Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville is no stranger to drama, but her latest beauty experiment has fans cringing—and concerned. In a move that’s raised more eyebrows than applause, Glanville revealed she attempted to treat a persistent facial condition using Nair, the popular chemical hair-removal cream. Unsurprisingly, the results were not pretty.
In a TikTok video posted Sunday, Glanville candidly shared the aftermath of her DIY treatment, complete with chemically burned skin and a heavy dose of sarcasm. The TV personality, who has spoken openly about battling a rare facial parasite for over a year, decided to bypass traditional medical advice and try something unconventional—and, unfortunately, painful.
“Beauty hacks (this is a good one but do a test patch) I did 7 minutes and I’m on fire sooooioko,” she wrote in the caption, accompanied by raw footage of her visibly irritated skin. The caption doubled as both a warning and a reluctant confession: the “hack” had not gone as planned.
Glanville, 51, said she applied the Nair directly to her face for seven minutes, hoping it would help with the chronic skin irritation caused by what she described as a “facial parasite.” She later clarified that keeping it on for longer than that can be dangerous, revealing that the same experiment had previously “burned the loose skin” off her arms.
Trying to soothe the damage, Glanville said she quickly whipped up a makeshift remedy from ingredients she had at home—chilled aloe vera, cucumber, and black tea—to calm the stinging and inflammation. “I know I look attractive,” she said in the video, with a heavy dose of sarcasm, as she displayed the raw, reddened skin on her face. “Good news! You guys don’t have to spend a lot of money on peels and lasers anymore, because I decided to put Nair on my face.”
While some viewers found the clip humorous, others were visibly concerned about the safety and reasoning behind using a depilatory cream as a skincare treatment—particularly one with such intense chemical ingredients not meant for facial use.
Glanville explained that her unorthodox decision was driven by ongoing frustration with her condition, which she’s previously described as a parasitic infection affecting her face. In a moment that was part joke, part coping mechanism, she said the parasite—whom she’s nicknamed “Caroline”—tends to flare up when she exfoliates, prompting her to get creative in her attempts to manage it.
In an unexpected twist, Glanville actually praised Nair in the same breath, calling it “the fountain of youth”—albeit in a clearly tongue-in-cheek tone.
This isn’t the first time Glanville has opened up about the mysterious condition. In 2023, she spoke to Entertainment Tonight, revealing that the parasite had begun affecting not just her skin but also her ability to speak. The illness, she said, had taken a serious toll on her confidence and social life. She’s been prescribed multiple medications, seen numerous specialists, and has, by her estimate, spent more than $70,000 trying to find answers and relief.
Despite the financial and emotional cost, Glanville remains determined to manage the illness—and clearly, she’s willing to try just about anything. Still, her latest experiment has sparked conversation online about the dangers of DIY skincare, especially when used in place of medical treatment.
While her willingness to be transparent—and self-deprecating—about her struggles is something fans have come to expect, health experts warn that chemical hair removers like Nair are not designed for treating medical conditions, and misusing them on sensitive facial skin can lead to burns, scarring, and further complications.
Glanville, ever the provocateur, seems undeterred. But even her followers are urging her to reconsider the home remedies in favor of expert advice. As one user commented under the video, “Girl… Nair is not skincare. Please go back to the dermatologist.”
For now, though, it seems Glanville—and “Caroline”—are staying on their unconventional skincare journey. And her fans? They’ll be watching—with a mix of fascination and secondhand pain.