I work at a tanning salon — people leave the nastiest things behind

What a waste.

A Georgia tanning salon is sparking debate on TikTok by sharing the unusual garbage customers leave behind after their sunning sessions.

Avaas Spa & Tan posted a six-second snap this month showing a shocked staffer clutching a garbage pail with gross contents.

“If you work at a tanning salon then YOU KNOW,” the caption reads.

In the comments section, TikTokers chimed in with their own experiences of working in salons and the icky items they would find.

Several users revealed how common it is for customers to urinate into trash cans, which Avaas Spa noted in a separate video in the fall.


I work at a tanning shop and people leave the most horrific things in the rooms
Several users revealed in the comments they have found pee and poop in trash cans at their salons.
@avaas_spa_tan/Tiktok

Other workers commented they often find objectionable items such as used tampons, pregnancy tests, half-eaten food and even bodily excretions.

“When I worked at a tanning salon someone left a giant turd on a paper towel under a tanning bed,” someone recalled.

Someone else confessed: “We found literal diarrhea… [the person] cleaned it up and we didn’t notice until it smelled 😳 it seeped through the grate and was hidden.”

“I once had a customer come in with a McDonald’s cup and lit a [cigarette] while tanning and used the cup for an ash tray. The whole salon smelled like it,” one shuddered.

Another person spewed: “A girl was eating a KEBAB in the saloon I went to. A FULL-ON KEBAB. She left lettuce, onions tomatoes all up in the crevices.”


I work at a tanning shop and people leave the most horrific things in the rooms
Discarded items salon employees have found include tampons and food.
@avaas_spa_tan/Tiktok

Tanning salons have made headlines for years, but typically for health concerns. In 2019, for example, tan fan Natalie Trout warned others about the dangers of sun beds.

The Indiana native said she developed melanoma — a type of skin cancer — after frequent use. She claimed that once the growth was removed, a large hole in her cheek remained.

Trout told MDWFeatures at the time that she visited tanning beds for about 13 years and would not use sunscreen while spending time outside. She explained that being a darker shade made her “look better and [look] thinner.”

“Everyone around me was tanning, and I was insecure enough at the time to feel like I needed to use sun beds as well,” she noted. “Usually I would burn, but that didn’t matter. To me, it was better to be burnt than pale. Pale was almost unacceptable at the time.”


I work at a tanning shop and people leave the most horrific things in the rooms
“When I worked at a tanning salon someone left a giant turd on a paper towel under a tanning bed,” someone complained in the comments section.
@avaas_spa_tan/Tiktok

Trout said she noticed a red spot on her right cheek, which she said was diagnosed as pre-cancerous. She recalled going under the knife to remove it, only for the spot to return with a melanoma diagnosis.

While Trout “was in disbelief” at first, she reported enduring another procedure that was successful.