Aug. 16, 2022 — A rising bandwagon of TikTok influencers has been utilizing and selling calamine lotion as a make-up primer below basis. Whereas this will work as a base layer for some individuals, dermatologists have issues about this pattern, notably the chance of dryness.
As of Aug. 12, the # calamine lotion tag had greater than 20.8 million views on TikTok, with a whole bunch of movies hailing the cream for its opaque pink tint and matte impact when used below basis.
Calamine lotion has been used to deal with itchy rashes, insect bites, and ache from chickenpox and poison ivy for years. It’s offered over-the-counter and is a typical therapy for pores and skin discomfort, says Doris Day, MD, a dermatologist in New York Metropolis. It’s also on the World Well being Group’s record of important medication, 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 from time to time I assume any individual 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 fabricated 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 components are protected with short-term, localized use, excessive concentrations and continual use of calamine lotion might be irritating to the pores and skin, says Pooja Sodha, MD, director of the Heart for Laser and Beauty Dermatology at George Washington College in Washington, DC.
At these excessive concentrations, calamine lotion might be drying, which can trigger pores and skin clumping and might 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 everywhere in the face every day can “doubtlessly harm your pores and skin barrier to a degree the place you are going to should do plenty of further 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 might be greater than an aesthetic concern: It could result in breaks within the pores and skin, which may end up in infections and scarring, she says. Whereas this will 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 searching for 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 don’t seem to be going to trigger some type of allergy,” she says.
Generally, each dermatologists warn their sufferers to be cautious of the TikTok traits they see on-line and warning about doable 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 type of product that they arrive throughout, simply excited about the long-term results of one thing like this and the way it works for their very own pores and skin,” says Sodha.
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