There are some fairly questionable hacks floating around on TikTok. A few include sunscreen contouring, the salt water acne treatment and DIY acupuncture. The latest wild trend circulating on the app involves two products by cult brand The Ordinary, which one user has dubbed as “Botox in a bottle”.
With the hashtag #BotoxInaBottle currently sitting at 12.4 million views, it’s safe to say that this hack has gone viral. What is it exactly? Well, it involves mixing two serums — The Ordinary’s Argireline 10% Solution ($13.90) and the Matrixyl 10% + HA ($19.90) — together, which when used on a daily basis should produce Botox-like results.
After using the combination every day for a month, TikTok creator Sarah Palmyra said that the line between her eyebrows had greatly reduced. Palmyra also demonstrated how much the products had restricted the movement she had in her forehead (just like Botox does).
“Argireline, in general, has very limited data and studies on it but I did find one study that was very interesting,” said Palmyra in her TikTok video. “The study’s findings suggested that using Matrixyl and Argireline together provided the best results.”
This is backed up by dermatologist, Dr Mark Storm, who created his own TikTok video on the subject. “Argireline inhabits the same protein that botox does, SNAP 25, which is what allows Botox to weaken muscles and therefore leads to less wrinkles,” Dr Storm said.
But, as is the case with many TikTok hacks, there is a caveat. Dr Storm isn’t convinced that applying these products topically is enough to penetrate into the skin and provide long-lasting results. Instead, Dr Storm thinks that The Ordinary’s Argireline 10% Solution could have another use for hyperhidrosis, also known as excessive sweating.
“Sweat glands are not nearly as deep as muscle is,” he explained. “Could topical Argireline be useful as a new and exciting aluminium free deodorant?”
Dr Storm shouts out Deciem (the parent company of The Ordinary) to jump on this potential opportunity and create a new alternative to traditional deodorant. As Dr Storm pointed out, this isn’t quite the same as Botox, which is something Palmyra agrees with.
“This does not replace Botox or retinol, in my opinion, and you have to use it daily to maintain results, but for the price point, it’s a no brainer.”
