People are deliberately getting sunburnt to give themselves temporary tattoos

Dermatologists have warned about a dangerous new trend where people are deliberately getting sunburnt to give themselves temporary tattoos.

Getting a "sunburn tattoo" entails applying a shape on your skin, going out in the sun, and waiting to burn. Once you're scorched, the design will appear on the skin as a whiter patch, and it will last as a semi-permanent tattoo while your skin peels and heals.

If you take a scroll through Instagram, you'll find a number of #sunburntattoos. While some are accidental, there are a slew of posts describing how to deliberately give yourself the temporary tat. Of course, doing something like this is an extremely bad idea, because of the risks of sun damage.

Speaking to the Metro, pharmacist Shamir Patel said, "You should NEVER purposely sunburn yourself. That’s the bottom line. ‘Sunburn causes sometimes irreversible damage. Sun damage can cause premature ageing, issues with your skin’s condition and elasticity and the well known one in extreme cases – cancer. Detrimental sun damage can cause cancers due to the changes in cells the over-UV exposure."

"Asides from the effects to your skin, burning in the sun can also cause issues such as heat exhaustion, dizziness, nausea and headaches. Not to mention, it can be incredibly painful," he continued. "Your skin isn’t supposed to burn. SPF helps to protect your skin against the sun and harmful UV rays, it prolongs the amount of time you can spend in the sun and should be used regularly ALL over the areas of your skin that will be exposed to the sun (it should not be tampered with to try and create a 'tattoo effect'). That being said, I would always advise staying in the shade when the sun is at it’s hottest and covering up accordingly."

"It doesn’t matter how big or little the area of exposed skin is, any type of sunburn can cause issues of various degrees to your health. ‘In short, if you value your health, don’t adopt this trend. And stay properly protected in the sun too."

If you're dead-set on a temporary tattoo, however, there are other ways to go about it. You can order temporary designs online, or you could always just put a sticker on your body before applying fake tan - it's easier, and safer to boot.