Youngsters are strapping their faces before bed to reduce ageing and wake up glowing, worried experts ‘shed’ some light on this dangerous viral trend
A new bedtime ritual is sweeping across the younger generation. No, it’s not the Early to bed, early to rise age-old practice. There’s a new ‘morning shed’ beauty hack that has gone viral. Every night, under the soft glow of ring lights and phone cameras, TikTokers across the globe perform their new bedtime ritual. It's not about winding down with a cup of tea or reading a chapter from a book—it’s about transformation. They layer on collagen sheet masks, secure moisturizing patches, wrap their hair in silk, tape their mouths shut, and strap their jawlines like boxers preparing for a fight. The next morning, they peel it all off to reveal what they claim is an “effortless” glow.
Welcome to the “Morning Shed,” a viral TikTok beauty trend where the more unrecognizable you look before bed, the better you’ll look waking up. Aashi Rai, a Trends Analyst says, “This whole bit started off with people making fun of it and calling it a lot but then curiosity got to them and everyone started trying it out. It evolved from just hair curlers and masks to weird mouth tapes and silicone tapes and red UV lights.”
Pretty Pursuits
At first glance, the Morning Shed appears to be the ultimate lazy-girl beauty hack. The ritual is often accompanied by a voiceover or caption proclaiming, “The uglier you go to bed, the prettier you wake up.”
The trend isn’t just about vanity—it taps into wellness culture, promoting collagen, hydration, and nose breathing. With the mouth taped and the nose clear, many users claim to wake up with not only plumper skin, but more energy, fewer headaches, and less jaw tension. Influencers present their before-and-after faces like trophies, beaming with dewy skin and bouncy curls.
The Beauty Battle
But not everyone is sold and convinced about the ‘morning shed beauty trend —and not without reason. Critics, including dermatologists and sleep experts, have begun questioning whether this trend is as healthy as it is viral. “Imagine sleeping with cling wrap over your face and calling it rejuvenation,” says Dr. Amitabh Upadhay, a holistic dermatologist. “Your skin needs oxygen. When it’s constantly under a film of products and patches, it can’t perform basic cellular functions like toxin release or moisture regulation.”
The human body, after all, is designed to heal and regenerate during sleep. Skin—the body’s largest organ—needs to breathe, reset, and relax during the night. Plastering it with layer upon layer of synthetic materials might actually suffocate its natural rhythm. Add to that the constriction from jawline straps or tight heatless curlers, and what’s marketed as self-care may be crossing into self-sabotage.
A Mouthful Hack
Perhaps the most controversial element of the trend is the use of mouth tape. Touted as a simple hack to force nose breathing—linked to better sleep, improved oxygen intake, and even facial structure—it’s been widely adopted by the Morning Shed crowd. There’s no denying the science behind nose breathing. It filters and humidifies air, promotes nitric oxide production, and helps prevent dry mouth and snoring. Mouth breathing, especially during sleep, has been associated with increased risk of sleep apnea and even bad breath.
But here’s the catch: you don’t need tape to train your body to breathe through your nose. Sleep specialists warn that for some people—especially those with sinus issues or undiagnosed breathing disorders—mouth taping can be dangerous. It’s treating the symptom without addressing the cause.
“There are safer, more sustainable ways to promote nose breathing,” says yoga instructor Sanjay Om. “Breathing exercises, posture correction, even nasal strips. You don’t need to mummify your face to sleep better.”
Weird Viral Trends
So why do millions still dive into this nightly cocooning process? In part, it’s the aesthetic culture TikTok breeds—visual, fast, and focused on transformation. In a world obsessed with 10-second glow-ups and “get ready with me” montages, the Morning The 'Morning Shed' is the perfect drama. It promises an ideal morning face without the hustle, wrapped in the illusion of self-care. But it also reflects a deeper truth: people are tired. Tired of long routines, tired of skin issues, tired of not having control over their appearance. The Morning Shed gives the illusion of control—do this, sleep, and wake up flawless.
Impact On Environment
Beyond the personal health concerns, the Morning Shed trend is quietly contributing to a larger crisis—environmental waste. Every night, millions of single-use collagen masks, adhesive mouth tapes, and plastic-lined skincare patches are applied and tossed by morning.
These products are often non-recyclable and end up in landfills or oceans, adding to the global pollution problem. What’s worse, the production and packaging of these beauty items often rely on fossil fuels and generate carbon emissions. So while users may wake up glowing, the planet is left bearing the cost—one plastic peel at a time.
