I would be honest: Some interesting substances made their way to my face in my time as a beauty editor. I followed a recommendation from celebrity facialist Ivan Pol to try Whole Foods yogurt instead of keratin remover - a surprisingly rebalancing if I say so I massaged my blood into my face during what is known as a "vampire face.""Once upon a time, I slathered myself into the mucin of a snail to pursue the skin of a glass. Perhaps my most bizarre beauty experiment, however, began to pass this week, when I soaked my skin with bag balm, a moisturizer originally developed to soothe dry cow breasts.

Call me crazy. it's okay i get it. But listen to the TikTok girl before you judge. They are rather convincing and are fully responsible for the revival of the virus in the product.

Bag balms are touted as do-it-yourself ointments that can cure rough lips, dry cuticles, and coarse patches, as well as extend the life of your perfume, repair your makeup, and serve as an alternative to slugging. In TikTok, nostalgia 11, a green jar that looks nostalgic, is increasingly described as a "much better" alternative to vaseline or as an "older, hotter sister" of Aquaphor. As a result, Bag Balm's social follow has skyrocketed. Alix Earl's viral TikTok on Balm received about 50 million likes, while the hashtag "Bag Balm" generated (and counts) well over 1000 posts on the platform.

The topic seems credible. "I've been using bag balms for years," raves the 62-year-old TikToker, whose skin is hydrated and looks even and plump.

"It's a really great nutrition solution. I'm obsessed," TikToker Madison Taylor says in another viral video. These perfectly organic, this is not an ad recommendation prompted thousands of viewers to "run to TJ Maxx" or order a jar on Amazon.

However, the TikTok trend, no matter how convincing it may be, can be misplaced. Case in Point: BeautyTok belief that raw potatoes taped to your jaw can cure cystic acne or Chia seed is a substitute for Botox. I asked myself: To find out that items developed for the rough leathery skins of livestock, barnyard and 1,100-pound cattle can really help my skin

, I asked Karan Lal, DO, MS, and board-certified dermatologists for insight into the possibly transformative formulation of Bag Balm. . I also tested the product with the Marie Claire beauty team.

The bag balm and its no-frills package have quite rural roots. Rewind in 1889, the formula was whipped on a farm in Vermont as a "tonic and conditioner" for the rough breasts of dairy cows. It wasn't very sexy about it - it was an agricultural staple. It wasn't until the 1960s that people started using it as human skin care.

The bag balm formula itself is simple. It has 5 ingredients: vaseline, lanolin, paraffin, water, and 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate, and it is free of common skin irritants like fragrances, alcohol, parabens, phthalates, and dyes. Described as "a skin moisturizer that works wonders on dry skin," the company promotes its product as a multi-purpose healer suitable for under the eyes, heels, tattoos, hands and generally rubbed skin.

A handful of video push Bag Balms currently circulating online are used as slugging agents. For beginners, slugging is "to apply a layer of vaseline or vaseline-based ointment to your face before bedtime," Hadley King, a Faad and board certified dermatologist, previously told Marie Claire. The technology is thought to seal in moisture and can be particularly beneficial for dry skin types.

While the bag balm technically fits the bill (vaseline is the first ingredient on the INCI list), Dr. Lal says that the bag balm has a wool-exposed animal "I'll never use this on my face," he says. Lanolin, he explains, is not only a common allergen, but also incredibly comedogenic. "It clogs your pores. It is similar to Aquaphor, which has lanolin in it, too. "

You don't need to slug to get healthy and balanced skin, but if you choose to do so, vaseline is the preferred medium — it's lanolin-free.

By the time the bag balm arrived at Marie Claire's office, the team was confident it could replace our moisturizers, cuticle oils and lotions. TikTok is very convincing (and I appreciate the non-sexy beauty products).

The balm in the bag certainly held its own if we put it to the test — it's great for cracked skin and fragrance priming. But proceed with caution before putting it on your face. Our honest thoughts, ahead.

"Frankly, the smell of bag balm clearly indicates that it was intended to be used on animals. It's a bit — how do I put this well — naive. The natural scent turned me off, but I stuck in the name of a beauty test.

"I'm personally a big fan of slugging; my skin is on the drier side and the AC unit in New York City is not friendly. I used an incredibly small amount of the product and spread it on some dry patches around my mouth. It was deeply hydrated (I'll give it), but as a doctor. Lal predicted, I woke up the next morning with some small pimples and clogged pores."

"I don't plan on slugging with an occlusive balm anymore, but I've found some worthwhile alternative purposes. I happened to love using it as an eye cream: the bag balm is non-irritating and purely plump the dehydrated area overnight. It worked wonders on my typically coarse cuticle as well. It is 24 hours and the skin around my nails is still soft.

"Perhaps my favorite use for bag balm was as a primer for perfume. I rubbed a small dot on the inside of my wrist before spraying the scent of my favorite custom blend. Usually, light perfumes disappear fast and last only about 5 hours. But with a little boost from the bag balm, I swear I got a solid 24 hours out of my scent. That in itself is a good enough reason for me to keep this green jar beside me indefinitely.

"When my mother bought me a container for this modest bag balm, I didn't realize that a small green container would be one of my beauty staples 1. It's a true skincare hero, with a hydrating formula that works beautifully in all my driest spots. I use it on my upper lip after waxing: immediately after, it breaks down the wax left on my skin and relieves redness and irritation. Then a few days into the wax, the thick formula will eradicate the severity flaky patch of hair removal.

"I also use my bag balm in the space between my fingers which is easy to dry as a result of the multiple rings I wear. The ring rubs against the skin at the base of my fingers, making regular lotion applications a bit challenging. Bag balm always comes to my rescue with a thick formula that moisturizes, heals cracked skin and lasts for hours."