Before there were ice rollers, cryo masks, and other face-cooling tools that purport to firm and smooth skin with the power of frigidity, there was the simple act of dunking one’s face in a bowl of icy water. And it seems Kylie Jenner is being encouraged by her makeup artist, Ariel Tejada, to adopt the practice, but not without a few extra bells and whistles—and complaints.
Kylie Jenner posted a video to TikTok that shows her reluctantly hovering over a bowl of ice water. “The things Ariel makes me do,” the caption reads, suggesting that Tejada is having her dunk her face before he starts doing her makeup—perhaps before this past weekend’s Golden Globes, where Jenner’s boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet, took home an acting award.
But it’s not just any ol’ bowl. It appears to be something called the FaceTub, which, in addition to serving as a vessel for very cold water, comes with an “integrated breathing tube” that allows you to keep your face under the water longer. If you can stand it. Which Jenner cannot.
After a little practice breathing through the tube and getting past her initial hesitance, Jenner puts her face into the water, and comes back up immediately, her hair stuck to her skin. She tries again for an unknown length of time (the video is cut, leaving it a mystery).
“I mean, yeah, you can do little by little, but you probably should stay in there—” Tejada starts to say before Jenner cuts him off to tell him she needs a second and that it was like “brain freeze all over my face.” After another short dip, she decides she’s done.
Now, obviously, you don’t need to spend over $100 on a special ice bath basin if you want to try this, but before you break out your mixing bowl, you may want to ask, should you try this?
“An ice-water face dunk isn’t magic, but it’s not nonsense either,” says Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and clinical professor in the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology. “The cold causes brief vasoconstriction, which can reduce puffiness and redness and give skin a temporarily firmer look, which is why makeup can sit a bit smoother right after.” But temporarily is what you need to remember, she says. “It won’t actually shrink pores or change skin biology in any lasting way.”
Dr. Gohara says it’s probably not a great idea for those with very sensitive skin, rosacea, or eczema, and overdoing extreme cold can disrupt the skin barrier or cause irritation.
“If you love it, fine—just remember that ice water is a prelude, not a primer.” In other words, it’s no substitute for moisturizing and barrier support when it comes to getting your skin to look its best for a glam makeup moment. “Fun for the feed, optional for the face.”
And from the looks of it, Jenner may already be over dunking her face for TikTok—and in general.
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