27 Apr
Dentists have shunned the latest beauty trend on TikTok, encouraging patients to avoid taking advice from social media.
Dental experts have spoken out after seeing news of another potentially dangerous craze sweeping social platforms. The latest trend sees people brushing their teeth with purple shampoo, which is designed to tone blonde and platinum hair. Saskia Ward, from Manchester, posted a video of her bright white teeth, claiming that her megawatt smile is down to using purple shampoo every night. The clip has since been viewed thousands of times.
While Saskia claims that her dentist was impressed with the colour of her teeth, dentists have warned against following advice on social media. This beauty hack could do more harm than good, according to Dr Khaled Kasem, from Impress Orthodontics. Branding the tip “pointless” and “dangerous,” Dr Kasem warned that shampoo should not “be coming anywhere near your mouth.”
The violet colour in the shampoo is designed to banish brassy yellow tones in the hair. Dr Kasem explained that it is incredibly dangerous to wash the teeth with shampoo and ingest the product. Using purple shampoo won’t whiten the teeth like the TikTok user claims and people could end up feeling very ill if they use shampoo to clean their teeth.
Dr Kasem encouraged patients to ignore beauty trends they see on social media, which tend to be ineffective and can be harmful. The ingredients found in blue and purple shampoo won’t tackle staining and people should be aware that this is another hack that can cause unpleasant, potentially dangerous symptoms without achieving the desired effect.
TikTok has become a popular platform for sharing beauty advice and hacks. While some videos, which are shared by dental professionals, can be helpful, there are numerous examples of clips and posts, which promote hazardous DIY dental tricks. Previously, dentists have spoken out about DIY whitening using household bleach, filing the teeth down using nail files and buying whitening products online that don’t meet safety guidelines.
