It’s no surprise that many of these so-called ‘hacks’ have gone viral. Not only do they have that shock factor, but they also claim to be cheaper, or just plain easier. Here are all the beauty hacks to avoid, and a few general beauty trends that are no longer trendy. Basically, all the things you SHOULDN’T do to yourself.
The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge
This item on our list is one of the most dangerous makeup hacks that were trending a few years ago. For those of you who are unaware of this terrible challenge, the concept is simple and stupid. Teenagers insert their lips into a glass cup and suck out the air, creating a suction, and hold the glass to their lips for a few seconds.
When they finally release the glass cup, their lips look much bigger, almost twice the size. Not only can this bruise your mouth area, but it's also risky and can cause serious damage if overdone.
Using Dishwashing Liquid on Your Face
At some point, reasonable people who used regular facewash decided that dishwashing liquid was the only rational way to clean their face. Sure, it makes sense on paper as dishwashing liquid can remove grease from pots and pans, but sometimes you shouldn't apply dishwashing logic to your own skin.
The skin on your face is sensitive, and it can't handle the type of stripping chemicals you put on your stainless steel pots.
Gorilla Glue as Hair Spray
You may be tempted to try out this Tik Tok trend, but we strongly recommend you don't! For those that don't know, Gorilla Glue is used for craft projects and furniture repair and is said to be the strongest adhesive there is.
One Tik Toker went viral for using it to style her hair and landed up in the emergency room. She has since recovered, but please do learn from her mistake.
Pimple Popping With Needles
The only thing worse than getting a pimple is trying to pop it with an unsterile needle and leave a scar. This is like begging for something to go wrong.
Your skin is probably the most vulnerable organ of your body, so why risk infecting it with a pin?
DIY Chemical Peels
While it's perfectly ok to get a chemical peel from a trusted aesthetician, it's definitely not ok to do it by yourself.
Even though we can nowadays find all sorts of facial peels online, experts strongly advise leaving these chemical treatments to qualified professionals.
Hairspray to Set Your Makeup
This has to be one of the most cringe-worthy trends yet, and we have no idea why anyone would think this is a good idea. Even though hairspray might seem like a promising product to keep your makeup in place all day, it's filled with harsh ingredients that will only irritate and clog up your pore.
Here's a tip, if you're really desperate for your makeup to set, it's best to stick to setting sprays meant for your face.
Waist Trainers
This trend involves wearing a corset bodice around your waist for hours at a time in hopes of achieving a slimmer waist. While it may sound too good to be true, there are potential health issues that can come with this.
What you're really doing with this trend is squeezing your organs together and reducing space for your lungs to breathe.
Coconut Oil for Your Face
Coconut oil is already such an ingenious and exciting product, but did you know that you could be making your skin way worse when used on your face?
By all means, use coconut oil to cook and bake with or to moisturize your body, but keep it away from your face!
Tape as an Eye Stencil
We've all seen this makeup pop up from time to time on our social media platforms, but what many of these beauty vloggers fail to mention is how sensitive the skin around your eyes is.
Also, when it comes to ripping tape off, it might leave your skin irritated, red, or even damaged.
Elmer's Glue?
We never thought we'd need to state this but glue should not be anywhere near your face or cosmetics!
Apparently, some people have been making face masks with Elmer's glue to make them more cohesive. While Elmer's glue might not be toxic, it will certainly clog your pores with unwanted ingredients that are definitely not meant to be on your face.
Using Sharpie for Eyeliner
There are plenty of new makeup hacks to get excited about but this is not one of them. Sharpies should never, ever, ever be anywhere near your eyes, or near your face for that matter.
Sharpies have a felt-tip that may contribute to a truly striking eyeliner, but the chemicals from the fragrance alone will make your eyes burn. On the other hand, cosmetic eyeliner is exclusively formulated for use around your eyes, so stick with that.
Covering Cold Sores With Nail Polish
We have some serious opinions about this trend that calls for covering cold sores with nail polish, which is an atrocity. This hack started because of the acetone.
Some vloggers have been seen dabbing nail polish onto their cold sores in an attempt to minimize them. While it might help, that doesn't mean it's a good idea. You can accidentally ingest it or have an allergic reaction.
Using Floss to Take Out Blackheads
As more people become obsessed with the appearance of their skin, more skincare tutorials have been appearing on the internet. One hack that we would be happy to see go is this one that's been showing people using dental floss to remove blackheads.
Not only is this ineffective but you're more likely to damage your skin by applying so much pressure with a very thin string of floss.
Coffee Spray Tanner
Using tanning products means you have to damage your skin, but that doesn't mean DIY options are better than the UV rays from the sun.
Spraying coffee all over your body is one way that people have been going about it, but is it really effective and safe? There are so many other options we recommend you use, like bronzer, body shimmer, or actual self-tanner.
Peanut Butter as Shaving Cream
We can’t stress this enough: Avoid peanut butter as a cosmetic product at all costs! Using it as shaving cream will only clog up your razor and leave a thick and sticky mess on your skin.
For shaving cream, you want to go with something light and airy, which is why shaving cream was invented!
Using Deodorant as a Primer
Antiperspirant deodorant keeps you from sweating too much, but not oil production so if you’re looking for an alternative product for your skin, it's best to try something more suitable.
Deodorants often have many chemicals and artificial ingredients that are meant for your underarms and not for the skin on your face.
Harsh Ingredients for Toner
The skin on your face has a delicate pH level that should remain balanced for optimal skin health. Unfortunately, there's the mistaken belief making people think they can will their skin into submission by overdoing it with harsh rubbing alcohols to remove its natural oils.
This will only aggravate your skin and cause it to produce even more oil to counteract the chemicals.
Making Your Own Charcoal Masks
Believe it or not, skincare companies spend months — if not years — creating skincare products that are not only safe but also effective when it comes to your skin.
This is why it's an awful idea to make your mask with ingredients like activated charcoal, which are considered trendy but can still cause some adverse side effects.
Using Hot Water for Your Skin
As much as we love a steaming hot shower, sticking your face under piping hot water is not a great idea.
The heat proves a little too harsh for your skin as it strips its protective moisture barrier, causing it to dry out and soon over-produce sebum oil.
Using Vaseline on Our Lashes
Don't believe the hacks that say putting vaseline on your lashes will help them to grow longer. While we know this brand of jelly can be a harmless lubricant, it's not meant for your eyes.
Putting vaseline over your lashes may cause you to accidentally get some in your eyes, making them irritated, sensitive, and can even hurt.
Applying Toothpaste to Your Pimples
Tik Tok and makeup tutorials prove to be a perfect storm when it comes to viral trends, especially dangerous ones. We'll admit we've tried this before but that doesn't mean it's good for you!
Toothpaste is chock full of irritating ingredients that can harm your skin like peppermint, peroxide, fragrances, and alcohol.
Vinegar as Toner
If you're "too clever" to buy toner for your skin, then you might as well skip the whole skincare routine because vinegar is not doing you any favors.
All kinds of vinegar are very acidic and will dehydrate your skin which can cause premature aging, and why create more problems down the line than is necessary?
Heating Your Eyelash Curler
Apparently using an eyelash curler isn't good enough anymore, we now have to heat it up with a hairdryer. While this hack has been around for a hot minute, it seems like it's not about to fade away anytime soon.
As we're all victims of physics, accidents are bound to happen and the last thing you want to do is burn your skin or rip off your eyelashes.
DIY Botox
This goes for ALL beauty treatments that should be done by a professional, only this time we're focusing on Botox. It would seem that Botox injections are now available online for people to use at home. This sounds insane, but as it turns out, people actually do this!
Yes, it may be cheaper but it's also risky, and we highly recommend you forgo doing this yourself and rather book an appointment with a licensed aesthetician.
DIY Body Scrub
We know, some ingredients like salt and sugar seem great when it comes to making your own body or facial scrubs, but because of its structure, coarse salt and sugar can actually create tiny micro-cuts in your skin's most out layer.
This can then open you up to sensitive skin and even rashes. If you have to make your own scrub at home, we recommend making one as gentle as possible.
Lemon and Baking Soda
Lemon and baking soda might be popular cleaning agents in many kitchens but if you're thinking of using lemon and baking soda to get rid of the dark spots under your arms, think again.
This supposed age-old beauty hack was never any good. Yes, lemon and baking soda will definitely lighten your underarms, but it comes at a price – as baking soda proves to be quite dangerous and this mixture can burn your skin.
Bleaching for Lighter Skin
This must be one of the harshest beauty trends out there whereby people recommend using bleach on your skin to try to lighten their tone. This unfortunate trend has been around for a long time, and somehow it's still around.
But bleaching your skin provides no health benefits and this is actually a dangerous hack due to the chemicals found in bleach, such as hydroquinone.
Wasabi for Spot Treatment
This condiment used for Japanese foods like sushi is actually Japanese horseradish made into a paste. While it pairs well with an avocado roll, it doesn't get much exposure beyond your sushi plate.
Until now, when the idea for this spot treatment first appeared when Instagrammer Farah Dhukai shared a video of her explaining this DIY hack. We don't know about you, but our first instinct when coming across something that burns in our mouth is definitely NOT to put it on our face.
Turmeric to Whiten Teeth
Turmeric is a great spice to add flavor and color to your dishes, but it's just as harsh as baking soda, which is probably why this kitchen spice is sometimes found in DIY cosmetics.
Unfortunately, abrasive ingredients like turmeric can cause more damage to the enamel of your teeth and slowly break down their protective layer which can lead to even more cavities. Yikes!
Using Beer on Your Hair
Many of these hacks contain everyday food and drinks that claim to have beneficial value for us beyond being digested. This is where beer comes in, which is said to plump up your locks.
This might work if the pH levels of beer were a good match for your scalp, but every beer is different so you'd have to try a few out to see if it actually works.
Using Crisco Oil as Lotion
There are a lot of times in this world when what we thought worked well really turned out to be worse than it claimed. So when it comes to cosmetic products, misguided hacks only bring about unnecessary suffering, like this one claiming that Crisco is good for your face.
Crisco is made of vegetable fats and can be extremely congesting to your pores and the thinner skin on your face. Better use a facial lotion instead and leave the Crisco in your kitchen.
Removing Your Own Moles
In search of answers to all our various problems, many people have attempted to forgo proper medical treatment and instead try to do it by themselves.
According to experts like dermatologists and doctors, amateur mole removal can cause serious scarring and botched skin. This is not how you want to go about getting a mole removed, especially if you want your skin to look better after and not worse.
Using Mayo in a DIY Face Mask
Myths prevail in the world of cosmetics, and it's about time some of them get busted before it comes back to clog up our pores, generate more oil, and bring about more acne.
Many DIY face masks will recommend you use mayonnaise in your recipe as it's incredibly moisturizing, but it's not the right kind of moisture for your face. Oil and fat can overdo it when it comes to the delicate pH balance of your skin, so keep mayo out of your skincare routine.
Plumping Spices
Eating spicy food will inevitably leave your lips looking inflamed and swollen, which is probably what someone was thinking before this hack became so viral that the Huffington Post wrote an article about it.
While yes, spices like cayenne pepper and cinnamon can cause your lips to look redder and possibly bigger, you could risk having adverse side effects.
DIY Peel-Off Masks
It sounds logical enough: make your own face mask with eggs or glue so that it will stick to your skin and extract unwanted blackheads, after all, there are tons of videos on Tik Tok and Instagram with this kind of content.
But what most people don't realize is that these DIY face masks are actually menacing to your skin and complexion.
Wearing High Heels
If someone feels more comfortable a few inches higher off the ground, we say more power to them (shoe preferences are about as much a matter of public concern as anything).
But that doesn't mean that wearing those extra-high high heels come without a price. For those who like to look a little taller, just know that wearing them can have detrimental effects on your feet, ankles, knees, spine, and back.
Waxing
Nowadays, men and women get everything waxed, even though some consider it fashionable, it can also be dangerous. First of all, waxing can be harsh on the skin and result in rashes, sensitivities, or ingrown hairs.
What's more, sometimes getting waxed can cause a skin infection which is far worse than the former and can have potentially serious repercussions.
Brazilian Blowouts
Real talk: luscious locks that look healthy and natural is pretty much all anyone wants right now, so it's no surprise that Brazilian blowouts are so popular.
But beware of all the chemicals in treatment, which can cause bad allergic reactions and even asthma. Instead of exposing yourself, we recommend you get yourself a decent hair mask or conditioner.
Diaper Rash Cream for Acne Treatment
Diaper rash cream may contain zinc oxide, which is said to be good for your skin, but it also contains other less beneficial ingredients like paraffin and beeswax.
The ingredients work as lubricants and waterproofing agents, making them less suitable for the skin on your face. Using this on your acne may worsen your condition and even clog up your skin.
Gel Manicures
Although gel manicures can look great and last much longer than regular nail polish, they can be rough on your nails. Gel manicures can weaken your nails and cause brittle, flaking nails.
There’s one final piece of good news: the UV light from gel manicures can also cause premature skin aging on the skin of your hands.
Hydrogen Peroxide to Whiten Your Teeth
Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a mild bleach to help whiten teeth but, it has to be used correctly. If not, it can cause sensitivity and even damage the enamel of your teeth.
Also, hydrogen peroxide can burn if used undiluted or applied for too long and too frequently. If you're desperately wanting to whiten your teeth, we suggest that you find one that has been tested and approved by your oral hygienist or dentist.
Cat Litter on Your Face
Something many people need to hear is that their beauty products don't need to be outlandish to be effective. We have to say this because there are those who have been using cat litter, (yes, you read that right) for their face.
This first become a thing when people realized that clay-based cat litter contains two ingredients — bentonite and silica — which are also found in skin-care products meant to retain moisture and absorb surface oils. But what they didn't realize is that cat litter also comes with other ominous ingredients you don't want anywhere near your face.
Making Your Own Sunscreen
If you’re unprepared for the summer and think you can make your own sunblock, first you should refresh your understanding of sunscreen. While you can make your own sunscreen by combining zinc oxide with natural oils and gels, it sure is risky and can be expensive to make it by yourself.
The bottom line before you throw caution to the wind is to consider how important your skin is to you.
Using Raw Potatoes on Your Skin
We are huge supporters when it comes to using natural ingredients, but for the uninitiated, raw potato should not be applied to your skin.
Simply put, there's no scientific evidence to prove that placing raw potatoes on your skin will clear up breakouts or relieve inflammatory conditions.
Using Oreos in Mascara
It’s bad enough when people waste food, but what's worse is when people try to repurpose delicious snacks into makeup.
It should go without saying that Oreo cookies may be safe to eat but that doesn't necessarily mean they are safe to apply around your eye.
Nail Polish Instead of Eyeliner
Using makeup hacks shouldn't be a dangerous proposition, no matter how well-intentioned that hack may be. Take this one, for example, all nail polish bottles clearly have warning signs that read "Keep away from eyes."
So why in the world did someone come up with this hack? We're not sure but we think it might have something to do with getting more exposure for being totally crazy.
Horse Shampoo
Apparently, we no longer want to use shampoo meant for human hair but instead want to use something made for horses. In case people haven't noticed, horses have incredibly dense and thick hair that traps a lot of dust and hay.
To keep their hair clean, horse shampoo contains high levels of silicone — way too much for humans.
Brown Sugar to Straighten Hair
This hack claims that if you mix a few spoonfuls of brown sugar with a cup of water and spray it on damp hair, it should air-dry straight.
But we're calling this totally bogus. Brown sugar would be better used as a texturizer, but definitely not as an ingredient for a straightening treatment.
Crayons as Eyeliner
When you use the same crayons to both draw pictures and your eyelids, you know you've done something wrong.
While it might be tempting to save money on cosmetics, the skin around your eyes is super delicate, so you don't want to risk harming it in any way.
Using Lemon to Lighten Freckles
Nowadays, freckles are a sign of uniqueness but a few years ago, people want to get rid of them for good. While we understand the logic behind that, we can't say we agree with this hack that uses lemon juice as a skin lightener.
The acidity in lemon juice can actually damage your epidermis — the outermost layer of your skin and potentially cause premature aging.
Using Milk of Magnesia Instead of Primer
If you prefer matte-looking skin, then your natural skin probably doesn't work for you, which is why primer was invented. Primer is spread over your face to create a smoothing effect that boosts makeup coverage and to 'prime' it for foundation — all while targeting oily skin.
Still, many have chosen to forgo quality primer in favor of an antacid, Milk of Magnesia, which has a lot of sulfate in it.
Raw Eggs Masks
Using raw eggs as a hack to tighten skin has been around for ages, but there's something else that's been around even longer — salmonella.
This bacteria that causes food poisoning can be present inside an egg as well as on the shell, so your best bet at avoiding infection is to keep raw eggs away from your face.
Mr. Clean
In no version of reality is using a Mr. Clean eraser on your skin safe.
It's made out of melamine foam, which may be great for grime and mess but it is very abrasive on your skin and might even trigger allergic reactions.
Greek Yogurt in Your Face Mask
Greek yogurt may have "good bacteria" in it, but that same bacteria that's good for your gut can actually ruin your complexion.
It's wiser not to risk it. As one expert put it, "to see the benefits, you need to be consuming greek yogurt, not applying it to your skin."
Using Apple Cider Vinegar as Deodorant
ACV may be great for killing yeast and bacteria, which may be why so many are touting its benefits as a deodorant. But as we've seen with too many of these hacks, it doesn't actually work.
Using ACV may help against strong odor, but you'll have to constantly apply it as it doesn't stop sweating, plus ACV has its own strong smell.
Cleaning Beauty Blenders in the Microwave
A few years ago there was a Twitter hack circulating around that claimed you could clean your Beauty Blender in the microwave.
This hack entailed putting your sponge in a cup of soapy water before you set it in the microwave. Unfortunately, the photos were fake and many beauty blenders were nuked in the microwave.
A Turmeric Mask for Peach Fuzz
At some point, there was a viral video circulating that explained how a face mask made of turmeric could help curb excessive facial hair growth in women.
Well, fortunately, experts stepped in and proved that it was a false claim. Now you can quit pasting turmeric on your face and keep it where it belongs — in your kitchen.
Sandpaper as Exfoliator
In case some people needed to hear this, skin is not like a wooden table. And contrary to the expression, more is not better, especially when it comes to exfoliating your skin.
When you use exfoliators that are too rough, you can actually damage blood vessels beneath your skin.
Permanent Marker for Chipped Nails
Eighth graders may think this is a genius hack, but ultimately, this shortcut to make your nails look less chipped is not worth the final outcome.
For those who haven't tried this before, permanent markers only make your nails look way worse than before.
Melting Your Eyeliner
Many amateur make-up artists swear by this hack that's supposed to soften your eyeliner pencil and make it easier to apply. They did this with a lighter held under the tip of the pencil.
But for the love of all eyelids, please don't do this. Not only will you have to wait until it's cool before using it, but you might even ruin your eyeliner.
Harsh Lipliner
On par with brooches and tweed, there are several trends that have come and gone for the better; from stretchy jeans to bold floral patterns, but worst of all, is a dark lip liner that doesn't blend well with your lipstick.
This 'hack' as some would call it was first done to make your lips look defined but overdoing it with a lip liner only makes your mouth appear smaller. If you chose to wear lip liner, don't wear a dark color, but rather pick something closer to the shade of your lipstick.
Cakey Foundation
Some people might decide to wear a lot of foundation in an effort to cover up or even distract from their fine lines and wrinkles. But what they're really doing is making their skin appear more textured and grainy.
That overly made-up look can leave you looking superficial and fake.
Heavy Eye Makeup
You might only dabble in the occasional cat-eye look, but back in the '90s, heavy eye makeup was all the rage. You might think your look is niche but all that heavy eyeliner only makes you look more mature and can make your eyes appear smaller.
If you want to appear younger, you should go for a bare and bright-eyed look.
Over Plucking Your Brows
Your eyebrows help frame your face and draw attention to your eyes, so keep them well-groomed but don't over-pluck them into thin lines that look drawn on your face.
Also, over-plucking your eyebrows can damage and even ruin the follicles, which produce and generate hair growth, so plucking your hair all the time only means the brow hair may not grow back. So don't overdo it!
Trying Too Hard
A good thing to remember is there's nothing as old as trying too hard to look young. Think about Madonna and Andi MacDowell. Madonna clings to her youth by desperately trying to keep up with her much younger peers.
Andi MacDowell is the same age as Madonna but she embraces her age and looks and she looks great doing it!
Matte Makeup
The point of matte makeup is to add color without any shine. This might have been fashionable a couple of years ago, but now this trend is done and dusted.
You should instead be opting for foundation, eyeshadow, and lipstick that gives you a dewy, fresh-faced look.
Over the Top Nails
The jury's out on whether or not you can wear lavishly decorated nails that bling almost as much as your diamond rings, but what we do know is that they're not doing you any favors when it comes to looking younger.
Having nails that stand out too much will only draw attention to your hands, which you might want to rein in more as you age.
Extensions
Though the ultimate goal might be added volume, moderation is always key when it comes to attaching hair extensions. This is especially true when aging becomes a concern.
Wearing extensions that are too thick will look unnatural and can eclipse and weigh down your facial features, therefore aging you.
Eyeshadow Blues
Not all shades of eyeshadow are created equal, and some shades certainly do a lot of damage when it comes to aging your face a little. The worst is the lighter blues.
The hue of the eye shadow you choose can affect your overall look more than you know, so it's better to choose a color that's more natural and earthy.
Too Much Blush
The jury's out on how much blush you should use, but if you want to appear younger, you should definitely keep your blush to a minimum.
Blush can be great to add color to your cheeks but don't get heavy-handed with that brush and try to keep your blush as natural as possible.
Over-the-Top Contouring
When a new beauty trick trends, you start to see it everywhere and that's exactly what happened with contouring. The point of contouring is to define your face shape a little more, but if you overdo it, it will look like you're wearing way too much make-up.
There are many youtube videos that cater to mature skin and they will all say: less is more!
Glittery Eye Makeup
Glittery shadows are straight from the '90s and should probably stay that way. Glimmering makeup only minimizes contours and while it has its place, it can also exaggerate wrinkles and fine lines.
If you want, you can dab a little sparkle at the inner corner of your eyelids to draw attention to your eyes.
Lining Your Waterline
Some unfortunate ladies are still out there lining their lash line with a kohl back liner. We thought we were past this already as lining the waterline not only makes eyes look smaller, but it ages you.
There's only one color that we'd suggest you use on your waterline and that's nude.
Excessive Concealer
Applying a good quality concealer that's suited for mature skin will definitely help get rid of those dark and dreary shadows under your eyes, but if it's not the right color for you, it will also accentuate those fine lines you have around your eyes.
When concealing those wrinkles and fine lines, start with a tiny amount of concealer so it won't look plastered on, and apply it in thin layers to make sure it will blend well.
Overdoing It Powder
We all know that youthful skin glows by reflecting light. Some vloggers have been seen overdoing it with powders, which do the opposite by preventing light from reflecting and causing creases in your skin to become more obvious.
Maybe you've been applying powder as a finishing touch since your college years, well, it's high time to stop now.
Mascara on Your Lower Lashes
We've seen many wannabe makeup artists putting mascara on their lower lashes. This only makes their eyes appear droopier than they are and can even draw more unwanted attention to those pesky dark circles.
What you should do instead is focus on your upper lashes by curling them and layering on a volumizing mascara from their roots through the ends for an uplifting effect.
Using Oil Instead of Highlighter
Highlighter has been around for a hot minute so if you aren't already on board this train it's time to hop on. The quickest way to fake younger-looking skin is by using oil instead of highlighter.
If you're not highlighting properly with decent products, you're not making the most out of this fabulous makeup trick.
Not Moisturizing Enough
Many people struggle with oily skin and this has somehow led them to erroneously avoid moisturizing completely. First remember, you need to hydrate from inside first and then the outside. This means drinking plenty of water and applying moisturizers daily.
When it comes to your cosmetics, keep an eye open for hydrating products. Skin that's taken care of will feel soft and also look it!
Too Pale
We're all for embracing your pale skin, but don't overdo it by slathering on foundation and powder that are two shades lighter than your skin.
You want your face to look as natural as possible, so try to get a shade of foundation as close to your natural skin color, then add a bit of color with blush and lipstick.
Deep, Dark Lipstick
Wearing lipstick that's overwhelmingly dark can make you look a little thin-lipped when what you really want to do is make your lips look fuller. So ditch those dark colors and go for lighter shades instead.
As you age and your lips start to thin, wear lipgloss over your lipstick. That little extra shine will reflect light and make your lips appear thicker than they actually are. Nowadays you can even find volumizing lipgloss that works twice as well.