Since the pandemic began, a lot of us have turned to TikTok to keep us entertained in lockdown and one way we’ve kept busy is watching beauty influencers, or ‘skinfluencers’ who use the site to share their beauty hacks. With searches for ‘TikTok skincare’ soaring, it’s fair to say the ‘skinfluencers’ are getting a lot of attention.

Yet should we be trying out the techniques they’re showing us? We ask health practitioner and skin specialist Tammy Richards from PureOptical to give her take on the most popular TikTok skincare trends – the ones to try and the ones to avoid.

Homemade face treatments

Making your own skincare can be a quick and easy way to ensure you’re using natural products on your face, which makes it very popular on TikTok. Homemade face masks, made with natural yogurt or honey, can be beneficial to your skin as their natural healing properties can soothe skin ailments.

However, another popular TikTok treatment is making your own face scrubs.

“Although exfoliating is an important part of a skincare routine, it’s not a great idea to use so-called natural exfoliants to do the job,” says Tammy, “for example, the viral TikToks of using coffee grounds as a face scrub is actually quite bad for your skin, as it’s abrasive and harsh on your skin, especially if your skin is particularly sensitive.” As long as your skin isn’t sensitive, Tammy suggests using chemical exfoliators such as AHAs and BHAs which can be found in high street pharmacies.

‘Slugging’

Slugging is a K-Beauty trend which, although it has recently become popular on TikTok, has been around for quite a while. “Slugging means coating your skin in a thick layer of petroleum-based products before bed, which then acts as a means of preventing water loss from your skin” Tammy explains. Many claim that they wake up with softer skin and that slugging can even clear their breakouts, however, this isn’t the case for everyone.

“Like most skincare, some things will work better for some than others, and although slugging isn’t necessarily dangerous, it still shouldn’t be treated lightly. While layering up petroleum-based products can help with dry patches of skin, using it on already oily skin will not only make your skin seem even shinier, but it could lead to redness and enlarged pores.”

Dermaplaning

A popular and quite satisfying trend on TikTok is watching beauty influencers shave their face, otherwise known as dermaplaning. Dermaplaning is a cosmetic procedure that removes the top layers on skin, with the aim being to make the skin’s surface look smooth.

“It’s completely up to individuals if they choose to try dermaplaning, and women should never feel pressured into doing so. If you do decide to give it a go, then I would advise against doing it at home, to avoid potentially damaging your skin.”

Although it is completely up to the individuals whether they want to try it out, Tammy completely advises against dermaplaning if you have any skin conditions, such as acne or rosacea, as this can further irritate the complexion, and trigger flare-ups. Another potential issue that comes from dermaplaning is that once the hair starts to grow back, it can appear rougher and coarser, meaning you may need to shave frequently if you would prefer your skin to remain hair-free.

Take a look at our ideas for keeping your beauty routine nice and simple