Board-certified dermatologist David Kim talks to Vogue about his viral rubber band hack for lymphatic drainage and experts break down whether this trend is actually legit.
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Toning down one’s facial swelling is something many search far and wide for, as puffiness is a common occurrence that can be triggered by many different things. “A number of factors cause puffiness,” facialist Katharine Mackenzie Paterson once told Vogue. “Salt and alcohol, a slow lymphatic system, a lack of sleep and congestion—especially in the summer months when allergies come to the fore.” So leave it to everyone’s beauty trend machine (a.k.a. TikTok) to illuminate a “hack” to get you lymphatic drainage results in under 10 minutes with the use of an easy-to-find household item: wrapping rubber bands around your ears.
This technique is hardly new. Creator of the viral video David Kim, MD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Lightsaver, says this trend first started in Korea. Because of its accessibility and quick results, it’s a video many are still gravitating towards a year after he posted it.