Scrolling through TikTok, it’s easy to come across tons of skincare hacks that will supposedly transform your skin. While some of those hacks, like using Vaseline for slugging can really benefit the skin, others should probably be avoided at all costs.
Like, take sunscreen contouring. This “hack” involves placing your sunscreen on only some parts of your face to get some strategically placed tans that look like you’ve contoured. But when you get down to it this hack really is just allowing the sun to damage your skin for a contoured look (which dermatologists have warned against for good reason).
With new hacks popping up pretty frequently it’s hard to filter out the legit hacks and the so-called hacks that don’t really do much for your skin or end up negatively affecting the skin.
So, we checked out some popular TikTok skin hacks and found some that actually do help:
🥒Icing the face with a frozen cucumber
This hack is pretty self-explanatory. You just cut a cucumber in half, freeze it, then gently pass it over the skin for a few minutes.
Icing the face with a frozen cucumber provides the temporary benefits of reducing redness and inflammation and can help with the look of puffy eyes. And if you deal with acne, it can help bring some cooling relief to the skin.
But, it is also important to note that these benefits for the most part are temporary so if you’re looking for long term, long-lasting skin benefits you’ll have to consult a dermatologist when it comes to skin irritation and inflammation.
🐌Slugging with Vaseline
While this is not a completely new trend, slugging is something worth trying if your skin needs it. Slugging refers to the act of applying a layer of an occlusive to the skin, like Vaseline, and leaving it on the skin overnight.
However, it may not be suitable for just any skin type. Slugging is especially helpful for dry, flaky skin because of the moisturizing benefits. But if you’re going through some rough breakouts you may want to hold off on the slugging.
If you want to try this yourself, all you have to do is apply a pea-sized amount of Vaseline, or another occlusive, to clean, dry skin. It’s also recommended to avoid putting strong actives, like Retinoids, onto the skin before slugging.
🍚Using rice water on the skin
Rice water has been a pretty popular hack to use for both the skin and the hair. This hack involves soaking some rice in water and using that water to cleanse the face or even spray it on hair.
Rice has numerous benefits like soothing the skin, evening skin tone, and can help the skin barrier. Plus it’s gentle enough for all skin types to use.
So if you want to try out this hack you can rinse the rice, soak it in water for about 30 minutes, strain the water then refrigerate it and use as desired. You can use it to wash the skin in the morning or even use it as a toner.
🩹Hydrocolloid bandages for acne
By now you may have seen some TikToks here and there of people using those huge hydrocolloid bandages as patches on acne.
Hydrocolloid is a great material to use on pimples since it helps cover the spot to protect from external irritants, curbs finger-picking, and absorbs the excess pus and oil from a pimple. So, after a few hours of using it you can see the gunk on the bandage and the pimple becomes flatter.
But, the conventional hydrocolloid bandages are probably not the most convenient to use day-to-day. For one, they are very thick and without smooth edges it can be tough for them to stay on the skin especially if you leave it on overnight. And, the yellowish/beige color of the bandage can make it unappealing if you’re looking for some discreet coverage.
Our blemish patches also utilize the hydrocolloid material but come in convenient little circle shapes to best target the pimple. Plus our collection includes some beneficial ingredients infused into the material like Salicylic Acid and Tea Tree Oil to help with everything from exfoliating to soothing.
🫖Tea bags for dark circles and puffiness
While we all know how healthy and beneficial drinking tea is, the tea bag itself can also provide some great benefits for the skin, specifically for the under eyes.
The caffeine in Green Tea can help reduce the look of puffiness and helps brighten the under eye area if you have dark circles. And they also provide some antioxidant benefits to the skin.
If you want to try out this hack it's recommended to steep the tea bags in water, squeeze out the excess water, let it chill in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes (don’t apply them hot!), and then place them on the eyes for 15 to 30 minutes.
Keep in mind…
There are lots of DIY skincare hacks on TikTok especially when it comes to making masks out of some of the foods or ingredients you can find in your fridge, but not all of them are safe. Like using coffee grounds as a facial scrub. The coffee grounds can be way too harsh on the skin and may just end up causing irritation.
So, before trying out the latest hack, always do your own research beforehand.
