TikTok trend of calamine lotion as makeup primer draws dermatologist concern

Comment on this storyCommentGirls around the globe are smearing calamine lotion throughout their faces earlier than making use of makeup — a “magnificence hack” that’s gone viral on TikTok that they are saying helps dry out oily pores and skin, restore pimples scars and maintain their makeup in place for hours on finish.Some are utilizing a sponge or a makeup brush to dab on the over-the-counter product generally used to assuage rashes and different pores and skin circumstances that trigger itching, such as chickenpox. Others wasted no time, pouring the pink lotion instantly onto their face and rubbing it in with their naked arms earlier than making use of basis and different makeup proper on high of the skinny crust.“I can’t see my pores wherever,” one TikToker stated in approval, claiming the product made her pores and skin seem “tremendous matte.” Other magnificence lovers on the platform have hailed calamine as a primer — claiming it helps their makeup keep put in the summertime solar and all through 12-hour workdays.TikTokers say they’re “obsessed” with the invention and the hashtag #calamineprimer has about 3.5 million views on the platform. But dermatologists and makeup specialists are warning that these leaping on the trend may danger worsening pores and skin circumstances and long-term injury.“It simply doesn’t make sense to make use of calamine lotion and danger drying out the pores and skin and damaging the pores and skin barrier,” Azadeh Shirazi, a dermatologist training within the San Diego space, instructed The Washington Post.Shirazi, who goes by the username “skinbydrazi” on TikTok, has tried to sort out the trend head-on, utilizing her account to debunk magnificence myths and tendencies. Shirazi stated that in current months customers have tagged her in feedback on such movies, asking her for medical recommendation.Shirazi has used the platform to induce individuals to contemplate the components earlier than turning to calamine lotion as a primer, as overuse could result in “extreme irritation and worsening of scars.”While specialists say the lotion can be utilized to shrink pimples lesions and marks left on the pores and skin, particularly as a focused therapy, the American Academy of Dermatology warns that the astringent calamine can worsen pores and skin irritations if not used sparingly.“Calamine lotion is made up of zinc oxide, ferric oxide and phenol. Zinc oxide is an astringent that may assist take in extra oil and have a mattifying impact,” Shirazi stated, including that the product is mostly beneficial to deal with oozing wounds from infections such as chickenpox and monkeypox. The lotion can also be used to assuage insect bites, pimples, rashes and poison ivy.The product, Shirazi says, causes the pores and skin floor to dry up and harden, defending it whereas it repairs. “Ferric oxide helps with itching and the phenol can also be a strong exfoliant,” she stated. “Combining phenol with an astringent as in calamine lotion will be very drying and aggravating, resulting in a broken pores and skin barrier. It can worsen pores and skin circumstances such as pimples, rosacea and dermatitis.”On TikTok, Shirazi instructed her 1.8 million followers merely: “It’s a no from me.”Makeup professionals say primers are a necessary magnificence staple that must be used beneath makeup to assist put together and easy pores and skin and maintain makeup locked in place. But makeup artist Kourtney Hammett, primarily based in Essex, England, additionally warned in opposition to utilizing the lotion as primer, predicting that it might trigger wonderful strains and wrinkles in the long term as a result of of the product’s “drying” nature.Hammett pressured: “You must be utilizing makeup that’s appropriate in your pores and skin kind,” together with primers and moisturizers. At a minimal, she stated, don’t use it every day.While some individuals could possibly tolerate utilizing the lotion as a primer, not everybody will see constructive outcomes, Shirazi pressured. “Much like anything associated to skincare, the potential dangers rely in your pores and skin kind so it’s finest to at all times verify along with your dermatologist first,” Shirazi stated.The trend can also be coinciding with stories that calamine lotion is changing into more durable to seek out. In the United Kingdom, some dad and mom have reported in current months that they’re struggling to purchase the lotion to deal with youngsters struggling with chickenpox.In the United States, others have additionally reported points on social media. Under one of many calamine primer movies, one consumer wrote on TikTok: “I’ve to make use of this when my lupus flares up, now it’s offered out in Walmart.”Despite the warnings from specialists, the lotion could maintain its attraction as a less expensive different in contrast with primers from main makeup manufacturers amid a cost-of-living disaster. A bottle of calamine lotion within the U.Okay. prices beneath 2 kilos ($2.40).One makeup fanatic instructed her followers on TikTok that she had tried an array of costly merchandise however that calamine lotion had labored finest for her.“I have a tendency to spend so much of cash on primers. I’ve tried every kind of primers,” she instructed viewers, holding up primers starting from $20 to $64.“I used to be so stunned at how good my makeup appeared,” she stated, holding up a bottle of calamine that she stated prices $4.50 from Walgreens.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/well being/2022/07/24/tik-tok-calamine-lotion-primer-beauty-trend/