Spend a few minutes on TikTok, and you\u2019ll quickly come across GRWM videos<\/a> where creators take you along as they get dressed, apply makeup, do their hair, and spill the tea on their personal lives<\/a>. Not only do you feel like you\u2019re right in their home, but you\u2019ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at the exact beauty products and techniques they\u2019re using. As a result, the makeup and skin care<\/a> featured in these videos can quickly sell out, and the beauty methods creators use explode in popularity, too.<\/p>\n While buying into TikTok\u2019s most popular styles, aesthetics, and techniques can be fun, the problem is that people often take credit for trends that actually belong to a culture or ethnic group. When it comes to beauty, the line between appreciation and appropriation often gets blurred. On the social media platform, bindis become \u201c#facejewels<\/a>\u201d (the hashtag has more than 20 million views), baby hairs are known as \u201c#stickybangs<\/a>\u201d (these videos have over 35 million views), and slicked-back hair gets called the \u201c#cleangirlaesthetic<\/a>\u201d (a hashtag with a whopping 6.6 billion views). Not only do the communities where these beauty practices originated \u2014 sometimes centuries ago \u2014 become disconnected from the trend when they\u2019re not acknowledged, but it also continues the cycle of disrespecting these groups.<\/p>\n Below, content creators and beauty experts share their thoughts on the TikTok-popular beauty \u201ctrends\u201d that actually find their roots in the Black and brown communities, along with a couple of tips for appreciating \u2014 and not appropriating \u2014 the looks.<\/p>\n In August 2022, Hailey Bieber posted a video wearing a brown lip liner and a clear gloss on top<\/a>, which led #brownieglazedlips<\/a> <\/strong>to trend on TikTok (the hashtag now has over 43 <\/strong>million views). But \u201cbrownie glazed lip\u201d is actually a look that\u2019s been around for some time \u2014 notably worn by Black and brown women in the \u201990s, including celebs like Naomi Campbell and Jennifer Lopez. \u201cWearing lip liner and lip gloss on top go way back,\u201d Melania Cabrera<\/a>, a 23-year-old beauty and skin care content creator from New York, tells Elite Daily. \u201cIt was mainly Hispanic, Black, and other women of color wearing it in many different ways. I recognize it a lot in chola culture<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n Growing up in Queens and seeing the lip combo everywhere, Cabrera says dubbing this look a \u201ctrend\u201d eliminates the originality of the technique and erases the discrimination people of color used to face for wearing it. \u201cThe [problem] is white people stealing what POCs get discriminated and bullied for on a daily basis and not crediting, acknowledging or even respecting its origins,\u201d says Cabrera. \u201cIt\u2019s a repetitive and exhausting narrative. Nothing should be called a trend without first giving recognition to where it comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cclean girl aesthetic,\u201d<\/a> which was popularized by TikTok influencers is all about the athleisure and model-off-duty style worn by celebs like Bella Hadid<\/a>. The style features simple glowy makeup, a simple defined brow, a slicked-back bun, gold hoops, and clean nails. While the #cleangirlaesthetic hashtag has billions of views on TikTok, it\u2019s actually been a defining look of Latinx and Black communities for years.<\/p>\n Throughout her middle school and high school years in the Bronx, beauty and skin care expert Lakeisha Dale<\/a> would wear her hair in a slicked bun or ponytail with large gold hoops and lip gloss from the beauty supply store. <\/p>\n For Dale, thinking of this style \u2014 a trademark in her community throughout the \u201990s and 2000s \u2014 as a fad erases the struggle behind it. \u201cCalling it a trend diminishes something that has been a part of the identity of most Black women,\u201d she tells Elite Daily. \u201cThis was our look, but it didn\u2019t stop society from telling us that we weren\u2019t the beauty standard and it didn\u2019t stop them from calling us \u2018ghetto.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The bindi, a colored dot or jewel that\u2019s placed in between the eyebrows, dates back to around 1500 to 1200 B.C<\/a>. It represents the ajna <\/em>chakra, the third eye, which is an opening to spiritual wisdom. The bindi\u2019s origins are in South Asian culture, and they\u2019re often worn during cultural or religious events. Still, in recent years, non-South Asian festivalgoers have dubbed them \u201cface jewels\u201d and wear them as an accessory at music festivals<\/a>. <\/strong>On the app, you\u2019ll find non-South Asian creators applying them in video tutorials on elevating \u201cfestival gems\u201d or achieving quick \u201crave looks.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up, the bindi was a significant part of 24-year-old <\/strong>social media manager Niha Chandrasekar\u2019<\/a>s culture. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a little black bindi my grandma wears daily or a colorful bindi for Diwali, it is a staple element within the everyday South Asian look,\u201d she tells Elite Daily. Chandrasekar notes the irony in seeing people wear what is considered a normal part of South Asian culture as something new and different at a festival. \u201cIt\u2019s ironic to see POC styles seen as achieving a \u2018dressed up\u2019 or \u2018elevated\u2019 look when it\u2019s deeply integrated as a norm in these POC cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n Although she doesn\u2019t like the way the bindi has been appropriated within mainstream culture, Chandrasekar thinks there are ways to wear and appreciate the look as a non-South Asian person. \u201cI personally love showing my friends my Tamil traditions and have them try Indian jewelry and looks as they\u2019re so unique,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Acrylic nails<\/a> involve adding long nail extensions to your nails to create a stronger and larger base<\/a> for fun nail art. The look has been popular in nail salons since the \u201970s and was actually discovered by a white dentist named Fred Slack after he broke a nail at work and fashioned a new one with a realistic-looking replacement, according to Nails Mag<\/a>. However, the long, acrylic nail style has been a staple among Black women for decades. Supermodel Donyale Luna<\/a> wore them on the cover of Vogue<\/em> in 1966 with other popular Black celebrities following. In 1988, track and field athlete Flo J<\/a> proudly wore acrylic nail art to the world stage while competing in the Olympics. <\/p>\n Nowadays, acrylic nail extensions are incredibly popular, as celebs like Khloe Kardashian<\/a> and Billie Eilish<\/a> <\/strong>have begun to wear them. Across TikTok, you\u2019ll find acrylic nail art videos and people sharing their monthly set \u2014 #acrylicnails<\/a> has over 17 billion views on the app \u2014 but you don\u2019t hear much about where it comes from and who actually popularized the \u201ctrend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother worked in a Dominican hair\/nail salon my entire life, and I would always see all these gorgeous Black and Hispanic women getting their nails done,\u201d <\/strong>21-year-old nail artist Marbles Valdez<\/a> <\/strong>tells Elite Daily. \u201cIt\u2019s part of our overall self-care routine.\u201d Although the look isn\u2019t anything new to her, she has noticed that it has become more widely popular. \u201cWith new young artists\/technicians coming through and creating fun and modern designs, it\u2019s gaining lots of attention from people in different communities and backgrounds,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Despite the fact that it\u2019s a beauty practice common amongst Black women, Valdez says that there\u2019s definitely room to wear acrylic nails without appropriation. \u201cBeauty lovers can appreciate and avoid appropriating by simply acknowledging the roots of acrylic nails\/extensions and giving credit where credit is due,\u201d she says. \u201cSupporting young small artists is always a plus as well!\u201d<\/p>\n Ever since Kylie Jenner debuted her lip fillers<\/a> in 2015, bigger lips have become a coveted feature. Under the #lipfiller<\/a> hashtag, which has 5.7 billion views on TikTok, you\u2019ll find tons of videos of mostly white people talking about or receiving lip enhancements. But before this, Black people were constantly shamed and sexualized for having large, plump lips. Beginning during the period of slavery,<\/a> Black people were compared to monkeys or apes by white colonialists claiming that Black people had similar features to these animals. This continued, and during the Jim Crow era<\/a>, white people in blackface drew on large exaggerated lips to mock Black people.<\/strong><\/p>\n Islah Zareef-Mustafa<\/a>, a 22-year-old freelance artist, <\/strong>says that the trend of resizing your pout is \u201cinfuriating.\u201d \u201cIt is only called a trend when the majority decides that they find it appealing,\u201d she tells Elite Daily. \u201cOnce big lips are no longer trendy, this natural Black characteristic is then devalued.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is harmful because it allows non-Black people to capitalize off of features I\u2019ve been shamed for,\u201d she continues. \u201cThis also allows non-Black women to justify cosplaying as other races, introducing new conversations around \u2018Blackfishing<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Though over-lining your lips or using lip plumper isn\u2019t necessarily appropriation, Zareef-Mustafa reiterates it\u2019s important to learn about \u201ctrends\u201d before immediately participating. \u201cBeauty lovers can learn to appreciate without appropriating through reflecting on, acknowledging, and addressing the anti-Blackness in the beauty industry and community,\u201d she says. \u201cThis will help creators and consumers decide how they can try out new looks without hurting other underappreciated and underrepresented groups.\u201d<\/p>\n With more than 480 million views on TikTok<\/a>, tooth gems<\/a> have increased in popularity <\/strong>as \u201800s trends like <\/strong>glitter and rhinestone have resurfaced. According to Anyamanee Chailom<\/a>, a 27-year-old tooth gem technician in London, tooth gems have existed in various indigenous cultures<\/a>, with roots in Mayan, Egyptian, Mediterranean, and Asian early civilizations. Using original methods, stones like jade and turquoise were drilled into your teeth, but now they are applied in a less invasive way with adhesive. <\/p>\n More recently, grills and tooth adornments have been a large part of Black music and fashion culture acting as \u201cdrip,\u201d a way to display confidence and swagger. Grills were seen first in the \u201970s<\/a>, worn by West Indian immigrants, and later in the \u201980s and \u201990s by hip-hop musicians like Slick Rick<\/a>. Female stars like Erykah Badu<\/a> have been known to be fitted with them too. But recently, white celebrities like Hailey Bieber<\/a> and Madonna<\/a> have been spotted showing off the style. <\/p>\n Chailom thinks they have become a \u201ctrend\u201d because of the resurgence of Y2K. But Chailom says that appreciation is possible as long as the roots of the practice are acknowledged and kept in mind. \u201cI believe in mixing cultures and think it\u2019s the way forward to truly connect and come together as a people,\u201d Chailom tells Elite Daily. \u201cI think we can take part and appreciate each other\u2019s cultures if there is understanding and respect, and honor the history, instead of claiming it as something new and innovative when it isn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n Slicking down your baby hairs<\/a> means using gel or mousse to shape the small hairs around your forehead and temples into swirls, patterns, and designs. While the look has been popular in the Black community for decades \u2014 singer Josephine Baker helped popularize the slicked-back look by adding styled baby hairs in the 1920s \u2014 over the past few years, non-Black celebrities have adopted the look and content creators renamed the style \u201csticky bangs.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims<\/a> has a lot of experience styling baby hairs \u2014 he even created exaggerated baby hairs around Janet Jackson\u2019s hairline for a 2023 performance<\/a> on her Together Again tour.<\/p>\n He emphasizes that while trends are fleeting, the culture that is often behind them is not. \u201cThe way we express ourselves culturally lasts forever,\u201d he tells Elite Daily. \u201cIt will forever be imprinted in history and can\u2019t be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts and sources cited:<\/em><\/p>\n Melania Cabrera, NYC-based beauty and skin care content creator<\/em><\/p>\n Anyamanee Chailom, London-based tooth gem technician and founder of Chai Beauty<\/em><\/p>\n Niharika Chandrasekar, beauty content creator<\/em><\/p>\n Lakeisha Dale, beauty and skin care expert and founder of Melaskin Studio<\/em><\/p>\n Larry Sims, celebrity hairstylist<\/em><\/p>\n Marbles Valdez, NYC-based nail artist and founder of MVZ Beauty Studio<\/em><\/p>\n Islah Zareef-Mustafa, freelance artist<\/em><\/p>\nBrown Lip Liner & Lip Gloss<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Slicked-Back Hair & Gold Hoops<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>The Bindi<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Long Nails<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Large Lips<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Tooth Gems & Grills <\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Styled Baby Hairs<\/b><\/h2>\n
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