Viral TikTok Beauty & Fitness Trends: Fact-Checked by a Doctor

Updated on Aug 15, 2026

Most viral "FitTok" trends, face shaving for smoother skin, apple cider vinegar for fat loss, sunscreen contouring, and DIY mole removal, are not backed by science and can actively harm your skin, metabolism, or overall health. Dr Ivan Puah of Amaris B. Clinic breaks down which trends are genuinely risky, which have a kernel of truth, and what to do instead.

Key Takeaways

• "Natural" doesn't guarantee safety; trends like face shaving and sunscreen contouring can worsen skin issues and leave it vulnerable to UV damage.
• There are no miracle fat-burners like apple cider vinegar, which can harm tooth enamel and disrupt health.
• Extreme content around eating habits normalizes disordered eating, risking both orthorexia and bingeing.
• DIY medical procedures, such as mole removal, pose significant risks and should be left to professionals.
• Cooking methods can alter the nutritional value of foods; for instance, overcooking can degrade essential vitamins and protein.

TikTok has become the go-to platform for beauty tips, from concealer placement to skincare routines, and increasingly for health and fitness advice too, under the label "FitTok." But virality isn't the same as accuracy. Dr Ivan Puah, an aesthetics, body sculpting, and fitness doctor at Amaris B. Clinic, fact-checks seven of the most popular TikTok beauty and fitness hacks below.

1. Face Shaving (Dermaplaning) for Brighter, Smoother Skin

The trend: Shaving the fine hairs off your face, a technique called dermaplaning, to remove dead skin cells, brighten skin, and let skincare and makeup apply more smoothly. Some claim it also helps with acne and rosacea.

Is it safe? Not for everyone. Dr Puah advises against dermaplaning if you have rosacea, adult acne, or cystic acne, since shaving can irritate an already-inflamed skin condition. Those fine facial hairs also serve a purpose: they create a natural blurring effect that softens the appearance of scars, dark spots, and other imperfections, removing them can actually make blemishes more visible. Shaved hair also tends to regrow thicker and coarser, meaning more frequent shaving over time.

What to do instead: For noticeable facial hair on the upper lip or chin, consider laser hair removal. For barely-visible cheek fuzz, Dr Puah recommends leaving it alone.

2. Baked Oats for Weight Loss

The trend: Baked oats, a cake-like, oat-based breakfast, are widely promoted on TikTok and Instagram as a fat-loss and muscle-building food.

Is it true? Partly. Oats genuinely offer real health benefits: they're rich in antioxidants, can help lower cholesterol, support healthy blood sugar levels, relieve constipation, and may reduce childhood asthma risk. However, Dr Puah cautions that how oats are cooked matters. Cooking triggers the Maillard reaction, a chemical process where heat transforms proteins and sugars, creating new flavours and colours, but also degrading nutrients along the way. Specifically:

• 60–75°C: Vitamin C begins breaking down
• 70–100°C and above: Protein hydrolysis, albumin coagulation, and amino acid destruction occur

The takeaway: Oats are nutritious, but overcooking can strip much of that nutritional value, leaving mostly empty calories.

3. #WhatIEatInADay: The Feast-or-Famine Extreme

The trend: A hashtag with 6.6+ billion views split between two extremes, creators eating dangerously few calories (think iced coffee, lemon water, and a handful of cashews) versus mukbang-style videos of excessive, indulgent eating.

Why it's dangerous: Dr Puah warns that presenting either extreme as "normal" eating is harmful. The restrictive end normalises orthorexia, an unhealthy fixation on food purity, while the excessive end promotes eating without any moderation. Chronic under-fuelling in particular can lead to metabolic slowdown and breakdown of muscle and organ tissue.

4. DIY Mole Removal at Home

The trend: Videos of people scraping, picking, or using chemicals, even attempting to drill, to remove their own moles at home.

Why it's dangerous: There is no safe way to remove a mole at home. Attempting it risks severe scarring, permanent skin damage, and infection. Dr Puah, who holds a Graduate Diploma in Dermatology, notes that without medical training, it's nearly impossible to distinguish a harmless mole from one that could be an early sign of melanoma, which is exactly why in-office removal by a certified professional is the only safe option.

5. "Contouring" With Sunscreen (Selective Sun Exposure)

The trend: Applying sunscreen only to the high points of the face, nose tip, cheekbones, while leaving the rest exposed to tan or burn, for a natural "contoured" look. This gained attention after a widely shared Gwyneth Paltrow video suggested a similar technique.

Why it's dangerous: "You simply cannot do facial contouring by applying sunscreen on just some parts of the face and skipping others," says Dr Puah. UV damage from unprotected skin increases the risk of wrinkling, dehydration, pigmentation, premature ageing, and skin cancer. He recommends applying sunscreen, at least SPF50, to the entire face and reapplying every two hours.

6. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) as a "Fat-Burning Miracle"

The trend: Claims that drinking apple cider vinegar burns fat, aids weight loss, or "detoxes" the body, with some suggesting specific weight-loss numbers from regular use.

Why it's dangerous: Dr Puah is blunt about this one, there is no fat-burning miracle food. Undiluted ACV's high acidity can damage tooth enamel, and excessive intake has been linked to lowering the body's potassium levels and potentially affecting insulin levels, which makes it a particular risk for people with diabetes.

What actually works: According to Dr Puah, sustainable fat loss comes from adjusting eating habits and increasing activity, not from any single "miracle" ingredient. For stubborn, localised fat that doesn't respond to lifestyle changes, Vaser Liposuction is a permanent, minimally invasive option that uses ultrasonic energy to break down fat cells with minimal disruption to surrounding tissue, blood vessels, and nerves, while also stimulating collagen production for firmer skin.

The Bottom Line: Why Trends Aren't a Substitute for Professional Advice

Most viral TikTok beauty and fitness tips are misleading at best, and dangerous at worst. Dr Ivan Puah, who holds a Graduate Diploma in Sports Medicine from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and has over 20 years of body sculpting experience, combines integrative medicine with aesthetic and body-sculpting procedures at Amaris B. Clinic, covering everything from weight loss and fitness assessment to pain management and sports injury rehabilitation, alongside skin and body treatments.

FAQ

Is dermaplaning (face shaving) safe?

It's not recommended for people with rosacea, adult acne, or cystic acne, since shaving can irritate these conditions. Fine facial hair also naturally blurs skin imperfections, so removing it can make scars and dark spots more visible, and shaved hair tends to regrow thicker over time.

Does apple cider vinegar actually burn fat?

No, there is no scientific basis for apple cider vinegar as a fat-burning agent. Undiluted ACV can damage tooth enamel, lower potassium levels, and potentially affect insulin levels, making it particularly risky for people with diabetes.

Can you remove a mole at home safely?

No. There is no safe method for DIY mole removal, it risks severe scarring, permanent damage, and infection, and it's very difficult for a non-professional to tell a harmless mole apart from one that could signal melanoma.

Does applying sunscreen only to parts of your face create a contoured look?

This trend doesn't work for contouring and instead leaves unprotected skin vulnerable to UV damage, including wrinkling, pigmentation, premature ageing, and increased skin cancer risk. Sunscreen (SPF50 or higher) should be applied to the entire face and reapplied every two hours.

Are baked oats actually healthy for weight loss?

Oats themselves are nutritious, rich in antioxidants and beneficial for cholesterol and blood sugar, but overcooking at high heat can destroy vitamin C and break down proteins and amino acids, reducing the nutritional value of the final dish.

What is orthorexia, and how does it relate to "What I Eat In A Day" videos?

Orthorexia is an unhealthy fixation on food purity and constant preoccupation with "clean" eating. Restrictive #WhatIEatInADay content can normalise this behaviour, alongside its opposite extreme of excessive, unmoderated eating, both of which carry health risks.

What's a safer alternative for stubborn fat that won't respond to diet and exercise?

Vaser Liposuction is a permanent, ultrasound-assisted technique for removing localised stubborn fat. It is a safe, permanent surgical option when performed by an MOH-accredited doctor. Vaser liposuction not only liquefy fat while preserving important connective tissues, it also results in less bruising, pain and shorter downtime than conventional liposuction. Another beauty of Vaser liposuction is that it stimulates collagen production for skin firming.