If you've spent enough time on TikTok (guilty as charged), you'll know it's a breeding ground for beauty trends and viral products. In the last month we've seen everything from the unlikelymob wife aesthetic to theIt Girl-approved scent of the season take hold. Arguably, one of the biggest lures of this ever-expanding corner of the internet is that it provides an intimate and seemingly honest inside look into the makings of the perfect beauty routine. We scroll through them, we learn from them, heck we buy into their each and every step, but now that same 'routine' is under fire and for good reason.
The rise of TikTok trends like #highmaintenancetobelowmaintenance (which has wracked up 70.3M views) and #beautymaintenance (which boasts a cool 112.7M views) have seen beauty obsessives come out in their droves to lift the lid on their own beauty routines. A quick scroll through the content shows that these new 'maintenance' routines make the popularised Koran inspired 10-step nightly skincare regime look short.
The new #beautymaintenance routines are expansive, formulaic, and more often than not come equipped with a schedule. They can be broken down annually, quarterly, monthly, and so on to include time sensitive beauty 'non-negotiables' from haircuts and manicures to more invasivetreatments like dermal filler andlaser hair removal treatments. The selling point? Sporadic bursts of high maintenance beauty management allows for low-key beauty habits the majority of the time.
While some of the content listed under the hashtags include DIY treatments that can be done at home, the vast majority of beauty maintenance TikToks have become increasingly expensive, luxurious, and quite frankly, the new humblebrag.
When TikTokerCourtney Michelle's posted her take on the trend earlier last year, she summed things up with her caption alone: 'Beauty is pain & my wallet is the one hurting.. bye bye retirement!' In the video Michelle's walks us through her maintenance check list and its relating costs, including a mani and pedi every three weeks for $150, lash extensions every two weeks for $175, Botox every quarter which costs between $150-200, hair extensions for $600, and laser hair removal which based on Michelle's package costs $2000. This small window into Michelle's approach to beauty reveals that in some cases, it can cost well over $4000 (that's around £3,150) to 'keep myself together,' as she points out in the video.
The increase in beauty spending is a hotly contended topic under the breakout hashtag #beautycost, which has amassed over two million views. Users are asking what is reasonable for the average consumer considering the growing pressure for elaborate upkeep.
TikToker @crystaluncut weighed in on the matter and says, 'I really think a lot of people are confused on what beauty services are luxury verses what's a necessity. I struggle to find where in the timeline of life we figured out that in your 20s you need nails and feet, hair, lashes, waxes all done on a schedule every two weeks.
People talk about how the cost of living is so expensive, and it is, but you're spending like a thousand dollars on beauty maintenance a month. If you're feeling like things are too expensive, which they are, a helpful step would be to audit all the services that you're getting and ask yourself "Do I really need this? Does this really make a difference to me or is this just a nice to have?" because the nice to haves will keep you from what you need to have, which is savings.'
It's a fair point. But even amid our economically strained times, our beauty habits show no sign of waning. In fact, in the British Beauty Council's The Value of Beauty 2023 report, the personal care industry was found to have made a total GDP contribution of £24.5 billion to the UK economy in 2022 alone.
Beauty maintenance is personal and subjective. Of course, it can help us to feel our best. And this can have positive effects on us mentally and socially. But when it begins to put a strain on us physically or financially that’s not so positive. Beauty should be fun, and make you feel good. When it starts to veer into ‘TikTok made me do it’ territory it’s important to check in with yourself and ensure that your beauty routine makes you, and your wallet, happy.
Main image: TikTok @rahmamsheikh, @thecourtneyc, and @amelia.liana
Sameeha Shaikh is Grazia UK's Beauty Writer, working across all categories to bring you insights on the latest trends, industry news and the products you need to know about, viral or not.