They say the eyes are windows to the soul, and in the beauty space, we know they also communicate valuable skin care info. They’re the first to betray a night of poor sleep (yes, even after one night) or a salt-heavy meal—with dark circles, sallow skin, and a puffy, swollen appearance.
Not so fun, but the good news is that a few tricks can dial down said appearance just as quickly as it arises. Speaking of, here’s a viral hack from TikTok (because where else can you wade through a treasure trove of beauty tips?) that promises to banish the swelling in as little as 60 seconds: a DIY ice roller, constructed from a used-up lipstick container.
How to DIY your own mini ice roller.
In the video, the user scoops out the contents of her lipstick (a tiny beauty spatula is perfect for this if you have one available; if not, a cotton swab works, too), fills the container up with water, caps it, then places it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, she twirls the base until the ice pops out from the surface, then glides it under her eyes. Simple!
Since the lipstick canister is much smaller than your average face roller, it gives you more control to really trace the outline of your eyes—swipe the ice across your under-eye and all the way around your brow bone, and try to tell me that doesn’t feel heavenly. After a few rotations, you may notice any puffiness start to subside—ice, after all, can help dial down swelling.
Take it from board-certified family medicine physician Bindiya Gandhi, M.D.: “If you have only five minutes and can place a couple of ice cubes or frozen bags of veggies or the back of spoons on your eyes—this instantly decreases inflammation,” she writes. (But a lipstick-turned-ice-roller seems a bit more glam than a bag of frozen peas, doesn’t it?)
The cold temperature can also help stave off dark circles, too, provided your half-moons are a result of prominent blood vessels (dark circles can happen for other reasons, which you can find here). When those blood vessels expand (like after a night of poor sleep), they can become even more noticeable—ice is a known vasoconstrictor, which means it can help constrict those blood vessels back to baseline. “A cooler temperature helps to constrict tiny blood vessels in our face, the same way that applying ice water to a burned area lessens redness and discomfort,” board-certified dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., FAAD, once told mbg.
That said, it’s also a fabulous remedy for shrinking pimples in a snap—and with the smaller size, you can easily stamp it on a precise area. As noted, the cold temperature can constrict blood vessels, which effectively dials down the redness and inflammation. Just remember to keep the ice moving—you don’t want to place the freezing block directly on the skin for a long period of time, as the intense chill can cause even more redness.
After the video reached viral status (22 million and counting, if you’re curious), a string of duets followed with their own ice-roller concoctions. Aloe vera, green tea, blended cucumber, you name it—if you can pour it into the lipstick canister (and successfully freeze it), you can turn it into a DIY ice roller.
Although, you’ll want to consider this a one-time project: You should clean out the lipstick and refill it after each use to avoid contaminating the tool with grime and bacteria. It’s similar to how you should clean any face massager after each rolling session (just running it under warm water will do, experts say)—but unlike an actual facial roller, you can’t exactly “clean” the ice.
Don’t toss an expired or used-up lipstick—clean the canister, fill it up with water (or aloe, or tea, or…), and create your very own mini ice roller. What better way to repurpose your beauty products?
