Everything You Need to Know About Reptile Blinking on TikTok

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Learn to blink like a lizard

Co-authored by Cheyenne Main

Last Updated: May 28, 2025 Fact Checked

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What is a reptile blink?

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How to Do It

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Were you scrolling on TikTok and came across videos of people trying to “reptile blink”? Then you're in the right place! We're here to break down this viral trend. Creators try to look upward or roll their eyes while blinking to look like they have a second eyelid—just like reptiles. Keep reading for all the details.

Things You Should Know

A reptile blink is a trend on TikTok where creators try to blink and look up at the same time, giving the appearance of having a second eyelid.
Reptile blinking likely came out of other eye-related trends on TikTok like frog blinking or ghost blinking.
To reptile blink, look upwards at the same time as you blink to make it look like your eye is flicking upwards.

Section 1 of 3:

What is a reptile blink?

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This uncanny viral trend can make you look like you have a third eyelid, which some reptiles have. This third eyelid is actually a membrane that sweeps across a reptile's eye horizontally.^{[1]
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Some creators try to learn how to reptile blink to scare off unwanted attention, while others just try to do it because it’s fun.Others found that the reptile blink can help stretch their eyes—rolling your eyes can actually help relieve eye strain.

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Where did reptile blinking come from?

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Although it’s uncertain which video started the trend, reptile blinking started appearing on TikTok on August 22, 2023, after other eye-related trends had already taken the platform by storm.

Other eye-related trends include:
Frog Blinking: Creators mimic how cartoon frogs blink by closing one eye at a time, then opening them in the same order.
Ghost Blinking: To mimic Jenna Ortega’s gaze on the show Wednesday, creators fluttered their eyelids a little and imagined themselves blinking to stare for longer.

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How to Do the Reptile Blink

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To try the reptile blink for yourself, all you need to do is look up at the same time as you blink to make it look like your eyes briefly flick upwards.It can take a couple of tries to get the timing right, but what you end up with is an eerie, unsettling eye blink that rivals that of reptiles everywhere.You can also try to roll your eyes while blinking or look up and to the side instead of directly upwards.