Woman shares terrifying photo to warn against common beauty practice

With one picture, an Irish woman is warning others about the dangers of tanning. The message has reached thousands of people.

Mags Murphy, from Dublin, used to love spending time in the sun, getting tan. She spent years laying out at the beach and in tanning beds just to get a little color. "I heard all the warnings years ago and closed my eyes and ears to it all," she said to the Daily Mail.

But now, she's paying for all that damage to her skin. After a visit to the doctor, Mags was told that her face is full of precancerous cells. She was prescribed an ointment to "burn them out" and is documenting her month-long journey on Facebook.

Even as early as Day 3 of Mags' treatment, years of damage is visible.

Her skin has became raw, blistery and painful. Sores were starting to form on her face.

On Day 10, Mags' skin is itching and burning.

Here is Mags on Day 18:

"Face very dry still some sort of scabbing is occurring...it's a job to even eat cause can't stretch my mouth," she writes.

According to the NHS, sunbeds, like the ones Mags used, "give out the same type of harmful radiation as sunlight" but may be even more harmful, depending on factors like frequency, your age and skin type.

"I'm sharing this to try and raise awareness to sun damage and using high factor sun lotion," she said on her Facebook post.

You can follow Mags' journey here.

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