Megan Blain, an 18-year-old who’s hooked on sunbeds, says she won’t stop tanning, even though online trolls are constantly insulting her. They’ve compared her skin to a “dirty 2p coin,” but she feels stuck in a tanning habit she can’t break.
Megan, from Seaham, County Durham, started using sunbeds at 16 to keep a tan all year. She ditched fake tan products for daily sunbed sessions and even began using tanning injections to get a darker glow. Although she didn’t know much about the risks, she spent up to 30 minutes on sunbeds, sometimes using baby oil to boost the effect.
Teenager Megan Blain, 18, has admitted to being addicted to sunbeds, despite facing harsh criticism online and noticing concerning changes to her skin
Megan said, “I liked how I looked with a tan. I wear bright colors, and the tan made them stand out more. Once I saw how good it looked, I started going to the sunbeds more often.”
But her intense tanning routine has raised health concerns. Megan now admits she’s addicted and has tried to cut back on sunbed use.
She also says the tanning injections make her feel sick, and she’s noticed a strange patch on her skin that changes size. Even though she’s scared it could be cancer, she hasn’t stopped tanning yet. Megan has tried to go to the doctor several times but gets too nervous to go inside.
“I’m the type of person who worries about everything, so it’s strange that I’m not more worried about this patch. I know it could be melanoma, but I still use sunbeds, which shows it’s an addiction. I never feel dark enough,” she explained.
She says she’s stuck in a cycle of overusing sunbeds and taking injections that make her feel sick and unable to eat. She used to go every day, but now she goes about four times a week.
Despite getting negative attention from strangers, with some saying she looks like a “burnt chip” or a “cremated” version of herself, Megan still can’t imagine life without tanning beds.
Megan said, “Everywhere I go, people stare at me. When they say I’m dark, I don’t believe them. I don’t feel dark at all, like I can’t see it myself.”
She admits she wants to stop using sunbeds one day, but she can’t imagine quitting. “I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone because you could get addicted without even realizing it, like I did,” she warned.
Megan has tried to cut down, now only using sunbeds four times a week, and she’s using her TikTok platform to warn younger people about the dangers of sunbed addiction. She’s especially worried because more young people seem to be using sunbeds than older ones, and she knows how easy it is to get hooked.
However, Megan has also faced online trolls who make fun of her tan. Some compare her to “burnt chips” or say her skin looks like a dirty “2p coin.” One person even asked if the sunbeds “cremated” her.
While Megan’s views on tanning have changed, she still struggles to break her habit of using UV lights.
Megan said, “After two years, I’ve changed my mind about sunbeds. If I could go back, I’d never start. Now, it’s not even about wanting to be tan anymore—I just feel like I have to use them.”
She explained that once she’s on the sunbed, it’s hard to turn it off. “I don’t even like using them anymore, I actually dread it, but I feel like I physically can’t stop.”
Another tanning addict, Fionnghuala Maguire, 35, from Belfast, shared her story, saying she feels “lucky to be alive” after using sunbeds almost every day for 15 years. She started at 14 and never used sunscreen during that time. Fionnghuala is now warning others not to make the same mistake, having been hooked on tanning and going to salons up to seven days a week at the height of her addiction.
“Anyone know what this could be? I have found two piles of these … in my daughters’ room.”
Among other social media sites, Facebook was the first venue for creating incredibly amiable community groups.
Some of them are related to extremely common but helpful subjects, such as cleaning and housekeeping groups! These clubs aren’t just for advice and support, though.
Occasionally, there are posts that leave the group frantically searching for solutions while also raising questions about the original poster’s wellbeing. Kelli Tarin shared an odd picture of an enigmatic pile in the group “Homemaking Tips.”
The original post was published on August 10th, which is not too long ago. Tarin posted a picture in the post. A fine, dirt-like muck is piled up on the floor in the picture. Tarin finds two mysterious mounds that she cleans every day, and she asks if anyone can assist her figure out what it is. Both heaps were concerningly found in her daughter’s room, so it’s critical that she determines whether or not there is cause for concern. She also says that because they moved into this rented house, things happened rather rapidly. In terms of nature, Tarin says they have the texture and appearance of anthills or coffee grinds, yet feel like shells.
The Enigmatic Pile Gets Even More Enigmatic
After the homeowner asked the internet community for assistance, word of the strange pile quickly spread. In addition to over 440,000 reactions, the post received over 9000 comments. But despite all of this attention, nobody was able to determine for sure just what the mystery mounds were! Still, there were recommendations, and plenty of them. This is the picture:
Some people thought it was actually an ant colony, and this colony was especially difficult to deal with because it was so tenacious. Some others thought it was mouse crap. Regarding excrement, many people thought termites were the true source. After considering all of these recommendations, Tarin made the decision to seek assistance from the experts.
But their conclusion just made things more enigmatic. After she had contacted two pest control agencies, they both claimed to have never seen anything like the enigmatic mounds!
In later posts, Tarin said that she made sure their daughter slept with her father while the case was being investigated. Termites do not leave behind droppings that are this crunchy or “seed-like,” therefore it is not them. In addition to thoroughly spraying the entire house, she never observed any live roaches, therefore she was able to eradicate them.
She had only ever seen a few dead ones at most. She adds that since she grew up on a farm, she is familiar with the appearance of mouse droppings, which these are not. Bats was the last name proposed, but given that she lives in West Texas, that seems improbable.
The Enigma Is Eventually Answered
She also stated twice that it is only in her daughter’s room and that she cleans the entire house every day. In fact, according to her, it can form in as little as two days. She states that the landlords have been contacted to inspect them in the last update prior to the resolution. In any case, Tarin expressed gratitude to the group for their response. Even if they were unable to respond fully, they undoubtedly contributed to her ability to remain cheerful under a distressing situation.
Ultimately, the solution is wildly inappropriate. It appeared from one comment that one of their children’s lavender bears had ruptured. Things like this were inside at that point. This reminded Tarin that there was a purple blush bear among the toys in the pile that was atop the unexplained pile.
She had thrown it out thinking it was contaminated. She went back to look for it and discovered that it did, in fact, have a hole in it. Upon opening it, Tarin was surprised to see that it contained the items in the enigmatic pile! Everything works out in the end, we think.
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