A HAIRDRESSER has told how his quest to get the perfect tan almost killed him.

Garri Bailey, 31, from Westcliff, had to be rushed to hospital after injecting himself with a chemical designed to darken his skin.

However, within an hour of the injection he was fighting for survival.

Speaking to the Echo, he recalled: “I got these flu–like symptoms which just got worse and worse.

“A client took me home and then a friend, who is a paramedic, came out to me and told me to go straight to hospital.

“There they gave me an injection which reversed the effect of the drug. I had a raging temperature and the doctors told me I was lucky because I had only injected a small amount. They said I could have died if I had taken a larger dose.”

Garri, who owns the the Garri Bailey salon in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, injected himself with the chemical which prompts the body to produce more melatonin, which gives the skin a more tanned appearance.

He saw the treatment as an ideal alternative to being sprayed or using cream, but says it is not worth the risk.

He added: “It freaks me out to hear that people still take this sort of thing. I go to the gym and have a healthy body but I couldn’t handle it. If a young girl or elderly person took it it could have a terrible effect.

“I have an elderly client who does modelling and she was going to use it so I told her there was no way she would survive if she did.”

Mr Bailey said a constant desire to look good was fuelling the trade in such products.

He said: “It is just vanity. There will always be people who use this stuff or Botox or sunbeds but they should know about the dangers. I just mix a bit of tanning cream with mousturiser now. I just want to be healthy.”

Mr Bailey’s ordeal happened in 2009, but he spoke out this week on the BBC’s Inside Out programme.

He wants to warn others about the dangers of using injectable tanning products.