Acne sufferers swear by ‘insane’ cure — the ‘sunburning’ trend: ‘Sorry mom, it’s the only way’

August 5, 2024

Does zit really do the trick?

It’s simple — no one wants a pimple.

But rather than burning through the typical anti-blemish treatments, such as applying skincare creams or taking meds, smooth-to-the-touch wannabes are letting UV rays singe away their blistering lumps and bumps.

“Telling the sun to burn off my acne,” content creator Haley Wenthold, 19, wrote about the “sunburning” trend in the closed captions of a clip garnering more than 1.7 million TikTok views.

The Gen Zer shared sights of herself positioned directly under the blazing daystar, making her zit-riddled cheeks the perfect bullseye for its beams.

“It actually works though,” Wenthold claimed in the video’s caption.

And folks with similarly inflamed faces seem to agree.

“Sunburning” is the summer’s buzziest — and potentially most dangerous — beauty trend toward attaining a virtually clear visage. Rather than briefly bathing beneath the sun for a light tan, heat-seekers are lounging below its glow for hours in the name of baby-soft skin.

And while sunburning has been deemed “insane” by naysayers online, it’s a mission that’s not totally fried.

In fact, “UV rays have an immunosuppressive, and therefore an anti-inflammatory effect,” according to a recent report from derma experts with Eucerin.

“As a result,” continued the pros, “some people with acne and/or blemish-prone skin report that their skin condition improves with moderate exposure to the sun.”

And, apparently, the boons of natural light aren’t limited to one’s mug.

Men of the “Platonic Male Erotic Bonding” persuasion have been stripping down and letting their buttholes soak in the sun for years, owing to its alleged energizing benefits.

“It’s a feeling you can’t really describe unless you experience it,” a beneficiary of the sunny sensation previously explained. “It’s like the sunlight fills your being from the bottom up.”

However, too much of the heat could leave a person’s skin feeling cooked, Eucerin warns.

“The sun’s rays may cause skin to dry out,” advised insiders, adding that extreme hotness may actually intensify the acne.

“When over-exposure to the sun dries skin out, the sebaceous glands (which produce the sebum that gives skin the oils it needs) go into overdrive and this excess sebum production — known as seborrhea — is one of the key stages in the formation of blemishes.”

Jennifer A. Stein, a dermatologist at NYU Langone, also noted that people who’ve experienced sunburns are at an increased risk of developing skin cancer.

“It’s estimated that one in five of us will get skin cancer during our lifetime,” she said. “The best way to protect yourself from UV rays is to cover up.

“The more of your skin you cover, the less you have to depend on sunscreen for protection.”

The harmful effects of sunburning aside, guys and gals longing to perfect their imperfections are happily throwing caution to the wind.

“When I have acne and the only way to cure it is to burn it,” fitness influencer Olivia Smith penned in the text of a post that featured her sunburning session.

“Sorry mom, this is the only way,” she added.

“BURN IT MR. SUN,” said YouTuber Leoobalys in a snippet of herself demeaning the sky’s brightest star to melt away her marks.

“I found out the sun will burn off your acne,” chimed in a separate TikTok user known as Liv while sunburning her skin.

“It makes tanning even more of a necessity.”