them why you need to wear sunscreen? And even if they don’t care about that, do they really think beef fat sunscreen is going to prevent their skin from premature aging? I mean…I’m just flabbergasted over here.

Apparently, that sunburn look is so popular nowadays that there’s even a “sunburnt makeup” trend happening right now. Influencers are applying a lot of blush or rogue onto their forehead, nose, and cheeks before then layering foundation over it. That’s not exactly my ideal beauty look, but props to them for the creativity of looking sunburned without all of the actual risk. Although, with all of that makeup, they probably need to use Bioré strips to unclog their pores.

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