Scary Skin Care Trends: Social Media Fads That Haunt Your Skin

Halloween isn’t the only time of year when people scare themselves silly—sometimes, it happens right in their bathroom mirror.

Thanks to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, all kinds of

skin care hacks go viral, but not all of them are safe. In fact, some can leave you with results scarier than any haunted house.

Spooky Skin Care Trends to Avoid

Here are a few spooky trends you’ll want to avoid unless you want your skin to scream for help.

DIY Acid Peels

Some creators promote at-home concoctions of vinegar, lemon juice, or high-strength chemical acids as a “miracle peel.” While it sounds like a shortcut to glowing skin, it’s really a potion gone wrong. Over-exfoliating or using the wrong concentration can cause chemical burns, scarring, and permanent pigmentation changes.

Vampire Skin Masks

“Vampire facials” (platelet-rich plasma treatments) can be safe when done by professionals. This technique is done in an office where blood is drawn in a sterile way, spun down to obtain the PRP, and then used with microneedling to infuse the skin.

Attempting this at home by using needles and tools to induce bleeding to microneedle over is not only not effective in getting PRP, but also dangerous. Beyond the infection risk, reusing tools or mishandling products can spread dangerous diseases.

Sunscreen Contouring

The idea? Apply sunscreen only where you’d normally “highlight” and let the sun naturally “contour” your face. The reality? Uneven sun damage, premature aging, and a higher risk of skin cancer.

Toothpaste for Pimples

This hack has been around forever, but it refuses to die. Toothpaste contains ingredients that can dry out a zit—but it also has abrasives and bleaching agents that can irritate, burn, or discolor skin. This can lead to hyperpigmentation.

Super Blends: Mixing Everything

Some influencers love mixing multiple serums, acids, and retinoids together into a single “super blend.” Layering too many active ingredients can cause redness, peeling, and painful irritation. Not all products play well with each other, so knowing which ones can be layered or need to be spaced out is important. Depending on the type of skin you have (dry vs oily vs combination) this can impact what products are best for your skin type.

Slugging

The K-beauty-derived trend where you seal in moisture overnight with an occlusive (often something thick like petroleum jelly). This works well for dry/sensitive skin but can cause trouble for oily or acne-prone skin.

This Halloween season, remember: some trends are true treats for your skin, while others may trick you into irritation or something much worse. Stick with dermatologist-approved potions.