Skincare Expert Breaks Down The Big TikTok Trend That You Should Avoid

In recent years, TikTok has become both a treasure trove and a cesspool of beauty trends. Makeup, haircare, fashion, and skincare gurus churn out endless tips, tricks, and rules for the masses in clips that top out at three minutes per piece. If you're a regular around the skincare app's skincare community, you've likely notice a trend toward elaborate, lengthy, and often expensive skincare routines. Maybe you've even pieced one together for yourself.

It can be easy to get carried away by the moment when you're watching a perfect-skinned influencer spell out exactly how you can make your skin look just like hers. Is it really possible, though, for something as personalized as a skincare routine to be reduced to a generalized TikTok video? Are long, multi-step skincare routines even necessary for the average person? Esthetician and makeup artist Sonia Roselli helped us break down the truth of the matter. 

When it comes to skincare, less really is more in most cases. "Over the years, I've seen the trend of broken skin barriers become more and more prevalent, particularly since 2010 when YouTube tutorials started becoming popular," Sonia Roselli shares. "People are doing too much with their skincare routines, all in the name of clicks and views. It's an epidemic, and it's only getting worse."

The skin barrier is the outer layer of skin cells that protects the blood vessels, nerves, collagen, and elastin below. When the barrier is broken or damaged by too much cleansing or exfoliation, it allows irritants into the skin while also allowing moisture out. As a result, the skin will appear dry and dull, as well as red or inflamed. Fortunately, your skin barrier can be repaired by taking a break from over-the-top skincare routines and sticking with a routine of minimal products recommended by your skincare professional instead. 

These over-the-top routines come from online beauty communities, and there's no way to know or verify the qualifications of the creators giving the advice. "While it's great that more and more people are interested in taking care of their skin, the downside is that a lot of the advice being doled out on these platforms isn't always accurate or appropriate," she explains.

"One of the biggest problems is that many of the people giving out skincare advice on TikTok aren't actually qualified to do so," she continues. "They may be influencers or beauty enthusiasts, but they don't have the training or expertise to give proper skincare advice. As a result, people are often following routines that are doing more harm than good."

It takes about 12 years of education to become a dermatologist and hundreds of hours of specialized study to earn an esthetician certification. You most likely wouldn't go to a stranger with no official qualifications to solve your skin problems in person. It's a good bet to treat TikTok creators offering online skincare advice with the same level of discernment. 

Many of the people who turn to the internet in search of a way to improve the quality of their skin are those who suffer from skin conditions. The same challenges that make these sufferers more likely to seek out skincare advice make them less likely to see positive results from generalized tips. "If you're prone to skin challenges like acne or rosacea, it's especially important to work with a board-certified dermatologist," Sonia Roselli elaborates. "A dermatologist can give you a proper diagnosis and recommend the right treatments for your skin. Taking advice from TikTok, or any social media for that matter, may set your skin back for months."

While it's easy to sympathize with a person who may feel desperate to resolve their skin problems, it's also difficult to overstate how important it is to involve a dermatologist in these cases. A medical professional, in addition to offering an official diagnosis, can give you access to treatments that require a prescription to obtain so that you don't fall into over-the-top routines that may cause more harm than good.