TikTok Users Are Contouring Their Faces With Sun Damage—Whoops, I Meant “Sunscreen”

“Patients are putting their skin in danger when they choose to expose [it] to the sun with no sunscreen protection. When you are contouring with sunscreen, you are exposing your skin to radiation,” says Jeannette Graf, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

There is also a common misconception that tanned skin helps to prevent sunburns and, therefore, will also prevent the other damaging effects of the sun. That’s another myth dermatologists can easily debunk: “It is the simple truth that no tan is safe for your skin. Any tan means your DNA has been harmed,” says Sheilagh Maguiness, MD, a board-certified dermatologist. “The areas that tan have been damaged and will be more prone to photoaging and skin cancers in the long run.”

Yes, some SPF contour advocates apply a base layer of SPF 30 across their entire face and, technically, this does meet the minimum SPF recommendation by dermatologists. So if an SPF 30 sunscreen is used on the whole face could dermatologists lend their approval to this trend? In short: Most dermatologists would still be against it.

“Using a lower SPF on the entire face is certainly better than nothing,” Dr. Maguiness says. “However, if you are intentionally getting a tan by using a low SPF sunscreen, you will still end up with photodamage” and that ultimately can lead to wrinkles, sun spots, and even skin cancer. An additional problem with this trend is that reapplying sunscreen to maintain the contour throughout the day isn’t exactly user-friendly.

“Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours while exposed [to the sun] or more frequently if sweating or swimming,” Dr. Maguiness adds. “I think that trying to reapply the sunscreen in these specific contouring areas might deter people from doing the reapplication, again leading to increased risks for sunburn.”

But does SPF contouring work?

If the dangers of the sun aren’t enough to dissuade you from trying this trend, perhaps some insight from makeup artist Hillary Clark is. “The likelihood of achieving a contoured effect and ‘snatched’ look is zero to none,” she says. “You can’t control the way that the sun will hit your face, due to reflections off of sand, pavement, buildings, and water. And some areas are more prone to developing melanin than others, so achieving the desired contour effect is impossible.”