Trend(y): Viral Social Media Beauty Trends

In the new age of social media and the social media generation, beauty fanatics around the world are currently going viral for their experimental beauty concepts. From creating their own facial scrubs, hairspray, or lip plumper at home to using other commonly used hygiene products such as Vaseline, these self-recognized beauty gurus are spreading an array of safe beauty hacks, but also harmful products and application techniques. Be Aware! 

Trying Something New on Your Skin?

Our skin, hair, face, lips, eyebrows, and more are all key factors in our beauty glow. Our typical advice when trying anything new is to first recognize any sensitivities, allergic reactions, and more that may cause any irritation, redness, or inflammation. You may say, “how am I supposed to know this?” Well, just like before trying any new food or new medications, we must first identify if its safe for us to ingest or use. This comes with experience, at the very least, and while pushing the boundaries and experimenting may be fun, doing so with little to no experience or education/knowledge will get you in trouble. Typically, most products sold over the counter in drug stores or beauty supplies must meet a certain degree of regulation to be considered safe to use. However, we have found that because each person is so unique in the beauty industry with so many different sensitivities, allergies, and preferences, it is nearly impossible to create a product that will be perfect for everybody. Companies and brands market products in the beauty industry for certain skin types, hair types, etc., which certainly helps us narrow down the multitude of options that we have, but we are ultimately responsible for ensuring the product will best fit us! Our second piece of advice would be to use the common sense rule. If something does not seem right, seek professional advice from a hair dresser, esthetician, etc. before you try something new! This may save you a ton of stress and anxiety if things unfortunately go wrong. 

With our experience, here are 3 social media beauty trends that you should NOT try: 

#1 Covering your face with Vaseline

Vaseline is an oil-based petroleum jelly. In the video shown, Vaseline is intended to being used as a moisturizing agent for the skin, but there are a few things to be cautious of. First, applying any petroleum jelly on the face, not just Vaseline, can almost immediately cause a reaction such as a breakout. Petroleum jelly is thick in texture and will immediately leave a coating on the skin’s surface, possibly clogging pores and sealing in any dirt, oil, etc. In addition, those with naturally oily skin will accentuate the greasy and oily feeling on the skin (this will drive those with oily skin crazy!)

#2 Sunscreen “Contouring”

Not a good idea. Sunscreen is intended to protect skin from harmful rays. Not applying sunscreen or limiting sunscreen coverage to an area of the skin will only contribute to further cell damage in that area. This may result in an unpleasant look on the face highlighted by a bright pink or red outline (I think we all know what sunburns look like). We are strong supporters of getting customers to increase their usage of sunscreen through the use of SPF moisturizers, make-up, etc., especially on the face and neck area, so this trend gets a “Definitely Do Not Try” rating. 

#3 Coffee Face Scrubs

Of all the trends that we have seen out there, coffee face scrubs actually do have validity in the industry. We do not sell any coffee face scrubs at the moment, but we do know they are offered on the market. Now, we would not recommend creating a DIY coffee face scrub yourself, primarily for 2 reasons. First, sanitation is crucial and an overlooked aspect by consumers. Is the coffee stored properly? Is everything clean and sanitized before use? i.e. coffee grinders, mixing bowl, stirring spoon. In addition, please be aware that coffee beans need to be broken down into an extremely fine texture. If the texture is too coarse and rough, you risk damaging the skin.