Health and wellness have always been trending topics on social media. Our social media feeds are oversaturated with resources for balancing our hormones, improving our reproductive health, and prioritizing our mental health. Even the concept of spirituality has become a wellness trend. We focus on questions like, "What does it mean to be spiritually healthy?" But for the purpose of this article, let's focus on gut health.
Gut health has been a highlighted conversation in the wellness industry. More and more people are recognizing how our gut health plays a role and affects our bodily systems. I myself, also have become more aware of how to heal my gut with food and probiotics. And thanks to TikTok’s newest wellness trend, internal showers, we now have the latest at-home remedy to make “going number two” a whole lot easier.
What Is an Internal Shower?
The concept of an internal shower is a holistic approach that many TikTok users have been swearing by to help alleviate constipation. And how do you make one? An internal shower is a concoction of two tablespoons of chia seeds, the juice of half of a lemon, and a cup of water which is consumed and said to help relieve constipation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). But the key is the mixture has to sit for ten minutes to turn into a gel-like substance prior to consumption for it to work. So, what happens next? You let your body do its thing and be prepared.
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Where Did It Come From and How Does It Work?
It has been said that board-certified chiropractor and celebrity nutritionist Dr. Daryl Gioffre is named the creator of the internal shower drink. He promotes it as a “constipation reliever shot” that has helped him with his own digestive and gut health issues. One TikTok user, (@_mimzilla) has said the origin of the drink isn’t a trend, it's an ancient Aztec and Mayan tradition known as “agua de chia” (chia water). According to Cosmopolitan, the link between chia seeds and constipation is that fiber is needed to bulk out the stool, and water helps soften it. Now you know why they say drinking a lot of water helps you go to the bathroom. As long as there is enough water and fiber in your system, it is easier to pass bowels with less pain and constipation.
Is Drinking the Internal Shower Drink Good for You?
The short answer is yes and the long answer is no. Chia seeds are considered a superfood packed with protein and antioxidants. Chia seeds also contain about half the daily fiber our body needs (25 grams per day). So, two tablespoons of chia seeds is an adequate amount of fiber to meet your daily intake. But while we are told our bodies need fiber, too much fiber can cause abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, and gas. If we consume more than the daily amount of fiber required, it can lead to diarrhea or constipation.
The internal shower drink is generally safe but not recommended to be a part of one’s daily routine. I was once told by a gastroenterologist that we should be having bowel movements at least three times a week and anything over that is excessive. You have to listen to your body, what is normal for someone else, may not be normal for your body. It is highly recommended by most doctors, nutritionists, registered dietitians, and wellness practitioners to eat a regular balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and high-fiber foods like oatmeal, whole grain bread, or avocado.
With over 150 million views on TikTok, the internal shower has become a popular wellness trend to try. I am not sure if I would try the internal shower drink. The issue with health and wellness trends is that they are quick fixes and oftentimes can be addictive. It is not always sustainable and can cause more damage than good. And sometimes the damage done to the body can take several months or years to reverse or repair. To be honest, I am going through this right now, and healing the body is a very slow yet frustrating process. But nonetheless, natural home remedies do work and can be incorporated into your daily routine depending on what they are.
Now that you know what TikTok users have been raving about, would you try an internal shower?
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Featured image by Kateryna Onyshchuk/Getty Images
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So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
