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Over the past 2 years, we have all seen the rise of TikTok. With the app consistently outperforming every other social media platform and now with 1 billion users globally, it’s fair to say TikTok has huge power over us.
Skincare brands such as Glow Recipe and Paula’s Choice have been catapulted onto the Gen Z radar with viral videos. In the case of Glow recipe, the frenzy started after TikTokker Mikayla Nogueira featured a video where she followed, step by step, suggestions laid out by user @Glamzillaxo in a previous post on how to get a natural glow (as well as an excellent base for face makeup). "I want that — she has the most incredible skin," Nogueira says of Glamzillaxo. "I’m gonna use exactly what she used and see if I can achieve that level of awesomeness.”
The brand later revealed that they saw more than a 600% spike in daily sales after the video, and the site's purchases were higher than those generated during Black Friday. Wow, that’s pretty impressive.
However, the problem with trends (in TikTok skincare, or anywhere else) is that they will only stay ‘in’ until the next trend comes out. And while they might seem great at the time, some of the viral TikTok trends have contained slightly whacky ingredients that we really wouldn’t recommend you take into 2022. So, here goes…
TikTok Beauty Ingredients to Leave in 2021
Propylene Glycol
Propylene Glycol is a solvent used in beauty bottles to absorb water or to maintain moisture in a product. Basically, it’s a wetting agent present in nearly all skincare, pet food, anti-freeze and industrial brake fluid. It’s a potential skin and eye irritant, and you can make skincare without it, so we see no need to put it in our bottles.
Propylene Glycol comes in a lot of rose water sprays that have been particularly popular this year. While rosewater sprays can be excellent for the skin and super hydrating - make sure to check the ingredients and that it is pure rose water.
Phthalates
Phthalates chemicals are used to increase the flexibility and strength of plastics and are not often listed among the ingredients on products. Usually, they’re found in many nail products, gels, nail varnishes and hair relaxant products. In skin care, you would most often find them in fragrance and listed under the term “parfum". Brands can sneakily hide these ingredients and call them “parfum” while the general public will be none the wiser. Phthalates can stay in 2021, and nobody will miss them.
Synthetic Fragrances
Anything synthetic should always raise a red flag. These are made up of hundreds to thousands of different ingredients not listed on the label, so you are never sure what you are being exposed to. Synthetic fragrances are common in cosmetic and skincare products, including those viral TikTok skincare products. You should always look for fragrances that are natural and are usually heavily marketed by the brand - no searching on the back of labels here!
Gua Sha
If you have been on the skincare side of TikTok Beauty in 2021, you probably saw the gua sha making its rounds with influencers. Gua sha is a traditional Chinese healing method in which a trained professional uses a smooth-edged tool to stroke your skin while they press on it. However, on TikTok, it started to become a “quick fix for contouring” with people using the rose quartz device to carve out their cheekbones and jawline. The problem happens when people start purchasing gua sha’s from inauthentic shops/sellers.
There is nothing wrong per se with this TikTok beauty trend, but if you are wanting to try it out, you should be finding genuine Korean Beauty brands to purchase from. Plus, whatever you do, make sure you wash it after every use - you wouldn’t use the same flannel over and over again, would you?
TikTok Skincare Must-Haves for 2022
Refillable Skincare
While this may not be an ingredient, this is a trend that we predict will be coming in thick and fast. Large brands are already starting to implement an eco-friendlier approach to skincare, with the likes of Charlotte Tilbury re-releasing their cult favourite “magic cream” with a refillable concept. Plus, why would you not want to do your part in reducing single-use plastic?
Hyaluronic Acid
It’s a classic TikTok beauty staple and by no means new to the skincare market. But unless you are a skincare fanatic pre-2019, then it probably isn’t an ingredient you came across in your daily routine. Fast-forward to December 2021, and everyone is talking about the benefits it can have on rejuvenating the skin, helping to prevent fine lines and not to mention giving your skin some real hydration. We predict the demand for hyaluronic acid within skincare is only going to grow more and more with the 2022 TikTok trend of dewy skin being all the rage.
Anti-Stress over Anti-Age
Stress causes cortisol to surge in your body and this harms the skin. It can increase oil production worsening oily, combination skins but also degrade collagen worsening anti-ageing. Not to mention what it is doing to the rest of your body!
Skincare giant, L’Oreal conducted a recent report where 67% of people surveyed said that getting enough sleep was important to them, while 57% said they are now drinking plenty of water and 56% are focussed more on relaxation. Here at Proverb, these statistics aren’t new. Since the first lockdown, the general public has started to take into consideration their lifestyle, focusing more on a work-life balance and truly wanting to get out what they put into their life, body and mindset.
Our 2022 TikTok beauty prediction is that we will see a lot more skincare aimed at de-stressing the skin, with calming ingredients such as aloe, green tea, calendula, chamomile rose and lavender starting to be used more widely across beauty and skincare routines.
What TikTok beauty trends have you come across in 2021 that made you say ‘We are going to regret ever doing this in a year’s time’? Tag us @proverbskin in the video comments - we can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
