TikTok’s built-in beauty filter is designed to subtly enhance a user’s facial features in videos. It aims to smooth skin, enlarge eyes, slim the face, whiten teeth and more, creating an artificial “beautifying” effect. While some enjoy using the subtle touch-ups, others find the beauty filter problematic as it sets unrealistic beauty standards. There are valid reasons why someone may want to turn off the filter, such as presenting their authentic self online, avoiding promoting distorted beauty ideals or simply not wanting enhanced features without consent. Fortunately, TikTok allows users to fully disable the beauty filter or adjust individual settings.
Locate Beauty Filter Settings
To locate the beauty filter settings on TikTok, first open the TikTok app on your device. From the main feed, tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner to go to your profile page.
In the top right corner of your profile, tap on the three dots icon to open the menu. Here you will see an option called “Beauty,” tap on this to open the beauty filter settings.
The Beauty menu contains various adjustable beauty filters and effects that can be applied to your videos. This is where you can find options to turn the beauty filter on or off.
Source: https://www.itgeared.com/how-to-get-the-beauty-filter-on-tiktok/
Turn Off Overall Beauty Filter
The overall beauty filter on TikTok is enabled by default, applying a soft focus and skin smoothing effect to videos. To turn this filter off:
1. Tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner to open your profile page.
2. Tap the 3 bar menu icon in the top right corner and select “Settings and privacy.”
3. Under “App Settings,” tap “Filters.”
4. Toggle off the switch next to “Beauty” to disable the overall beauty filter.
Once disabled, the beauty filter will no longer be applied to your videos as a default. You can toggle this setting on and off at any time. Disabling the beauty filter results in a more realistic appearance without softening or smoothing effects.
As Business Insider reports, some experts recommend disabling beauty filters to avoid distorting self-perception, especially among teenagers and young adults.
Adjust Skin Smoothing
TikTok’s beauty filter automatically applies skin smoothing to make your complexion look more even and flawless. However, this can end up making your skin look overly blurred and unrealistic.
To turn down the intensity of the skin smoothing filter, open your TikTok app and go to the camera screen. Tap the “Effects” button at the bottom and select “Filters” at the top. Scroll through the filters and tap on the one named “Smooth“.
This will open an editing page for the Smooth filter. At the bottom, you’ll see a slider labeled “Smoothness“. Drag this slider all the way to the left to completely turn off the skin smoothing effect. You can also drag it to the middle for a more subtle smoothing effect.
With the slider lowered, your authentic skin texture and details will show through for a more natural look. Adjust the smoothing as desired for each video to find the right balance between enhancing your complexion and maintaining a realistic appearance.
Reduce Eye Enlargement
One of the most popular beauty filters on TikTok is the eye enlargement filter, which makes your eyes look bigger. If you want to turn off this effect, open the Beauty settings in TikTok and adjust the Eye Enlargement slider.
To find the Eye Enlargement slider, tap on the magic wand icon in the top right of the camera screen. This opens the Effects menu. At the bottom of the screen, tap on “Beauty”.
You will see sliders for several beauty effects, including Eye Enlargement. Drag the slider all the way to the left to completely turn off the eye enlargement filter. You can also drag it towards the left to reduce the intensity of the effect.
Adjusting the Eye Enlargement setting to zero will remove the big eye filter and make your eyes look normal size in your TikTok videos. Keep in mind that some individual video effects may still enlarge your eyes, in which case you would need to remove that specific effect.
Lessen Jaw Slimming
One of the most controversial effects of TikTok’s beauty filters is the default setting that slims the jawline. Many users, especially women, have complained that the filter feminizes their face shape without consent. According to a Technology Review article, the jaw reflected in TikTok’s front-facing camera is often “slimmer and more feminine” than reality.
To adjust the jaw slimming effect in the TikTok beauty filter, go to your profile and tap the three dots in the top right corner. Select “Beauty effects” and you will see sliders for each effect. Drag the “Jaw” slider all the way to the left to completely disable jaw slimming. You can also fine-tune the setting anywhere between 0-100% depending on your preference. Just remember that the default is not an accurate representation of your natural jawline.
Minimize Nose Slimming
The nose slimming filter on TikTok can shrink the appearance of your nose. If you want to minimize the nose slimming effect, you can adjust the slider for it in your beauty filter settings:
1. Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page.
2. Tap on the three dots in the top right corner and select “Beauty Settings” from the menu.
3. On the Beauty Settings page, locate the “Nose Slimming” slider.
4. Drag the slider to the left to decrease the nose slimming filter strength. Setting it all the way to the left will turn off nose slimming completely.
5. Tap “Done” to save your changes.
Now when you record new videos, your nose will appear more natural and less slimmed by the beauty filter. You can always adjust the nose slimming slider later on if you want to change the setting again.
For a more dramatic change, some people use contouring makeup or editing apps to physically alter their nose shape in videos. But adjusting the built-in TikTok beauty filter is the easiest way to minimize the nose slimming effect applied by default.https://www.tiktok.com/discover/fix-your-nose-shape-reaction-filter
Turn Off Teeth Whitening
One of the beauty filters on TikTok is the teeth whitening filter, which can artificially whiten your teeth in videos. If you want to turn off this filter, here’s what to do:
Go to your profile and tap on the three dots in the top right corner to access Settings. From there, tap on “Beauty Effects” and you will see a list of different beauty filters that can be applied to your videos.
Find the option labeled “Teeth Whitening” and make sure the slider is toggled off to the left. This will disable the teeth whitening beauty filter so that your natural teeth shade shows up in videos without artificial whitening.
You can see the impact of the teeth whitening filter by toggling it on and off and previewing before and after effects. When off, your natural tooth color will be preserved. The teeth whitening filter is commonly used to brighten smiles, but not everyone wants artificially whitened teeth in their videos.
If you change your mind later, you can always return to the Beauty Effects settings and re-enable teeth whitening. TikTok gives you granular control to customize beauty filters to your liking.
Disable Face Lifting
The face lifting filter on TikTok slightly lifts and tightens the appearance of facial features to create a smoothing effect. To turn off the face lifting filter:
- Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page.
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner to open the menu.
- Select “Beauty” from the available options.
- Look for the “Face Lifting” option and tap on it.
- Uncheck the box next to “Face Lifting” to disable this filter.
With face lifting disabled, your facial features will appear more natural and relaxed in videos. This allows you to present an authentic look if desired. The process is quick and easy to reverse if you want to re-enable the subtle face lifting effect.
(Source: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/face-lift-filter-effect)
Conclusion
In summary, there are a few steps you can take to turn off the beauty filter on TikTok. You can disable the overall beauty filter, adjust specific features like skin smoothing and eye enlargement, and turn off filters like teeth whitening and face lifting. While beauty filters may seem fun, it’s important to embrace your natural beauty and authentic self. Using filters can negatively impact self-esteem and promote unrealistic beauty standards. Stay true to who you are, and don’t let filters define your worth.