3 days ago
Woman Goes for Pedicure—Forgets One Small Detail That Ruins It: 'Help'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
During a pedicure, some technicians go the extra mile by exfoliating not just the feet, but the legs too. However, one pedicurist was recently caught on camera removing more than just dead skin.
The footage quickly went viral, amassing 1.4 million views. It shows Megan Shumate (@megshum)'s legs and a male nail technician rubbing her calves—which are notably a different shade than above her knee—with a scrub.
"When I noticed my legs were getting lighter, I was so confused but then remembered I had fake tan on," she told Newsweek.
"I just moved to Florida and forgot how pale I was under the fake tan, so that was my sign to hit the beach as soon as possible."
The 26-year-old, who works as a senior analyst, added text explaining what happened to the video, followed by "help."
She notes that the man didn't acknowledge it, despite many users commenting on how they believe he is feeling.
One user wrote: "He's probably freaking out inside," and another chimed in: "I KNOW he's panicking."
Shumate, who lives in Tampa, added that she was getting pampered ahead of a party.
"Luckily it was themed, and I was wearing cowgirl boots so it covered my extremely pale calves!" she said.
She jokes in the caption: "My legs are literally reflecting against the Florida sun," earning 63,000 likes.
"You live in Florida and couldn't tan regularly?" asked one user.
But using tanning products isn't unusual, in fact, many people opt against sunbathing to prevent their skin cancer risk.
In 2015, a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that 17.7 percent of women aged 18–49 reported using sunless tanning products. Specifically, 15.3 percent used lotion tanning, 6.8 percent used spray tanning, and 23.7 percent of sunless tanners also engaged in indoor tanning.
Newsweek previously spoke to Dr. Beth Goldstein, a board-certified dermatologist at the Central Dermatology Center in North Carolina, about sunless tanning.
Fake tan lotions typically contain an ingredient called dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a color additive that darkens the skin by reacting with amino acids in the skin's surface.
It is FDA-approved and typically deemed "safer," Goldstein told Newsweek.
She said: "There are some safety considerations around DHA, particularly in people with an altered skin barrier, such as the creation of oxidative damage."
But given that there is little to no penetration beyond the top layer of the skin with these lotions, "this is likely not to cause any serious concerns with normal skin," she added.
