Striking Face TikTok Filter

About

Striking Face TikTok Filter is a filter by the same name on the video-sharing app TikTok that is often used in conjunction with the Bold Glamour filter in before-and-after style videos. The realistic-looking filter gives the user a longer asymmetrical face, removes the eyebrows, adds a five-o'clock shadow and enlarges the lips. Discussions about the filter tend to revolve around the face's perceived "ugliness," however, such use of the filter has notably been criticized by some people who disagree with the filter's perceived ugliness.

Origin

One of the earliest trends associated with the Striking Face Filter was using the caption, "Let your brain forget what you look like," to show before and after shots of a person. The implication in the trend was that the filter makes your face ugly, and seeing your face with fresh eyes makes you look more attractive to yourself and others.

TikTokers @ionlygetwithmid^[1] and @treealgod^[2] were two early adopters of the filter to gain traction, on June 6th and June 7th, 2023, respectively, gathering over 3 million views each. However, the earliest viral use of the filter can be traced to a June 8th, video posted by TikToker^[3] @valentijn.dijkman. The video gathered over 18 million plays and 1 million likes in two weeks (seen below).

Spread

In June 2023, various users began posting videos using both the "Bold Glamour" filter and the "Striking Face" filter to make jokes about what they think they look like versus what they "actually" look like. On June 15th, TikToker^[4] @laurawiththecurls posted a video following the concept and gathered over 6 million plays and 400,000 likes in a week (seen below, left). On June 17th, TikToker^[5] @zsmittty posted a similar video, gathering over 6 million plays and 1 million likes in five days (seen below, right).

Criticism

Several TikTokers criticized the portrayal of the face as "ugly" in the aforementioned trends, noting that there are likely people in the world with the exaggerated features shown in the Striking Face filter. TikTokers also criticized the vanity of objectively attractive people using an "ugly" filter as an exercise of vanity. TikToker^[6] @missyangren posted one such video on June 7th, 2023, gathering over 1,000 plays in two weeks (seen below, left). TikToker^[7] @isabellas.lost posted a video criticizing the Striking Face trend on June 15th and gathered over 1 million plays and 200,000 likes in a week (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References