A VIRAL TikTok video recently showed a user named Mallory Le mixing crushed aspirin with water. The girl then smeared the resulting paste on her face like a mask as a cure for acne. Well, doctors used the term “bad idea” when hearing about the video. “This is a bad idea,” said Susan Bard, a board certified dermatologist and instructor at Weill Cornell Medicine and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “Aspirin is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. While aspirin — acetylsalicylic acid — appears to be the same as salicylic acid used to treat acne, they are different molecules. “It’s important to realize that aspirin is an acid and that applying such acid in an unregulated concentration can lead to chemical burns, dryness, and irritation,” she added. The video shows Le taking two uncoated aspirin and dissolving them in water. After she spreads the concoction on her face, she advises viewers to leave it on for 3 minutes before rinsing it away. She recommends users do so every few days. The video was viewed 1.3 million times after being on TikTok for only two days. “Using aspirin for the treatment of acne is a bad idea,” said Yoram Harth, a board certified dermatologist and a former research fellow at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York. “Aspirin is an oral medication used to reduce pain, fever, or inflammation. It cannot unclog the skin pores, cannot reduce sebum excretion, and has no proven effect on the prevention of future acne breakouts,” Harth said. Even if it did, diluting it in water would likely render it useless. Harth said one of the main advantages of salicylic acid in treating acne is that it’s fat soluble, which allows it to penetrate through skin to get to the skin’s oil glands, where it unclogs pores and reduces oil production. “Aspirin is soluble in water, a significant downside for the ‘anti-acne’ product,” Harth said. “Acetylsalicylic acid, especially when used in a DIY mask, can be irritating and lead to redness and flaking. It isn’t really treating or preventing breakouts. Used in a mask, aspirin can be absorbed into the blood circulation and cause systemic side effects in people who are allergic to ibuprofen, or naproxen aspirin can trigger bronchospasm.” Amir Karam, a plastic surgeon in San Diego and a TikTok contributor, said that people using do-it-yourself chemical peels can’t control the concentration of what they’re putting on their face. “Making your own chemical peel is generally a bad idea — concentration is what allows the practitioner to know how deep the peel is going,” Karam said. “A highly concentrated chemical peel will create a physical burn to the skin and lead to scarring.” While many legitimate health professionals use TikTok as a way to reach the video-sharing service’s young target audience, it can be just as dangerous. Viral challenges showing and encouraging kids to do things like the “skull breaker challenge” (depicting people tripping someone so they hit their head) has resulted in serious injuries. It’s also proven to be a conduit for serious misinformation, said Dr. Peterson Pierre, founder of the Pierre Skin Care Institute in Thousand Oaks, California. (SD-Agencies) | 