Shunburn

The face of Shunburn

Following in the footsteps of superstars Leona Lewis, Mark Ronson and Natasha Bedingfield, this year’s Shunburn ambassador is not a pop sensation or TV star but a 19-year-old music student from Newcastle University. Her name is Annabel Banks and this is her story…

Annabel’s story

“When I was 16 I had a mole on my neck that I was really worried and self-conscious about. I would try to hide it with my hair and convinced myself that I didn’t need to get it checked out by a doctor.

Then I went to a talk at my school done by Nigel – one of Teenage Cancer Trust’s education team. He came to chat to us about teenage cancer, prevention and healthy living. He talked about the Shunburn campaign and how important it is to look after your skin in the sun and get any moles you’re worried about checked out by your doctor.

Nigel’s talk inspired me to get my mole looked at. My doctor told me that it wasn’t yet cancerous but advised me to have it removed as it had the potential to become dangerous.

From that moment on I started being much more careful about looking after my skin, especially in the sun, because I now know that getting burnt is the most common cause of skin cancer. I also kept in touch with Teenage Cancer Trust to help them spread the message as much as I could.

Then, earlier this year, I got a call asking if I’d be interested in taking over from Leona Lewis and starring in Teenage Cancer Trust and Superdrug’s summer sun safety campaign! Of course I agreed, and between my exams, headed down to London to a top photo studio for the full supermodel treatment!

I had my own professional hair and make up team, a stylist who works with big designers and a top model mentor Zoe Hobbs (fiancée of Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole!) Plus the photographer was none other than ex-supermodel and Britain’s Next Top Model judge Huggy Ragnarsson who was really lovely and made me feel as relaxed as I could!

As well as being seen this summer in every Superdrug store, I’ve also been interviewed for August’s DARE magazine which will have loads more information about the campaign.

The shoot was an amazing experience and hopefully the pictures will make more people think twice before taking any chances in the sun. They could even save lives!”

Watch a video of the Shunburn photoshoot.

If you have a story to tell about sun burn or skin cancer or you think you’ve got what it takes to be the face of Shunburn next year let us know email hello@shunburn.co.uk

Find out more about Teenage Cancer Trust’s education team and how you can get them to your school or college.