There are so many beauty hacks that we are told to follow to keep ourselves looking younger and healthier.
Are we flooded with anti-ageing products because we have an obsession with staying young forever? And how do you know if the latest trend is on par?
TikTok, which is dominated by Generation Z, has seen more than 44.7k views for the skincare hashtag, making it the go-to place to shop for the newest cosmetic trends.
Face icing is a trend that has been dubbed the “next best thing for anti-ageing” on #skintok. It involves immersing your face in a bowl of ice for less than 15 minutes.
Are there any benefits of using ice on your skin?
TikTok Laura88Lee’s ice face immersion video has received over 68 000 likes and lists numerous benefits of ice water face immersion, including:
- It boosts skin glow,
- Reduces oiliness
- Improves superficial wrinkles and
- Decreases symptoms of anxiety
One fan of the trend claims that the hack shrinks pores, but if you don’t know how to use the skin therapy properly, it can cause serious damage to your skin, especially if you have dry or sensitive skin, resulting in ice burns, redness, and itching.
Another user suggests freezing a cucumber and rubbing it on your face and under your eyes to reduce puffiness.
Cold therapy, or applying ice to the skin, is not a new concept; in fact, ice therapy has been around for quite some time; athletes such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and LeBron James are also big fans of the treatment.
Although ice immersion for athletes serves entirely different purposes, many athletes enjoy a post-workout dip in an ice water bath. Cold water immersion, also known as cryotherapy, is used to help athletes recover faster and reduce muscle pain and soreness after intense training sessions.
Research suggests that icing muscles right away after intense exercise reduces inflammation, prevents the growth of new muscle fibres, and slows the process of muscle regeneration. By altering the way blood and other bodily fluids flow through your body, ice baths reduce inflammation and speed up recovery.