Just when you think you’ve seen everything – the latest skincare trend on Tiktok is seeing people use period blood as DIY face masks.
Boy, just when you think things on the internet cannot get any wilder, there comes a new trend on Tiktok that makes you question reality. The latest in skincare trends that are catching fire on the social media app is using period blood, or menstrual blood as DIY face masks.
Apparently, not everyone thinks of the trend as bizarre. To date, the #PeriodFaceMask hashtag on Tiktok has raked up six billion views. The trend is also called #MenstrualMasking – that hashtag has three million views.
We’ll spare you the details, but it usually involves collecting one’s menstrual blood (usually in a menstrual cup) and applying it to one’s face for clearer skin – or so Tiktokers claim.
According to several health experts who spoke to E! News, please do not use menstrual blood as a face mask. For one, any ‘blood-related’ skin treatment is usually ineffective unless one can find a way to inject it into the skin – usually through micro-needling or lasers.
“Our skin barrier doesn’t allow blood to penetrate into our skin,” she explained. “It needs some form of delivery method to get past the skin barrier.”
Additionally, the blood used in such treatments is specially treated and made to enhance its healing properties – using period blood, therefore, is not a good substitute.
@michelaferu no filter? 🫣 #bloodmask
This isn’t the only questionable Tiktok trend that has the medical community up in arms. Cancer survivors and health experts also recently called out the popular #SunburntChallenge on Tiktok, which promoted the use of solariums and tanning beds to get a natural tan.
Experts, however, pointed out that prolonged exposure to tanning beds before the age of 35 increased the chances of developing melanoma – a deadly condition – by 75%.
For more on this topic, follow the Health & Wellness Observer.
