Wear SPF At the New Jersey Shore, but Please Don’t Make Sunscreen Yourself

I never thought people would need to be reminded of this.

I will preface this by saying I'm not a doctor, and the only people you should be taking medical advice from are your doctors.  With that being said, TikTok isn't the place to go for medical help either.

TikTok is great for many things.  It provides hours of mindless entertainment, helps us catch up with our favorite celebrities, and at times, it can teach us a thing or two.  It's probably best to leave the TikTok tutorials for hobbies like cooking and crafting.  Not skincare.

An article from WebMD shared by The Newsette brought this topic to my attention.  Some TikTok creators have been sharing videos on how to make DIY Sunscreen.  They claim that it's cheaper, and works just as well as the real deal.  But, do you really want to be taking advice about what to put on your body from a stranger?

Per WebMD, recipes like these aren't regulated - which means we could be putting harmful ingredients on our bodies!

It's also important to be careful about your skincare since we live at the Jersey Shore and spend a lot of time on our beautiful beaches.  Many commenters on one of the DIY Sunscreen TikToks I found were asking what the SPF in homemade sunscreen is.  The creator replied that there's "no way to measure" the SPF, and "you need to find what works best for you."

I don't know about you, but I do not want to gamble with getting sunburned!  Especially since sunscreen helps lower your risk of skin cancer, according to Skincancer.org.

Be safe out there this Summer!