Photo: unsplash.com
It’s no secret that the TikTok algorithm knows your interests pretty well, and as an editor for BobVila.com, that means my feed is filled with clean-up content. #CleanTok, as the niche interest is called on TikTok, teams up with folks who decant supplies into aesthetic storage, share reviews of the hottest cleaners, and use product globs to show off their favorite cleaning hacks.
So far, I’ve only been an observer of these oddly satisfying videos. For me, when it comes to cleaning, I’ve stuck with trusted brands and classic cleansers, like vinegar and baking soda. But after scrolling through promises of easy tricks and amazing results, I decided it was time to put #CleanTok to the test.
The Shaving Cream Mirror Trick
As a #CleanTok lover, I was only willing to dip my toe in the world. I wanted to test out a hack that had the usual elements of the genre – unconventional, extreme, and a rewarding outcome – but wasn’t going to mess me up any bigger if it turned into a disaster.
While browsing videos of intense deep cleaning and quirky tips, I came across one featuring “3 Home Cleaning Tricks Using Shaving Cream”. With a catchy pop song playing in the background, I watched a woman’s hand-polished shaving cream on a mirror for a streak-free shine and to prevent fogging, smear it on a device to remove fingerprints and polish a diamond ring with. I don’t have any stainless steel appliances or jewelry to shine, but my bathroom mirror needed cleaning. I searched for “shaving cream cleaning hacks” to see if anyone else was using this toiletry item on their mirror and sure enough there were! I found my cleaning hack to test.
Get on with it
In all the videos I watched, the most used traditional shaving cream. I had some shaving gel on hand, but bought a box of regular shaving cream for a fair experience. I would use the gel on one half of the mirror and the cream on the other half. In some videos people applied the shaving cream with a microfiber cloth and in others they smeared it on with their hands; again, I would test both methods.
Photo: Katie Nolan
So many #CleanTok videos show people using an excessive amount of product. Although I’m generally more cautious, this seemed like an opportunity to get a little crazy. I squirted about a golf ball of gel on the fabric, which then grew in size – it was way more than I needed. When I knew it was too much, I went ahead and applied it to the mirror. I left about a third of the mirror intact to control the defog component.
Then I switched to traditional shaving cream and squirted it right on my hand. I tried to learn from my previous mistake of using too much with the gel, but still ended up with an excess. I went ahead and smeared it on the mirror in a circular motion.
With the mirror almost covered in shaving cream, I grabbed a clean microfiber cloth to wipe everything down. In the videos, it looked like people were using the same cloth they used to apply shaving cream, but mine was too messy. It took a few minutes longer than the videos shown, but I attribute that to using too much product. The side with the shave gel left a hazy coating that took some extra work to buff it out, but eventually it disappeared. Before passing judgment, I turned on the shower and let the room fill with steam to see what would happen.
Did the shaving cream trick work?
So did I end up with a shiny, fog-free mirror? Well, yes and no. My mirror definitely looked cleaner than when I started, but it didn’t look any better than the times I cleaned it with Windex. However, the trick prevented the mirror from becoming foggy. When the bathroom filled with steam, the part without shaving cream immediately became cloudy while the other part remained mostly clear.
As for which shaving cream worked best? Classic shaving cream was the way to go. The side with it never needed any extra polishing, looked cleaner and really didn’t fog up at all.
Photo: Katie Nolan
Final Thoughts
While this TikTok hack wasn’t a total fail, I’m not ready to add it to my cleaning routine. Using shaving cream was messier than a spray cleanser and the results were less impressive. Although this prevented fogging, this is not a concern for me. It’s a good alternative if you’re in a hurry and don’t have your usual cleanser handy. All in all, it was a good foray into #CleanTok and inspired me to tackle some of the other cleaning trends on the app.
