By: Grace Zhang
A "beauty trick" that has gained popularity on TikTok has women rubbing calamine lotion all over their faces as a primer before applying makeup.
According to these women, this method dries oily skin, treats acne spots, soothes itching, and keeps makeup in place for hours. They pour the lotion onto their face and rub it in before applying makeup on top of the layer. One TikToker said, “I can’t see my pores anywhere; it makes my skin look super matte.”
With roughly 3.5 million views on the platform for the hashtag #calamineprimer, TikTokers claim to be "obsessed" with the finding. However, dermatologists and makeup specialists are cautioning those who follow the trend against the possibility of aggravating skin issues and permanent harm.
Azadeh Shirazi, a dermatologist practicing in the San Diego area, told The Washington Post, “It just doesn’t make sense to use calamine lotion and risk drying out the skin and damaging the skin barrier.”
The American Academy of Dermatology cautions that the astringent calamine might cause skin irritations if not used judiciously, despite the fact that experts claim the lotion can be used to decrease acne lesions and marks left on the skin, especially when used as a focused treatment.
“Calamine lotion is made up of zinc oxide, ferric oxide and phenol. Zinc oxide is an astringent that can help absorb excess oil and have a mattifying effect,” Shirazi said, “The product is generally recommended to treat oozing wounds from infections such as chickenpox and monkey pox. The lotion is also used to soothe insect bites, pimples, rashes and poison ivy.”
Calamine causes the skin to dry up and harden which protects the skin as it repairs. Shirazi said ferric oxide helps with itching and the phenol is also a powerful exfoliant. It can bug conditions like acne, rosacea, or dermatitis. Because calamine lotion can make your skin dry, it can be irritating, which causes a damaged skin barrier.
Although some people may be immune to the effects of calamine lotion, not everyone is safe from the consequences. The trend is also causing calamine lotion to be harder to find. In the United Kingdom, some people have claimed that they are unable to find the lotion to treat people with skin conditions.