These Are The Viral Products You’ll Actually Use
TikTok crams millions of viral products and supposed life-altering hacks on your For You Page. But how do you sift through the junk to find the gems?
We searched through some of TikTok’s most viral items to find the ones you’ll actually use. Here are the TikTok-famous products that you should add to your wish-list.
SPOTMYUV Detection Stickers
Ever returned from a beach getaway or hiking trip with a sunburn, despite applying sunscreen in the morning? If you often forget that key reapplication step, SPOTMYUV’s viral Detection Stickers may be a product worth checking out. According to the SPOTMYUV website, your SPOT will “turn clear, showing you that you’re protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays,” everyday you cover the sticker with sunscreen. When your sun-protection wanes, the SPOT will turn purple, signaling it is time to reapply. With three layers (the “DermaTRUE, UV Sensing Ink and Swim-Proof Adhesive), the SPOT works to last a full day and protect your skin.
Through interviews with board-certified dermatologists, Allure contributor Jaclyn Smock analyzed the effectiveness of the Detection Stickers. Miami-based dermatologist Dr.Loretta Ciraldo, noted that users have to be diligent with where they place the sticker: “if your arm is somewhere shaded and your lower legs aren’t, you may get a false sense of confidence that all of your body is being protected.”
In other words, while the Detection Stickers cannot prevent sunburn, they can remind those who often neglect reapplying sunscreen to put on another layer. However, it is always important to reapply sunscreen every two hours, regardless of how sun-protected you feel.
You can find the SPOTMYUV Detection Stickers here for $11.99 USD.
Air fryers
One of the most viral products of culinary TikTok, air fryers impress amateur chefs and home cooks alike. Though some may call an air fryer a glorified oven, there are some key differences between the appliances.
According to KitchenAid, while an air fryer “rapidly circulates heated air to cook and crisp up a range of foods,” a conventional, non-convection oven uses “still air” to cook food. One advantage of using an air fyer as opposed to an oven is its compact size. If you’re looking to crisp up a single piece of salmon or small batch of cauliflower wings, an air fryer heats up quickly and does not require much cleaning. Plus, to achieve a crunchy exterior for your favorite vegetables or snacks, you don’t need to add much oil to the food if you opt for an air fryer.
Wirecutter (the product review website of the New York Times) recommends the Cosori Pro Air Fryer as its budget-friendly air fryer pick. You can find it for $99 USD here on Amazon.
Mini milk frother
Somehow TikTok has transformed standard morning coffee routines into aesthetic, culinary videos. As cream ripples through a mason-jarred cold brew, calming music plays overhead. Some users pack their cups with miniature ice cubes and strawberry foam and others pour matcha over a glass of milk. One constant in most TikTok coffee accounts, however, is the mini milk frother.
If you’re looking to add a little more excitement to your morning coffee without spending a fortune on a high-tech machine, a milk frother might be for you. Top an iced coffee with froth in a few seconds, or give your matcha latte a foamy twist. You can find the Milk Boss milk frother here for $16.99.
Gem Hair Stampers
Instead of attempting to follow a hair tutorial or weighing the risks of temporary dye, try gem hair stampers for your next festival look. Blinger, TikTok’s choice gem-hair-stamper brand, allows users to bedazzle their hair in seconds. After threading a strand of hair through the stamper, click the button and you’ll see a small crystal appear. When you’re ready to remove the gems, simply peel them off of your hair.
Though festivals may see the most bedazzled hair, you could also try using a gem hair stamper for a Y2K-inspired Halloween costume. Find a Blinger here for $9.61 (a price that is down 68% from when the product first went viral).
Mini Projector
At the start of the pandemic, many viral products centered around outdoor activities and things you can do from a social distance. Mini projectors soon became the buzz of 2020, and people started setting up movie theaters outside—fit with pillows, blankets, popcorn bowls and starry ceilings.
Though some people station mini projectors outside, you can also use any plain, wide wall to display movies and tv shows with your projector. To create the ambience of a movie theater in your home, check out the VANKYO Leisure 3 Mini Projector. You can find it here on the Walmart website for $69.88 USD.
Disposable Cameras
The revival of disposable cameras perplexes many to this day. Because of the high quality of iPhone cameras, purchasing a device that may produce blurry, dark images (when mishandled) seems like throwing money down the drain. However, for those who can look past film’s demands, owning a disposable camera allows you to capture photos that a smart phone could never produce.
Instead of editing grain into a photo, take a disposable camera photo for naturally-added texture. Film also can blend colors and light in a more vivid way than digital cameras.
Two of the most widely-used disposable camera brands are Fujifilm and Kodak—
but of course, the brands received accolades well before TikTok encouraged users to invest in their viral products. Before buying a disposable camera, keep in mind that uploading your photos to your phone is a process. After having the pictures developed, insert the disc provided by the photo lab into a CD reader. Save the photos to a source you can access from your phone (Google Drive or OneDrive, for example) and save them to your camera roll.
You can find the KODAK FunSaver 35mm Single Use Camera here for $21.99 USD.
