Sunburns Become 'Tattoos' — On Purpose; Doctors Concerned

NEW YORK, NY — Contrary to what Ronnie, Pauly or "The Situation" might say on MTV's "Jersey Shore," tans and sunburns are pretty bad for you. While it might earn points in the classroom or on the beach, the darkening of the skin is the body's response to damage from overexposure to ultraviolet rays.

Mary Stevenson, a skin cancer surgeon and assistant professor at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at New York University's Langone Medical Center, said that from a dermatologist's view, "we really don't think any tan or burn is good." Not only can tanning and burning lead to early wrinkles, aging skin and age spots, it can lead to skin cancer, she said.

But even with all the risks, people are using burns and tans to "tattoo" their bodies — and then posting photos of the finished design on social media. The idea is simple: people apply patterns to their skin, then burn or tan the surrounding area. When the pattern is removed, what's left is a darkened or burned area surrounding a lighter pattern.

Photos posted on social media include images of shapes, such as hearts, stars and moons, as well as words like "ThugLife" and "Happy." Other tattoos include the iconic Batman logo, a cat face and even a seahorse. The folks at Inked Magazine dubbed the fad the latest trend to hit social media, with one person even attempting to tan the Mona Lisa to his chest.

Many times people are creating the patterns deliberately. But two women told Patch on Monday that wasn't the case for them.

Well, at first.

Alli Posey, 22, said she got her first tan tattoo at 16. The Clovis, California, woman was attending a family event in Santa Cruz. She walked down to the beach after drawing sharpie tattoos on herself and her sister.

"We had tanned on the beach and the Sharpie had blocked the sun's rays from tanning that part of our skin, leaving my drawings still there looking like a white tattoo," she wrote in an Instagram message. "Completely by accident, but a wonderfully beautiful accident."

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This is the outcome of the sharpie tattoos if you were curious about that (throwback from junior year) . . #sharpietattoo #tanlines #tb #throwback #cute
A post shared by Alli Posey (@happyfishy0328) on Apr 13, 2019 at 4:33pm PDT

Since then, Posey does them at the beginning of every summer. Her friends even ask her to draw patterns on them too for the purpose of tattooing. The patterns can last anywhere from three to five months, "depending on how fast you tan or how fast your tan fades."

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Sunshine, my only sunshine • #sunshine #sunnyday #hotsummer #summertime #nonalcoholcocktail # #colddrink #icecolddrinks #garten #withfriends #chillen #sonntagen #quatschen #spaß #fun #restevernichtung #schwitztdunochoderklebstduschon #ootd #instagood #feelings #blossnichtbewegen #sunburntattoo #littlebitsunburnt #skin #thigh #thightattoo #instafun #crazy #hotweathercolddrinks #icecubes
A post shared by Janin (@sch_nien) on Aug 5, 2018 at 7:02am PDT

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2019 SUMMER TREND? Sunburn Tattoos! “Sunburn tattoos,” a body-modification trend that first tried to happen in 2015, is heating up for the summer 2019 season, according to a new Inked Mag report. #sunburntattoo
A post shared by HIT RADIO 104.7 (@hitradio104.7) on Jun 10, 2019 at 6:13am PDT

Yalan Hu, 29, a Chinese native who now lives in Tallahassee, Florida, said she accidentally discovered tan tattooing while scuba diving in Nilaveli, Sri Lanka. Hu had gotten an elaborate Mehndi tattoo, also called henna, with designs on her shoulders and upper arms weaving their way all the way to her fingers. The pattern featured things like leaves and flower pots shaped like jewelry.

But while in the water, her skin burned and washed away the temporary tattoo, which was supposed to last for a couple weeks. She was shocked — and delighted — see what remained.

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Check out my COOLEST #suntantattoo ! Got an amazing #mehndi #mehnditattoo before I took my #diving course in #nilaveli #trincomalee . Only in 4, 5 days time, the #mehendi which supposed to sustain at least 2 weeks started to peel off and left me these #amazing #sunburntattoo ! Then I was told by my diving coach that "oh of course, I mean 90% of the #ultravioletrays was absorbed by sea only 10% on the ground~" Nice after-sunburnt tip coach! #sunburnedtattoo #sunburnt #sunburned #travel #travelling #traveller #traveldiary #travelblog #travelguide #travellover #traveljournal #travelgram #travelphoto #travellife #srilanka #srilankatravel #holiday #diver #divelife #divesrilanka
A post shared by Yalan Hu (@yalanhuever) on Jun 2, 2016 at 5:13am PDT

"It felt really amazing," she said. "Originally, I just wanted a regular Mehndi tattoo, which would be pretty for days."

Yu added the sunburn tattoo "feels more permanent" than the Mehndi design.

"The sunburn feels like it's engraved in my body. So it's even cooler than that. And I really enjoyed it," she said.

Her sunburn tattoo, which she described as softer and more subtle than the Mehndi tattoo, stayed on her for nearly two months before disappearing.

"The burn was pretty rough on my skin," she said. "But the result was beautiful."

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Hahahaha, I just can't help laughing at my amazing #suntantattoo ! As I've posted before I got this amazing #mehndi #mehnditattoo before I took my #diving course in #nilaveli #trincomalee . Only in 4, 5 days time, the #mehendi which supposed to sustain at least 2 weeks started to peel off and left me these #amazing #sunburntattoo ! Then I was told by my diving coach that "oh of course, I mean 90% of the #ultravioletrays was absorbed by sea only 10% on the ground~" Nice after-sunburnt tip coach! #sunburnedtattoo #sunburnt #sunburned #travel #travelling #traveller #traveldiary #travelblog #travelguide #travellover #traveljournal #travelgram #travelphoto #travellife #srilanka #srilankatravel #holiday #diver #divelife #divesrilanka
A post shared by Yalan Hu (@yalanhuever) on Jun 2, 2016 at 4:44am PDT

Hu hasn't intentionally gotten any suntan tattoos since then, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't do it again in the future.

"I would definitely love to do that," said Yu.

She feels sunburn tattooing is mostly harmless and that it's practically inevitable her skin will darken when she scuba dives.

While Posey and Hu may not be overly concerned with the fad, dermatologists have some concerns. Ultraviolet radiation damages the DNA in skin cells, Stevenson said. UVB rays go to the base layer of the skin and UVA go a little deeper into the dermis. Both can cause skin cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in the nation. These rays are dangerous, particularly in water, which not only washes away sunscreen, it reflects and intensifies light.

"I don't think people realize quite how much the sun can affect us, especially when you're in the water because of reflection," she said.

And as for the age-old wisdom of establishing a "base tan" to protect the skin against UV rays, that's hogwash. Any time the skin changes colors, whether burning or tanning, it's a reaction to ultraviolet light, Stevenson said. Sunburns with painful blisters are "especially bad" when it comes to causing skin cancer.

In other words, Stevenson won't be getting a sunburn or suntan tattoo any time soon.

"At least not intentionally," she said with a laugh.

Those seeking the best protection from the sun should wear long sleeves or wear sunscreen that's at least SPF 30 and has broad spectrum coverage for both types of ultraviolet rays.

"I like anything that's a physical blocker without chemical blockers. Anything with titanium or zinc oxide," said Stevenson. "When I look at the back of a sunscreen it should be an SPF above 30 and those should be the two active ingredients. One or the other. But no chemical blockers."