How to find TikTok beauty influencers for your brand

TikTok's beauty communities have their own names, MakeupTok, SkinTok, HairTok and NailTok, and each rewards a different video. The creator explaining retinoids rarely posts the 20-second lip combo.

GRWM storytellers

"Get ready with me": makeup done while talking to camera, often about something else entirely. Suits everyday products, where the routine is the demonstration. The story holds viewers, so the product needs a clear moment.

Quick tutorials and lip combos

Short technique videos with the result in seconds. Suits colour cosmetics and tools.

SkinTok

Routines, ingredient explainers and texture shots, some from qualified professionals who will question your claims. Suits skincare with evidence behind it.

HairTok and NailTok

Curl routines, heatless styles, press-ons and at-home gel. Hair type matters as much as shade, and nails reward close-ups.

Dupes and de-influencing

Cheaper alternatives, and videos telling viewers what not to buy. Suits value brands that can take a frank comparison.

TikTok Shop sellers

Creators who sell through shoppable videos and LIVEs on commission. Suits brands already selling on TikTok Shop.

Beauty searches on TikTok are short and specific, often naming an undertone, a hair pattern or a result. Try:

• lip combo for deep skin
• grwm for work
• 5 minute makeup
• makeup that lasts in heat
• olive undertone foundation
• foundation for mature skin
• skin cycling
• texture test
• heatless curls overnight
• 4c hair wash day
• press on nails
• chrome nails at home
• dupe for [product]
• tiktok made me buy it beauty

Shade and undertone words bring up creators who share them, with viewers asking whether a product would work on them too. When searching by hand, the community tags (#makeuptok, #skintok, #hairtok, #nailtok) are crowded, so pair them with a concern.

Where TikTok Shop runs, a seller sets a commission rate on a product (how commission works), and creators earn it on sales from shoppable videos, LIVEs and affiliate links. That's a sales deal, not a sponsorship, and suits creators who already sell. To run a creator's video as an ad from their handle, see Spark Ads and partnership ads.

• Filters on results. In 2021 the UK's ASA ruled against two tanning brands whose creators' Stories used filters that made their skin look darker. It said responsibility lies with the advertiser, and suggested brands advise creators against such filters in their agreements (ASA). A label on a video won't tell you about every edit, so put a no-filter rule in the agreement and ask what was used.
• Before and after. The ASA treats before-and-after images as objective claims: the after should show what buyers can generally get, and in a mascara ad, lash inserts mustn't add more than the mascara could (ASA).
• Cosmetic or medicine. TikTok's Branded Content Policy prohibits branded content for cosmetics making medicinal claims, and content that exploits "insecurities to conform to certain beauty ideals or standards". In the US, the FDA judges a product's intended use partly from claims in advertising and online, and "restore hair growth" makes it a drug (FDA). Keep scripts to look, feel and the creator's own experience.
• Dupes that name a brand. A paid video calling your product a dupe of a named brand is a comparative ad. The UK code says ads must not present a product as an imitation or replica of one with a protected trade mark (ASA). Don't script "dupe for" a competitor.
• Shade and skin. Send the creator's own shade, and mention patch testing for skincare.
• Labels. Paid and gifted posts both need one: see Instagram and TikTok disclosure rules.

A beauty video can travel far and sell nothing, or reach few and sell well. Read past the plays:

• Product questions. "Shade?", "link?" and "does it transfer?" are buyers talking. Comments about the GRWM story aren't.
• Trend lift. A sound or effect can carry one video far past the creator's usual reach. Use the median of recent videos, skipping pinned ones; the TikTok engagement rate calculator works it out.
• Past paid videos. Find their "Paid partnership" labels. Does the creator keep their usual voice, and do comments still ask about the product?
• Sales. Sales from a creator's videos and LIVEs aren't on their profile, so ask for screenshots.

If plays look high for the comments a video gets, check for bought engagement before you pay.

Check when your products sell before you book videos: your own sales history, and Google Trends for when searches for a phrase such as "SPF for oily skin" rise and fall in each country. Book seasonal videos a few weeks before the rise. Trends turn over fast, so build a deal around the creator's usual format, not a sound that may be gone by posting day.

Nakodo reads your website and writes an editable brief, so a curl cream brand's keywords cover curl routines and wash days rather than "beauty", and run on every platform in the campaign. On TikTok it reads each public profile while logged out, including plays, likes and comments for 3 recent videos at least 3 days old, and works out engagement as (likes + comments) ÷ views.

Off-topic words set an account aside when they match more than half of at least 5 captions: add "fillers" or "lash tech" to set aside clinics and salons promoting their own services. TikTok's region and language count towards fit, which helps when your shade range or shipping covers only some countries. How it works explains the scores.