An American traveler has issued a grim warning about the brutal nature of the Australian sun.
Taylor Nunezfrom California, is visiting Sydney for the first time and spent three hours on the beach in the sun, applying only sunscreen to her face.
The 21-year-old told FEMAIL she did not expect the sun to be so bright and that the UV level was 12 on January 29.
“I’m in Sydney, Australia for the first time and didn’t realize the ozone layer doesn’t exist here,” she said in a now-viral TikTok video.
As a result, the brunette beauty was left with terrible sunburn on her legs and arms, which began to peel.
Taylor Nunez, from California, (left) suffered severe sunburn on her hands and arms after visiting Sydney for the first time. The 21-year-old was unaware of the hole in the ozone layer that Australia has (sunburn pictured right)
On January 29, the brunette beauty had been lying on the beach in the sun for three hours
Taylor said she had only applied sunscreen to her face – as she does daily – and the UV levels were at eight earlier in the day.
However, her skin fell victim to the fierce Australian sun and almost a week later she shared what the sunburn looked like in a TikTok video.
‘How did this happen? I think I added about 15 years of aging to my legs because of this,” she said in the clip.
‘My arm isn’t much better either, or my chest, or the back of my legs, it’s all very bad.
“If you have any tips besides aloe, I would really appreciate it because I need all the help I can get.”
“I’m in Sydney, Australia for the first time and didn’t realize the ozone layer doesn’t exist here,” she said in a now-viral TikTok video
The video has since been viewed a whopping 6.3 million times and the burns left others in disbelief.
‘Oh my god, I’ve never seen such a bad burn and I’m Australian!’ one person commented.
“That looks so painful,” said another, with a third adding: “Girl the sun here is no joke, SPF always,”
Now Taylor is on a mission to encourage other travelers to wear SPF 50+ when they’re Down Under.
“If you visit Australia, you should buy Australian sunscreen and be much more careful with the sun,” Taylor told FEMAIL.
‘The hole in the ozone layer makes UV rays much stronger, which my skin is not used to, even from the California sun.’
Cancer Council recommends applying sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and then reapplying every two hours.
When UV levels are three or higher, most Australians get enough vitamin D with just a few minutes of sun exposure while doing daily tasks such as walking to the local shops.
Because sunscreen can be easily rubbed off and lost through perspiration, you should also reapply it after swimming, sweating, or towel drying.
Too much sun exposure can increase your chance of developing life-threatening skin cancer.