Dermatologists Skeptical of Calamine Lotion TikTok Pattern
Aug. 16, 2022 — A rising bandwagon of TikTok influencers has been utilizing and selling calamine lotion as a make-up primer underneath basis. Whereas this may increasingly work as a base layer for some individuals, dermatologists have considerations about this pattern, significantly the chance of dryness.
As of Aug. 12, the # calamine lotion tag had greater than 20.8 million views on TikTok, with lots of of movies hailing the cream for its opaque pink tint and matte impact when used underneath basis.
Calamine lotion has been used to deal with itchy rashes, insect bites, and ache from chickenpox and poison ivy for years. It’s bought over-the-counter and is a typical therapy for pores and skin discomfort, says Doris Day, MD, a dermatologist in New York Metropolis. Additionally it is on the World Well being Group’s list of essential drugs, she says.
“That is one thing that has been round for a very long time. It’s acknowledged as a drug that has significance. So now and again I assume someone comes throughout it and says it’s a ‘new panacea’ for one thing, nevertheless it’s actually not. It’s simply an old-time easy product.”
Calamine lotion is made from ferric oxide and zinc oxide, which provides it its antiseptic and anti-itch properties, along with its attribute pink coloration. Zinc oxide can be generally utilized in mineral sunscreens, Day says.
Although these elements are protected with short-term, localized use, excessive concentrations and continual use of calamine lotion could be irritating to the pores and skin, says Pooja Sodha, MD, director of the Middle for Laser and Beauty Dermatology at George Washington College in Washington, DC.
At these excessive concentrations, calamine lotion could be drying, which can trigger pores and skin clumping and could be abrasive, says Sodha. She additionally cautions that the astringent properties of the zinc and the excessive pH could disrupt proteins on the pores and skin, which breaks down the pores and skin’s pure defenses. Utilizing calamine lotion all around the face day by day can “doubtlessly harm your pores and skin barrier to a degree the place you are going to must do a whole lot of additional work … to convey it again.”
Day additionally worries about this pattern leading to dry pores and skin. Even in conditions the place utilizing calamine lotion is acceptable, like treating poison ivy, its drying results can generally irritate the pores and skin.
And dry pores and skin could be greater than an aesthetic difficulty: It could possibly result in breaks within the pores and skin, which can lead to infections and scarring, she says. Whereas this may increasingly not happen in somebody with extraordinarily oily pores and skin, most individuals don’t have extraordinarily oily pores and skin, says Day, so this will likely be ineffective at greatest and damaging at worst.
If somebody is on the lookout for a superb make-up base layer, Sodha recommends one thing that is non-comedogenic and non-sensitizing, like silicon-based primers.
“The beauty of these merchandise is that they’re non-comedogenic, so they will not clog your pores. They’re artificial, so they are not going to trigger some kind of allergy,” she says.
Normally, each dermatologists warn their sufferers to be cautious of the TikTok tendencies they see on-line and warning about attainable results with long-term use of calamine lotion on the face, even when it seems to work with one use.
“Customers have to consider this like they do with any kind of product that they arrive throughout, simply enthusiastic about the long-term results of one thing like this and the way it works for their very own pores and skin,” says Sodha.