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The next big thing in beauty is Hannibal Lecter. If you don’t believe me – and yes, I do mean the cannibalistic serial killer from The Silence of the Lambs – take one look at TikTok’s viral #morningshed trend and you’ll find yourself quickly questioning whether the world has gone mad, thanks to the millions (and yes, we’re talking millions) of videos of women talking their followers through multi-step night-time beauty routines as they peel off each increasingly ludicrous layer after waking up. Think 12-step Korean skincare regimes on acid. Or, like, really expensive onions.
As for the layers themselves, it’s almost hard to know where to start. Perhaps with the chin straps said to reduce the mobility of your mouth while you sleep, which is supposedly meant to reduce snoring while also giving you a slimmer jawline. Never mind that these are contraptions intended to help surgical patients recover from operations, or that they make you look like you belong in a high-security prison. If it makes your face slimmer, well, that’s all people care about.
Next up is the equally chilling – and much maligned – mouth tape, a trend that claims to optimise nasal breathing and increase sleep quality, as well as boosting energy levels and tightening the jawline. However, it could also obstruct breathing, worsen the symptoms of sleep apnoea, and create irritation around your lips. On top of this, most morning shedders are also equipped with under-eye masks (self-explanatory), lip stain, heatless curlers, hair nets, lash serum, and slimy, slippery collagen facemasks that must feel like sleeping with an eel on your face.
For those on the extreme end (because it wasn’t extreme enough already), there are also castor-oil stomach wraps to reduce bloating, eye tape to, erm, keep your eyes closed when you sleep (I think), and some sort of neck sticker I genuinely can’t find a legitimate explanation for. “The uglier you go to bed, the prettier you wake up” is a mantra you frequently hear accompanying these clips, often against the backdrop of some viral TikTok tune like “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish.
The trend began last summer and has escalated ever since, with content creators consistently outdoing one another by adding more and more steps to their routines. At first, I was defensive: why should we criticise women for going to drastic lengths to maintain beauty standards set for them by the male gaze? Aren’t we all facing the same pressures? And so what if it’s a bit absurd; if it makes the women happy, and feel more confident in their own skin, who are we to poke fun?
The hypocrisy is right up there with when men evangelise about the “natural” look (which is never actually natural) but criticise women for wearing “too much” makeup. How dare they have the audacity to try to conform to an aesthetic that’s not only expected of them but practically demanded? We’re damned if we wear too much makeup, and damned if we don’t wear enough. I can’t bear it.
@victoriasamson morning shred routine 💗🫧 #morningshed #skincare #skincareroutine PRODUCTS USED: ✨ @네시픽 Nacific Official @LUSH @terez.honor @Sacheu
♬ original sound - victoria samson🎀🎧🍵🌸🤍
But something about the morning shed feels different, darker, and more dystopian. First, there’s the fact that to maintain a routine like this requires inordinate amounts of time, both during the application stage in the evening and also in the morning “shed” phase. There’s a very limited number of women who can squeeze this in, and I doubt many of them are mothers or working full-time jobs.
Then there’s the financial burden: many of the treatments that feature in these morning shed routine videos are one-use only. Does that mean these women are spending upwards of £20 a day on collagen sheet masks? Not to mention the cost of all the copious serums and creams the women wind up lathering their skin in after they’ve peeled off each of their night-time accessories.
Most of all, though, is the underlying question at the core of this trend: is any of it actually worth doing? “Good quality sleep is vital for skin health, as it’s the time when our skin regenerates, with increased blood flow, improved collagen production and cell renewal,” explain Drs Dan Marsh and Mo Akhavani, founders of the Plastic Surgery Group. “If you’re going to bed with all these things on your face, you’re unlikely to be getting as good a night’s sleep as you would normally, which would arguably have more of a positive impact on your skin health and cell regeneration.”
Some masks might work well for the skin. But you have to be careful about lathering yourself up with too many products. “Transepidermal water loss is greater overnight, and so an occlusive overnight mask can help to reduce the water loss, helping skin to stay hydrated,” add Marsh and Akhavani. “However, slathering on thick layers of a product that isn’t designed to be worn in this way can make skin more prone to clogged pores, breakouts and irritation.”
It’s also worth taking any skincare advice from social media with a heavy pinch of salt. We all have different skin types and will react differently to different products. “Overuse of occlusive masks, or combining acids with retinoids, may disrupt the skin barrier, causing irritation, breakouts, or allergic reactions,” says Dr Vincent Wong, a leading aesthetics doctor.
@eringetty7 I wish i could tell you this was a joke x #morningshed #nightimeroutine #mouthtapesleeping #scottish #scottishtiktok #fyp #foryou
♬ original sound - Brianna LaPaglia
As for chin straps, the jury is out on whether wearing them will actually make much of a difference to how you look. “Chin straps may provide some temporary benefits, but there is little evidence to suggest that they can provide any long-term improvements,” says Dr Leah Totton, founder of Dr Leah Skin Clinics. “They may work to reduce puffiness, and will compress the facial tissue, which will give the short-term appearance of a tighter jawline and reduced sagging, however this effect tends to be very short-lived, lasting no more than a few hours.”
Mouth taping has been debunked, too, with one study from 2024 published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology noting that while it may help with snoring and ventilation, most of the claims made on TikTok about its aesthetic benefits are not supported by scientific literature.
“These trends highlight how social media pressures people to chase complicated, often unrealistic beauty routines,” adds Dr Wong. “The idea that more effort and more products automatically mean better skin sets impossible standards. Healthy skin develops gradually with simple, evidence-based care tailored to individual needs, not through complexity or extremes.”
Indeed, the best things you can do for your skin are often the most simple and should take the least amount of time, money, and energy.
“The most important thing for skin health is to do the basics properly, which means obtaining adequate sleep, not smoking, avoiding UV light and wearing SPF, eating a balanced diet rich in vitamins and nutrients, and combining that with a lifestyle that involves exercise and hydration,” say Marsh and Akhavani. “These are far more important than overnight face-taping, chin straps and layers of products.
“For evidence-based and medically backed skincare treatments with proven results, it’s vital to seek the advice of a qualified and experienced practitioner rather than seeking guidance online.”
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