Bronzed Hannah Norman is so obsessed with her perma-tan she splashes out £1,000 a month on sunbed sessions – using FOUR different salons a day.
The 19-year-old – teased for being a real-life Oompa Lumpa – has to visit various salons because the maximum time she allowed in each one is 15 minutes.
After at least 40 minutes frazzling her skin she then returns to her bedroom to apply fake tan to further deepen her bronzed tone.
And she stands out like a sore thumb next to best friend Elizabeth Sullivan – a self-styled GOTH who prides herself on being pale.
Elizabeth, 19, even spreads on a special white cream to ensure she is the complete opposite of her best mate.
Hannah, from Cwmbran, South Wales, said: “Elizabeth is quite gothic really, we are the absolute opposite ends of the scale.
“I think it’s a bit of a shock to people when we go out because we are so different.
“She’s used to it now, when I’m sat there adding fake tan she has this special cream from the internet to make sure she is really pale.
“I’ve tried so many times to get her to put fake tan on but she won’t have it!”
Single Hannah first started building up her tan when she was just 14, despite the fact the legal age for using the sunbeds is 18.
She would go along to salons with older sister Claire, and claims to have never been asked for ID.
Although her parents caught her sneaking out of the house to visit the booths she continued to go, and by the age of 16 was hooked on looking as brown as she could.
She applies fake tan as soon as she wakes up and visits tanning shops before and after work so she can cram in 40 minutes per day under the UV bulbs.
“I try and go to about three or four places a day for 40 minutes so I can maximise my tanning chances,” she said.
“Everyone in the shops know me, they charge around #1 a minute but I get discounted mate’s rates.
“There is a hairdressers not too far from my house start asking me where I am when I don’t go in for some reason.
“I put fake tan on as soon as I wake up, then if I can I go for one session on a sunbed, then when I’m at work I use my breaks to go for more.”
The image-conscious teen is so hooked on sunbeds she even gets anxious and starts to feel down if she misses just one session.
“If I see somebody in the street who’s darker than me I get jealous and envy them and wish I looked like that,” she added.
“It makes me feel happier when I’m darker, I feel better in myself. It is how I like to look. It’s my thing.
“People compliment me all the time when I have a tan, they tell me I have a nice glow.
“If I don’t go on sunbeds I start to feel down and anxious.”
Hannah, who works in jewellery sales, tried to give up the habit two years ago, but after just a week began to become depressed at her pale skin.
“I tried to give up completely but it just couldn’t,” she added.
“I could see other people with their tans and I just thought being pale is not me. Being tanned is just part of me.”
Her habit has become so bad she has even taken on a part-time job at a clothes shop to help afford the sessions.
Hannah, who lives at home with her parents Bryn and Deb, forks out #1,000 of her #1,500 monthly pay check to pay for the obsession.
She said: “I do spend around #1,000 a month on it all, I still live at home and I give my mum about #200 a month in rent.
“It doesn’t leave much to live on, I don’t have much money to go out and buy new clothes, but it’s worth it to have a tan.”
And Hannah is not bothered by the negatives that come with her constant tanning, as well as suffering dry, peeling skin, she is often called names.
“It doesn’t bother me when people say things to me, I let it go over my head,” she added.
“People call me ‘oompa loompa’ and shout out, ‘you’ve been Tangoed!’ but I love the way I look.
“Also, it they are taking about me then they are leaving someone else alone, which is always a positive.
“My skin gets really dry, especially on my chest and neck, unless I moisturise all the time. It can ache if I don’t do something about it.
“I always have moisturiser with me. I use it as much as I can, there is a pot in every bag.”
