Tennis star Serena Williams has surprised thousands of her fans by revealing on TikTok that her breast milk helped in healing her sunburn. The 42-year-old mother who gave birth to her second daughter in August took to social media to share her unconventional remedy.
Williams first applied her breast milk to her sunburned undereye and later claimed it soothed the area. However, some of her 1.6 million followers expressed uncertainty about the remedy.
The TikTok video viewed over 47,000 times has Williams casually dressed in a black crop top and pants from her Los Angeles home. The tennis icon explained an incident of getting sunburned under her eye, prefacing the story with a lighthearted “don’t ask.”
“I have sensitive skin. I was in the sun. Long story. Anyway, I’m trying some breast milk.
‘It works for my kid. They say put breast milk on everything and I have a lot of extra so I’m going to try it for a week or so under my eye and see how it goes,” she said, as reported by Daily Mail.
After dabbing breast milk on her sunburned undereye, Williams exclaimed it had brought her immediate relief, expressing, “I mean it already feels better because it hurts.”
She committed to updating her fans and, in the caption, asked her fans their thoughts on the unconventional remedy and its perceived weirdness.
“I have to say after a week of using MY breast milk under my eye – it worked! I’m dying to hear your thoughts. Be nice lol.”
Social media responses to Williams’ unconventional remedy have been mixed, with some expressing discomfort over the TMI aspect, while others found it innovative, sharing their own remedies like using honey for burns.
Williams welcomed her second daughter Adira River Ohanian with her husband Alexis Ohanian in August. The couple, who first met in Rome in 2015, already share five-year-old Olympia.
There is substantial research that shows that breast milk does not only have nutritional value but also natural antibacterial properties.
A 2019 paper titled “Milk Therapy: Unexpected Uses for Human Breast Milk” suggests that due to its natural antibacterial properties, breast milk can be used to address various skin issues, including cuts and scrapes.
