'Skin cancer wouldn't stop me': The tanning addict who hasn't missed a day of her $50,000 sunbed habit in ten years



The infamous 'tanning mom' changed the way people look at sunbeds forever, but for many, her scary story has far from detered their bronzing obsession, which still consumes their every day lives.

Trisha Paytas is one of those women, a model working in Los Angeles, says she hasn't missed a day of tanning in 10 years, a habit which has cost her $5,000 annually, and over $50,000 in total.



The 25-year-old told Good Morning America : 'If you told me that I have skin cancer I don't think I would stop. Scrape it off and keep going .'

Tanorexic: Trisha Paytas, 25, says she hasn't missed a day of tanning in 10 years, a habit which has cost her $5,000 annually

Everyday, the model visits Total Tan or another local salons in Marina del Ray, California. Sometimes she goes twice a day.



'I go every morning. It's my routine. People would say I am almost narcissistic because I really love the way I look when I tan,' she explained.

And after going on the tanning bed, Miss Paytas gets a spray tan to ensure her complexion and color stay perfectly even.



But despite the cancer risks, which she waves off, she says being tan gives her confidence.

'I have seen myself pale and I don't look like myself,' she said.



'When you see someone who is tan, you are like, wow, amazing.'



Giana Gerardo, 24, and a tanning fanatic, agrees.

Ignoring health risks: Despite the cancer risks, the model says being tan gives her confidence

Generational: The LA resident was introduced to tanning beds by her mother, and started going regularly when she was 15

She uses the local Beach Bum salon where she works two or three days at week.



'It makes me feel good and I feel comfortable in my skin,' she said Gerardo. 'It makes my clothes kind of look a little bit better than if I were not as tan.'



Both girls were introduced to tanning beds by their mothers, and started going regularly when they were teenagers.



Even though skin cancer is now the second most-common cancer among women in their twenties, according to Cancer Research UK, and new studies show that sun bed users under the age of 30 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma by 75per cent, the health risks do not deter the girls.

