Beauty Brands, Beware: TikTok's “De-Influencing” Trend Hits Back at Viral Products

Beauty Brands, Beware: TikTok’s “De-Influencing” Trend Hits Back at Viral Products

TikTok’s latest trend, “de-influencing,” is taking down beauty’s buzziest buys, one video at a time.

Instead of cajoling viewers into consumption, creators are taking to TikTok with recommendations of what not to purchase. Giving their honest opinion on popular beauty products, these opinionated de-influencers are reminding us of a bitter truth: Not all that goes viral on TikTok is gold.

The hashtag #deinfluencing — which boasts over 30 million views — is home to a slew of videos counterbalancing the hype surrounding some of the app’s most-extolled products, from a certain lip oil to a pricey bond-building shampoo.

“As a general rule of thumb, I don’t think you need anyone from someone who looks like me on TikTok telling you that something you hadn’t heard of 30 seconds ago is an absolute necessity,” a de-influencer by the username @basicofcourse proclaimed. “I love [Kim Kardashian], but you don’t need the SKIMS stuff — a T-shirt isn’t going to change your life. You don’t need that ice skin roller; you don’t need the big headbands that girls are putting on to do their makeup; you don’t need a bunch of random laundry products.”

The contrarian new trend indicates a shift in values among TikTok’s young, plugged-in consumers. Just months ago, influencers and onlookers alike may have jumped to buy the latest high-tech hair tool or celebrity-approved blush, but now, it seems they’re feeling fatigued by the never-ending deluge of stuff pushed at them online.

Indeed, TikTok’s trend cycle moves at light-speed. Keeping up with the latest must-have products is a nearly impossible — not to mention pricey —  task. Consumer fatigue, combined with the looming recession, might be pushing creators to hit back at the pressure to buy, buy, buy.

While de-influencing isn’t likely to topple the phenomenon of viral products all-together, the trend is giving us the much-needed opportunity to step back, put down our credit cards, and consider whether that lipstick or cream is an impulse, or a necessity.