20/09/2021
We all know that TikTok is full of skin-care tricks, some helpful, some dangerous, and some downright bizarre. As anyone would expect, the app recently unearthed yet another too-good-to-be-true tip for banishing acne and keeping it at bay for good. A user by the handle of has garnered four million views and counting for showing her dramatic clear-skin transformation, which she says she achieved with a sea salt water treatment.
Yeah — spraying a mixture of sea salt and water on her face twice per day apparently rid her adult acne after she'd tried "everything" to cure it. She learned this tip from another TikTok creator, , who started using a sea salt concoction after realizing that her skin usually cleared up after swimming in the ocean. Both claim the remedy works because it balances skin pH and kills bacteria.
But you know us: Any time there's a viral beauty hack, we're going to ruin the party by asking the experts for their hard and honest opinions (sorry, but it's our job!). So… Is sea salt water a viable acne treatment? According to dermatologists, it might work in theory, but it's definitely not a permanent fix for pimples or scars. Better put by Connecticut-based board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, "when it comes to the relationship status of dermatologists and the sun and sea