Photo used for illustrative purposes.

More often than not, a TikTok beauty trend will pop up on your timeline, and it looks too good to be true. Usually, our suspicions are correct and when we put the hack to the test – we never get the result we were promised.

However, there are a few needles in the haystack that are worth the effort. Here are four TikTok summer beauty hacks you should be testing out this summer.

1. Pearl skin

The 2024 upgrade from glowing skin, “pearl skin” is TikTok’s latest summer beauty hack that makes skin look truly lit-from-within, with an almost ethereal quality.

Unlike the “glazed” makeup trend that almost drenches the skin with dewiness, pearl skin opts for subtlety, aiming to refine and blur the skin giving an elevated and healthy glow.

Pearl skin utilises a luminous base as opposed to highlighters (illuminators put on at the end of your makeup routine). Luminous bases can be put on as primers, mixed with foundation or worn by itself for a light and glowy make-up look. Using a sponge or your fingers helps melt the product in with the heat of your skin, as opposed to sitting on top of it.

2. Skin flooding

Unlike many other TikTok trends that are very complicated with 101 steps and overwhelming to your skin, this trend is a refreshing take on summer skincare. “Skin flooding” comes from drenching your skin with face mist or water in between applying very light layers of product.

Despite being simple to execute, this hack does take a fair amount of time, as you have to wait for the products to dry out and penetrate the skin before applying another. With a focus on lightweight products such as gels, serums and essences, this hack is perfect for summer.

Start by cleansing and wetting your face, then start with products that are a thinner consistency and finish with the thickest, this will effect how well they’re absorbed. Layering each product onto damp skin will help lock in moisture and make skin appear plumper and brighter.

3. Soap nails

Stemming from the “clean girl” aesthetic, TikTok’s “soap nails” have evolved from the sleek nude manicures we saw all over Instagram in the spring. Soap nails are a more translucent manicure, painted in a pink or nude shade.

The key to this hack, is having perfectly natural manicured nails. Start by evening out the length of all your nails, rounding the tips and trimming the cuticles.

4. From “strawberry” skin to “dolphin” skin

Discussions surrounding “chicken” or “strawberry” skin have been circulating the beauty realm of TikTok for some time now. Otherwise known as Keratosis pilaris, the latest hack for eradicating this skin condition is by applying glycolic acid.

Now in a stick form, people are applying the chemical exfoliant to their bikini lines, legs and arms to reduce the signs of rough, bumpy and pigmented skin, as well as eradicating ingrown hairs for silky-smooth summer skin.

The Independent