A FORMER Miss Great Britain winner says she is permanently scarred after using a nasal tanning spray she bought on Instagram.
Jen Atkin was desperate to be bronzed so inhaled Melanotan then used sunbeds and is now left with dark marks all over her forehead.
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The 30-year-old, who won the 2020/2021 pageant, said: “Sunbeds and tanning have always been a priority for me.
“I’m a curvy girl but I always feel like I can rock my curves a bit better when I’ve got a nice tan.
“Unfortunately, I decided to go to extra lengths and fell into the trend of nasal tan.
“I bought some from an Instagram account, used it twice and continued using sunbeds.
READ MORE ON TANNING DANGERS
“Then I noticed a pigment starting on my forehead and, after a trip to Mexico, the pigment was huge.
“It’s something I have to live with forever now.”
Jen, from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, said she’d never even thought about the colour of her skin until she was about eight years old when she started to get compliments on her bronzed look after the summer holidays.
“People would always say to me, ‘God, you tan really well, you look really tanned’,” she said.
“It was from then that I started to think, ‘Oh my God, I love I tan. I love the way I look when I’m tanned’.”
Jen said as she got older, having a glow always made her feel more confident, particularly as a size 12 beauty pageant contestant.
But she “never got on with fake tan”, only ever tanning outdoors or using sunbeds.
Aged 22, she entered her first major competition, where contestants were encouraged to be tanned.
And she’s been hooked ever since – especially during the dreary winter months.
Instant regret
Last February, Jen was scrolling on Instagram when she stumbled across a post promoting a nasal spray promising a speedy glow.
“I was about to go to Marbella for a photoshoot so I wanted to have a nice colour,” she said.
“It had been a long winter so I felt really pale and I thought the nasal tan would give me a boost.
“I’d heard about nasal tan and injectables before, but I never really fancied it because I tan so easily in the sun and used sunbeds.”
I literally can’t walk past people without them staring at it.
Jen Atkin
Jen used the £25 product twice – but regretted it almost instantly.
It left her with a dark brown mark on her forehead, which hasn’t budged since.
“It just appeared out of absolutely nowhere,” she said.
“I stopped using the spray and continued using sunbeds and it just got darker.
“Then I went to Mexico the next month where I was obviously in the sun all the time, and the pigment came out even worse.”
Horrific side effects
The spray, which is not legal in the UK, also made her feel incredibly sick.
Jen described it as “actually horrific”, adding: “It scared the life out of me.
“It made me feel so nauseous and weird.”
Now, after trying “literally everything”, she fears she’s stuck with the dark patch for the rest of her life.
“No matter how many creams I use, it never fades,” Jen said.
“I literally can’t walk past people without them staring at it.
“I can’t go anywhere without people asking, ‘What’s that?’.
“I started playing football last year, and I had a girl come up to me like, ‘You’ve got black all over your forehead’.
“I get comments all the time like, ‘You haven’t blended your make-up properly’, or ‘Your fake tan is coming off on your face’.
“I’ve spent so much money on products and serums to try to get rid of this pigment but nothing works.
“I can’t even cover it with make-up, it’s so dark.”
Warning to others
When asked if she’s been to the doctor about the “scar”, Jen, who is also a country singer and plays football for Healing Hotspurs FC Womens, said: “No, because I’m absolutely mortified. They’ll just call me stupid.”
She hopes her experience can act as a warning to any other “tan addicts”.
“I really want to warn others against the use of nasal tans, and encourage safer tanning generally,” Jen, who has now sworn off sunbeds, said.
“So many people use them so you never think you’re going to have an issue, but obviously I’m one of the people that did, and it only took one or two times for it to make such a difference, and now I’m stuck with this mark on my head forever.
“Please don’t do it. It’s just not worth it.”
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The dangers of nasal tanning sprays
MELANOTAN is an artificial substance that stimulates the pigment cells in your skin to produce more melanin to make the skin look darker.
It is made in different forms, including as an injection and a nasal spray.
All forms of Melanotan are illegal in the UK. Experts say they are not safe to use.
A government spokesperson said: “Melanotan containing products are unlicensed medicines in the UK, and as such the safety, quality and effectiveness has not been demonstrated.
“These products may cause serious side effects, so our advice to those who have used Melanotan injections or nasal sprays is to stop using them immediately and if you have suffered side effects, speak to your doctor.”
“Melanotan products have not been tested for safety, quality or effectiveness so it is not known if using them causes side effects and how serious they are,” Cancer Research UK added.
“Also, Melanotan products could have harmful chemicals in them that aren’t listed on the label.”
Some of the reported side effects include:
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Changing and/or darkening of existing moles
- Painful erections
- Facial flushing
- Dizziness
- Changes in libido
- Pigmentation of the skin and nails
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Death of kidney tissue
Source: Cancer Research UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Dermatology Times