Written by: April Yu
With 4.9 billion views worldwide, #SkinTok has grown from just another TikTok hashtag to a booming business. Dermatologists, makeup artists, and young adults dabbling in skincare recommend thousands of products every day: sunscreen, at-home acne remedies, overseas concoctions, and items ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars. Dozens of companies have found sales soaring the moment their product goes TikTok famous. With the community still rapidly growing, SkinTok is unstoppable.
Yet with the ability to film a fifteen-second video from anywhere in the globe comes the ability to misinform. So, which at-home skincare hacks will leave you glowing, and which ones may leave your face and wallet in the red?
Let’s start with some skincare YAYS!
1. Ice Rolling
With the ability to grab a beautiful ice roller or chilled jade roller for $10-$20 online, people have flocked to TikTok to share their experiences with it. The professional response to this has been a resounding yes! Ice rolling has a multitude of benefits, as it can help with soothing inflammation, depuffing, mediating headaches, improving lymphatic drainage, and absorbing skincare products. Rolling this chilled tool over your skin in the morning can reduce puffing caused by fluid retention overnight.
The science behind this is that the cool temperature of ice rollers, plus the pressure applied on the face, dilates blood vessels and increases circulation. In turn, swelling is reduced and allows the skin to glow like a baby’s!
A word of caution: a store-bought ice roller that is stored hygienically after use causes the best results. Makeshift rollers or ice in a bag can lead to ice burn, and bacteria can build on unstored rollers.
2. Facial Cleansing Brushes
This tool may look like a miniature hairdryer, but it’s actually a wonderful remedy for acne-prone or oily skin. Made of silicone or bristle, facial cleansing brushes can penetrate pores and clean skin much better than simply your hands.
There are still cautionary warnings that accompany this, though—cleaning the brushes after use is very important, especially considering bristle brushes are more likely to harbor bacteria than silicone ones. Also, since facial cleansing brushes allow dead skin cells to exfoliate quicker, they should only be used every other day or more sparingly if you have sensitive skin.
3. Peeling Solutions
In particular, Deciem’s The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution: after being championed by TikTok’s expansive teen community, The Ordinary saw sales of the solution skyrocket by a stupefying 426%. If used correctly—by rubbing the product into your skin no more than twice a week and avoiding simultaneous exfoliants—this mask can offer a healthy, radiant glow and reduction of acne and acne scarring.
Using the peeling solution too often can cause red patches and other unsightly effects. Exfoliating without any SPF is also enabling the sun to damage your skin more potently. Always stay on the safe side when it comes to skincare!
But not every at-home product on TikTok should be mainstream…here are some skin-hack NAYS.
1. Hyaluron Pens
The popularity of lip filler makes the desire for plumper lips clear. Hyaluron pens’ main claim to fame? They are similar to lip filler injections in effect but needle-free. This device uses extremely pressurized, high-speed air to administer a non-medical grade hyaluronic acid into the skin, which eventually spreads beneath the surface of the lips.
However, most users at home aren’t expert dermatologists. Since the drug is delivered through pressurized air, it is difficult to control the dosage and location of insertion. Users can easily send too much product into the incorrect area of their lip, potentially causing permanent skin necrosis, bruising, swelling, blocked blood vessels, lumpiness, and other severe problems. Constant neglect of cleaning the treatment area may also cause infection; when swapping the tool, diseases like COVID, herpes, HIV, and hepatitis may be transmitted.
DIY Hyaluron pens are not regulated or FDA-approved; banned in Canada and all European countries, both the FDA and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association have warned people against these new, unsafe devices.
2. Microdermabrasion/microneedling.
Microdermabrasion involves a minimally abrasive instrument that removes and exfoliates the skin’s outer layer. Although the #microdermabrasion tag boasts 260.5 million views on TikTok alone, this at-home method can actually exfoliate your skin to the point of bleeding. In some cases, permanent hyperpigmentation can occur.
Microneedling involves a small device full of tiny needles, which punctures and stimulates the skin to produce collagen. Collagen is a helpful protein that aids in skin elasticity, or stretchiness, and makes up ¾ of the skin. While this device can be operated smoothly in a plastic surgeon’s office, DIYing this one may be dangerous. Microneedling without a professional can cause scarring if the needles penetrate too deeply. Since at-home equipment is unlikely to be able to sterilize reusable microneedles well enough, bacterial skin infections like cellulitis can blemish the skin.
Online skincare hacks can be an immense joy to watch and try, especially if they’re cheap and available in the comfort of your home. Just make sure you’re doing your research before you put anything to the test, so you can safely look happy, healthy, and glowy!
References:
Image Source: Freepik
Buontempo, Fabiana. “These Skincare and Beauty Hacks Are All Over TikTok — We Asked a Dermatologist Which Ones Are Actually Great (or Terrible) for Your Skin.” BuzzFeed, 14 Dec. 2021, www.buzzfeed.com/fabianabuontempo/tiktok-skincare-trends-debunked.
“The Dangers of Hyaluron Pen Lip Fillers.” Aesthetic & Dermatology Center, 2 Apr. 2021, https://aestheticdermatologymd.com/hyaluron-pen/.
Karin, Laura. “TikTok Is Changing The Way We Buy Beauty.” ELLE, 13 Apr. 2021, www.elle.com/uk/beauty/a36034169/tiktok-changing-the-way-we-buy-beauty.
Montgomery, Mimi. “TikTok’s Beauty Videos Are Wildly Popular—but Some May Be Dangerous - Washingtonian.” Washingtonian - The Website That Washington Lives By., 8 Apr. 2022,
www.washingtonian.com/2022/04/13/tiktoks-beauty-videos-are-wildly-popular-but-some-may-b e-dangerous.
Singer, Jenny. “The Ordinary Peeling Solution Review: Why It’s Worth It.” Glamour, 2 Apr. 2021, www.glamour.com/story/the-ordinary-peeling-solution-aha-bha-review.
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