Oatzempic to navel oil Can TikTok health hacks really work?

The deluge of improbable health hacks on TikTok can only mean it's the start of a new year. Here we look at some of the more curious tips and the evidence, where there is any, behind them.

- Ian Sample

Putting rubber bands around your ears to reduce facial puffiness

The South Korean fad for wrapping rubber bands around the ears for 10 minutes to reduce facial puffiness has gone global. Advocates claim the bands help move fluid around the lymphatic system, but there's no scientific evidence to support this. There is evidence that lymphatic massage can reduce puffiness, but the effects are temporary.

Prof Hywel Williams, a specialist in evidence-based dermatology at the University of Nottingham, said many TikTok videos involved young, fit people with no facial puffiness to begin with. "The craze seems to be creating anxiety and inventing a new thing to worry about," he said.

But he would like to see a proper test with puffiness assessed before and after by aestheticians. "I am always open-minded," he said, "and sometimes the medical profession can be wrong."

Sticking garlic up the nose to cleanse the sinuses