INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Summer is here, bringing hot temperatures, high UV rays and the latest fad parents should know about; it's called "sunburn art."
“It is intense sunburn which increases your risk for melanoma, which is the most deadly of the skin cancers,” Dr. Christopher Obeime told WXIN, a dermatologist with St. Vincent Health.
In the latest trend, people are using sunscreen to draw designs and logos on their body before going out into the sun.
Credit: WXIN
Officials said the sun lovers aim to get severe sunburns to achieve the dangerous art.
Dermatologists say this fad can increase your risk for melanoma by 50 percent and can make your skin age faster.
“The collagen gets fragmented and gets old, it looks like old skin. The more sun exposure you have the sooner your skin gets the changes that we are talking about,” Obeime told WXIN.
Doctors recommend that everyone wears SPF 30 sun block while spending time outdoors and reapply when you are sweating or have gone into the water.
Dermatologists say the spray does not cover exposed skin as well as the creams.
According to the American Cancer Society an estimated 73,000 new cases of invasive melanoma will be diagnosed in the United States in 2015, leading to around 10,000 deaths.
Melanoma accounts for less than two percent of skin cancer cases, but the vast majority of skin cancer deaths.
“I think it goes with the mentality that people believe, 'this won’t happen to me,' because more than two intense sun burns increases your chances for melanoma by 50 percent,” Obeime said.
