Why should girls have all the fun?

Paras Tomar applies his own scrubs

The online universe is filled with videos of stylists' giving tips. And usually, it is women who do all the talking. So, when a colleague mentioned that she recently came across a great homemade face scrub recipe on Tik Tok created by a man, it was necessary to investigate the story behind Malad-based actor Paras Tomar's videos on the short-format mobile video platform.

Filled with DIY beauty home-remedies, he's even called the series "Paras ka nuska" which literally translates to Paras' remedies. The recipes use ingredients you can find in your kitchen, something he says he gets from watching his mother. "She is Himachali, so my roots are "jadi booti". Even my nani had home remedies," he tells us. And just like the ingredients he uses, the online series, too, began quite organically last year. "My skin was always a problem. I had a lot of acne issues," he says.

And though his videos aren't gender-specific, he is breaking stereotypes, and encouraging other men to do so as well. "I get a lot of questions from men, most of which land up in my inbox, while women comment on the videos. The maximum number of queries have to be from boys about removal of chest hair, which, as my dad pointed out, is quite ironic. Everyone from his generation wanted to be hairier. But I also get a lot of people sending me pictures of boils in weird places, which I could do without," he laughs. And it's his easy manner, peppered with jokes, that he himself procla­i­ms are bad, that has led to even the most masculine of men reach out with beauty queries. However, he's never faced a roadblock because he's a man catering to a female-leaning market. Beauty treatments are indeed not a woman-only domain anymore. The "societal shaming" that came with it a decade ago, no longer stands.

Animesh Gupta talking about how papaya is good when you're menstruating

He isn't the only one. City-based model Mridul Madhok also has similar one-minute videos that share detailed tricks to remove pimples overnight or get rid of a tan. Quitting smoking is one thing he repeats in many of his videos, which are short and conversational.

Dr Anime­sh Gupta goes beyond looks. His job as a doctor made him realise what patients face due to lack of knowledge. So, a month and a half ago, he de­cided to upload Tik Tok videos ad­d­ressing these issues. "There are many videos on social media and advertisements which give wrong or incomplete information, that can cause grave side-effects," explains Gupta. While he has snippets explaining symptoms of general ailments, he also addresses women-specific issues pertaining to menstrual pain, usage of sanitary napkins, tampons and panty liners. "I want to talk about the stigma related to menstruation. It's a normal physiological process; it should be perceived as natural and normal as hair growth," he says. And as social media is accessible to all, it was an easy decision to choose the platform.

Mridul Madhok

Why we like it
. Mridul Madhok's video for rem­oving pimples gives simple tips like using cold compress. He ends each video aski­ng followers to DM him with questions.
. Paras Tomar's milia-removing video gives you information in a matter-of-fact yet fun way, ideal for impatient users. He shares the reason why certain ingredients are being used.
. Dr Animesh Gupta's videos are staccato and to-the-point. He responds to DMs quickly.

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