Cleaning your makeup brushes is one of those things that most of us know you’re supposed to do, but few of us actually do on a regular basis. According to one TikToker, however, it’s way more important than you might expect.
It all started when Louaira (@louaira) recently hopped on TikTok to ask her followers for some help. She was starting to notice strange breakouts across her face.
While she was fairly certain it wasn’t an acne flare-up, Louaira thought they looked like strange burn marks. But as for what could have caused them, she was clueless. In fact, even her doctors were a bit stumped at first.
The marks, which got progressively larger, were mostly located around her chin and mouth. But as time wore on, they started to multiply until they were all over her face.
In response to her first video, Louaira’s followers started commenting with their hunches as to what it could be. Some wondered if it was psoriasis, while others suggested impetigo.
“Eczema looks like that idk about the pain but tho I just get darker patches,” one person wrote.
“Could it be a virus?” wrote someone else. “My mum had something like this just appear.”
“That is ringworm,” another person said confidently. “How do the drs not know that. Wow.”
After weeks of follow-up visits with the dermatologist and trying out various skin treatments, Louaira returned to give her followers an official diagnosis: It was, in fact, ringworm.
At the start of her video, the TikToker told viewers that this was their sign to “clean EVERYTHING” — but especially makeup brushes, sponges and towels.
“Got a case of ringworms,” she then announced, along with a series of photos that showed how the outbreaks developed and multiplied.
In some photos, Louaira is visibly crying over what’s happened to her face. She also writes that as the marks turned into blisters, the pain was hard to take.
Since being diagnosed, she’s been prescribed special face cleansers and ointments to help clear up the spots on her face, but it certainly hasn’t been an overnight fix.
The TikToker’s story immediately spread panic among viewers.
“New fear unlocked,” wrote one user.
“Now I’m scared,” said someone else.
“WHAT IS A RING WORM,” another person asked.
According to the Mayo Clinic, ringworm is a rash caused by a fungal infection. Otherwise known as tinea corporis, the condition usually results in an itchy, circular rash with clearer skin in the middle. And, contrary to what many people think, there’s no actual “worm” involved in the rash — it simply gets its name from its circular appearance.
Since sharing her story, a lot of people have thanked Louaira for documenting her medical journey, even though it was personal and potentially embarrassing.
“Thanks bestie omw to clean my brushes and sponge rn,” one person commented.
“i will be cleaning my sponge and brushes that i haven’t cleaned in over a year, tomorrow,” someone else promised.
“im embarrassed to say this is the sign I needed,” admitted someone else, who said they often put off washing their makeup blenders and brushes because it feels like “a chore.”
Several people also said they had the same rash at one point in their lives, and it was “horrible.”
“I had ringworms as a child twice!” one person shared. “How? I have no idea but it sucked took a while to go away.”
“i got ringworm on my arm last summer!” someone else wrote.. “i know it sounds self explanatory but don’t forget to change out your wash rags and towels every couple uses!”
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