Washed-out skin, brittle nails, dry lips, and overall, a permanent look of exhaustion. Do these symptoms sound familiar? Social media might have diagnosed you with a critical case of "ferritin face."

TikTok is in a frenzy over yet another trend where users, more often than not, dub a tired-looking face as the result of low iron. The deficiency results from low ferritin, a protein that stores iron safely in the body.

The current social media beauty trends are far above providing basic solutions to your aesthetic crisis. They often use a medical basis and scientific terminology to back their findings.

"Ferritin face" is one such trend. It uses iron deficiency as a direct reason why your skin might be looking rough and your facial features tired. And it is not because you are naturally "ugly".

Videos on TikTok and other social media apps are using "before and after" as a visual engine driving the trend. During the "before phase", they appear with greyish skin, deep under-eye shadows, and cracked lips. However, the "after phase" shows them after they have used medical treatments like prescribed iron pills or expensive IV infusions. They appear with glowing skin, healthier hair, and fewer dark circles. Users often cite it as "the color slowly coming back to my face."

The "ferritin face" trend has given a definite name to an otherwise chronic exhaustion that people face in their daily lives. It validates their feelings in more than one way. "You are not ugly; your ferritin is low" is the very phrase that drives the trend.

It is also a way to draw people into an alluring "quick fix" that otherwise might need a complex solution (like a total lifestyle change). Attributing everything to a single protein deficiency by using highly contrasting visuals hooks people to the screen. It enforces the trend, which is why your feed might be obsessed with "low iron" and quick fixes for it right now.

Though the videos on the internet might show positive results of increased iron intake, "ferritin face" is not a real medical diagnosis. Iron deficiency is a well-known factor in the symptoms of exhaustion, but it's not the only one.

The enhanced appearance can very well be a result of a decrease in stress or, in the case of reduced dark circles, just an increased quality of sleep.

The internet is well-known for being a visually biased space. Viewers can easily forget to take in the changes in the lighting, angles, makeup, and camera quality as reasons behind an image's increased quality. This might lead to people misdiagnosing themselves.

Doctors noted that the "pale signs" of iron deficiency and anaemia do not look the same on different skin tones.

This can lead to the issue of inclusivity. Hence, doctors are concerned that people with different skin tones might use these heavily biased visuals as medical facts. They might ignore other underlying issues that have similar overlapping symptoms.