Can Influencers, Content Creators, and Spicy Creators Write Off Beauty Expenses?
Despite what you may have heard some random beauty creator filming in her car say on TikTok, your lashes, highlights, waxes, or general maintenance expenses are most likely not a tax write-off. But if you were to write them off, this is how you could do it. (Not financial advice.)
THE MYTH THAT HAS BEEN LIVING RENT FREE ON CREATOR TIKTOK
The most common myth floating around creator TikTok is that being on camera = everything beauty-related is a write-off â
That your lashes, your nails, your hair, your skincare routine, all of it becomes a business expense the moment you hit record.
This is genuinely one of the most audited areas for self-employed people and the IRS has seen every version of this argument.The "I'm a content creator so it's different" argument:
You logic might be âmy appearance IS my product, therefore maintaining my appearance IS a business expense.â
The IRS has seen this argument from every angle imaginable and your girlboss justification is not going to be the one that finally convinces them đ
Claiming everyday clothing, makeup, or haircuts as business expenses raises red flags unless they're clearly costume-specific or brand-required. Regular personal grooming and clothing typically aren't deductible even if you appear on camera daily.
The problem is that being on camera doesn't create a category of expense that otherwise wouldn't exist. You would have hair whether or not you filmed videos. You would have nails whether or not you filmed your DITL.
The IRS's position is that these are personal maintenance expenses that happen to also benefit your business and under IRC §262, personal expenses are not deductible even when they have a business connection.
ITâS YOUR JOB AS THE BUSINESS OWNER TO KNOW THE TAX CODE
Before we get into the beauty stuff, I need to say something that your bookkeeper, your tax preparer, and definitely that girl on TikTok arenât saying loudly enough.
You sign your tax return. Youâre legally responsible for everything on it, even if a professional prepared it.
The IRS is very clear on this: "Although the tax return preparer always signs the return, you're ultimately accountable for the accuracy of every item reported on your return."
That means if someone tells you your lash fills are deductible and they're not, and you get audited, you're the one writing that check. Not your bookkeeper and not the influencer who gave you the advice.
This is not me trying to scare you. This is me trying to make sure youâre confident and informed when you sign off on your return. Because a woman who knows her stuff walks into that situation completely differently than one who just trusted someone else's interpretation of the tax code.
So let's actually know our stuff. đđŧ
THE TWO TESTS THAT BASICALLY DETERMINE EVERYTHING
The IRS allows deductions for expenses that are "ordinary and necessary", meaning common and accepted in your industry, and actually useful for your specific work. Thatâs test one.
Test two is the dual-use problem. If an expense can double for personal use (whether or not you actually use it that way) it's generally not deductible.
But itâs not up to your personal preference!
The IRS uses an objective test, not a subjective one. They donât care that you personally would never wear your lashes to the grocery store. The question is whether a reasonable person could. This comes straight from a real court case â Pevsner v. Commissioner â where the court established that the test for whether something is "adaptable to general use" is objective, full stop.
So when someone says "I only get my nails done for content," the IRS's position is essentially: we don't care, because you're walking around with those nails all day đŦ.
LETâS BREAK IT DOWN BY CATEGORY
Hair appointments:
A haircut is deductible only if it's directly tied to your profession in a way that goes beyond general grooming. Actors and models who maintain a specific contracted look for a role have a real argument. But a content creator who gets a trim and a blowout before filming? Thatâs almost certainly personal. You leave the salon and live your life with that hair. It fails the dual-use test immediately.
Makeup and lashes:
This one has actual case law. In Hamper v. Commissioner, a newscaster's makeup costs were denied even though she testified it was specifically designed for on-air appearances and was heavier coverage than everyday makeup, purchased from Nordstrom and drugstores. The court's reasoning: it's still regular makeup. You can wear it anywhere. If your makeup is indistinguishable from what any person could buy and wear on a Tuesday, it's personal.
Nails:
Filming your nails doesn't change the dual-use analysis. Your manicure exists on your hands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One nail video doesn't transform a personal grooming expense into a business one because the moment that video ends, you're still walking around with those nails at the grocery store, at dinner, at your kid's soccer game.
Skincare and beauty maintenance:
A skincare routine that keeps you looking good on camera is also a skincare routine that keeps you looking good off camera. The IRS sees this as a personal wellness expense regardless of your justification.
CONTENT CREATORS, INFLUENCORS, AND SPICY WORKERS
This is where it gets more interesting because the landscape is genuinely different for people whose appearance is a core part of their product and yes, that includes adult content creators, OnlyFans creators, cam performers, and anyone whose physical presentation is literally the deliverable đ
The honest answer is: the same rules apply, but there are more legitimate arguments available to you IF you document properly and IF the expenses are genuinely specific to your content rather than your general personal maintenance.
â Hereâs where Iâve seen these deductions actually work â
Glam hired specifically for a shoot or brand deal:
A makeup artist or glam session booked for a specific brand collaboration, a shoot with a deliverable, or a contracted content piece is likely deductible. The invoice, the shoot brief, and the final deliverable together create a paper trail the IRS can follow. This is categorically different from your standing monthly appointment.
A contracted look requirement:
If you have a brand deal, a platform contract, or a partnership agreement that specifies a particular look (i.e. a specific nail color for a nail brand campaign, a hair color maintained for a long-term partnership, a particular aesthetic required by a platform) and you can document that the expense was incurred to fulfill that specific contractual obligation, that's a real argument. The documentation has to exist and it has to be specific. "My whole brand is that I have long nails" is not a contract.
Theatrical or stage-grade products that aren't for everyday use:
The key distinction in the case law is whether the product is something a regular person would purchase and use in daily life. If you're buying theatrical-grade, high-coverage, professional products that are meaningfully different from what you'd find at Sephora and you're documenting their use specifically for shoots, you have something to work with. The moment you're buying the same foundation anyone else would buy, the argument weakens significantly.
Wigs, costumes, and appearance elements that genuinely stay in your content space:
A wig used for a specific character or persona, dramatic extension sets that live on a stand between shoots, theatrical lashes that nobody is wearing to run errands â these pass the dual-use test because a reasonable person genuinely would not wear them in everyday life. Document the purchase, document the use, and document that they stay in your content setup.
Beauty professionals whose service IS the content:
If you're a licensed cosmetologist, nail tech, esthetician, permanent makeup artist, or any beauty professional who films educational or demonstration content â the products and services you use on camera are cost of goods or direct business expenses. You are literally selling the service. That is a completely different analysis than a lifestyle creator documenting her morning routine.
For spicy creators specifically: The argument that your appearance is your product is one courts have seen in various forms, and it's stronger than it used to be for creators whose income is directly tied to their physical presentation on a platform. The documentation requirement is the same but the threshold for "ordinary and necessary in your industry" shifts when your industry is literally selling visual content of yourself. This is an area where having a tax professional who actually understands creator economics is not optional! (Thatâs where we come in đđ)
"BUT WHAT IF IâM AN S-CORP?" â DOES YOUR BUSINESS STRUCTURE CHANGE ANY OF THIS?
Short answer: no đ
Longer answer: your legal and tax structure determines how your income is taxed and how your business is organized, not what qualifies as a legitimate business expense.
The "ordinary and necessary" test and the dual-use problem apply regardless of whether you're a sole prop, an LLC, an S-Corp, or a C-Corp. The IRS doesn't look at your entity type and suddenly decide your lash fills are deductible because you elected S-Corp status đ
Sole proprietorship:
You report business income and expenses on the Schedule C. The deductibility rules are the same as everywhere else â ordinary, necessary, and not dual-use personal expenses. Being a sole prop doesn't make beauty expenses harder or easier to defend. The analysis is exactly the same.
LLC:
An LLC is a legal structure, not a tax structure. By default a single-member LLC is taxed exactly like a sole prop, Schedule C, same rules. A multi-member LLC is taxed like a partnership. Neither changes what you can deduct. The LLC gives you liability protection, not a beauty budget, unfortunately.
S-Corp:
This is the one people most often think changes things, and it doesn't, at least not in the way they're hoping.
As an S-Corp owner you pay yourself a reasonable salary and can take additional distributions, which has payroll tax advantages. But the deductibility of a specific expense is still governed by the same ordinary-and-necessary, dual-use analysis. Your lash appointment doesn't become a legitimate business expense because it's run through an S-Corp account.
C-Corp:
A C-Corp is its own taxpaying entity and has somewhat more flexibility around certain fringe benefits and compensation arrangements, but again, the fundamental deductibility analysis for beauty expenses doesn't change.
If someone told you to form an LLC or elect S-Corp status so you could write off your beauty expenses, thatâs not how any of this works and you should ask them some follow-up questions đ
Your entity structure is a tool for liability protection, tax efficiency on your income, and business credibility. It's not a beauty expense loophole. The deduction lives or dies on documentation and legitimate business purpose same as everything else.
THE DOCUMENTATION STANDARD IF YOUâRE GOING TO DEFEND ANY OF THIS:
If you're going to argue that a beauty expense is legitimate, you need documentation. Without it, the IRS will reject your claim and you wonât have a fun time.
That means receipts. A clear record of the business purpose for each specific expense. Documentation showing when and how it was used in content â screenshots, shoot briefs, links to the deliverable. And ideally something that distinguishes it as a business purchase rather than a personal one.
A general "beauty" line item on your Schedule C with no backup is exactly what gets flagged. Don't do that to yourself.
STILL TRACK THESE COSTS EVEN IF THEY ARENâT DEDUCTIBLE
Here's something I see a lot of people miss! Even if an expense isn't deductible, tracking it in your accounting software still gives you valuable information about your business. Knowing what you spend on your appearance to maintain your brand presence is useful data. It informs your pricing, your profit margins, and your understanding of what it actually costs to run your specific kind of business.
Track everything. Deduct what's defensible. Know the difference đ
THE BOTTOM LINE
The internet has convinced a lot of creators that their entire beauty routine is a write-off. The IRS fundamentally disagrees, has seen every version of this argument, and this is one of the most audited areas for self-employed people.
The defensible situations exist; hired glam for documented shoots, theatrical products that don't cross over into personal use, contracted appearance requirements, beauty professionals using products in their actual work. But they require a real factual basis and real documentation, not just the fact that you're on camera.
Youâre the one signing that return. Sign it confidently, with receipts âĻ
And as always, this is general information. A tax professional who knows your specific situation, your platform, your contracts, and your content type is the right person to make the final call on what's defensible for you specifically đ
Meaghan Wall is a fractional CFO and bookkeeper at The Hot Girl CFO LLC. She works with founders and online business owners who are done running their finances on vibes.
