Here's How You Can "Defrost" For Summer With This Hilarious TikTok Challenge

The latest TikTok challenge is going viral thanks to a familiar sound and some pretty mesmerizing footwork. The "Defrosting Challenge" has TikTokers hilariously pretending to "thaw" themselves for various situations (many are "defrosting" for summer) — and they do it to the tune of a microwave on defrost. The videos are pretty simple except for one detail: You need to turn your body like you're rotating on a microwave plate. Thankfully, it's not as complicated as it seems to get the move down. If you want to give it a try, here’s how to do the defrosting challenge on TikTok.

The TikTok defrosting challenge has a few components: a text overlay about why the TikToker is "defrosting" for summer ("Me defrosting my friendship with everyone who has a pool because summer is coming up"), a slow and smooth turn that looks like they're spinning in a microwave, and the track "Microwave" by Prime Sound, which sounds like heating something up inside — you guessed it — a microwave. Each video runs for about 30 seconds (more on that below).

It’s unclear who started the defrosting challenge, but it appears to be a rebirth of TikTok's microwave challenge from March 2019, which involved a similar microwave-style body turn and the song “Slow Dancing in the Dark” by Joji. Since heating up (pun intended) in early March 2021, the #Defrosting challenge videos have over 85 million views as of publication on Friday, March 12.

If you're ready to hop on the trend, here's how to do the TikTok defrosting challenge before the hype dies down.

How To Do TikTok's Defrosting Challenge:

You'll probably want to watch a few examples before jumping in, so to start, browse through the #Defrosting hashtag on TikTok.

The key to the challenge is a smooth turn, which appears to be a simple trick. You'll need to angle one foot behind the other and pivot slowly so it almost looks like you're floating. Luckily, TikToker @ang3linadanielle made a tutorial on rotating for the challenge that explains how it's done.

1. To make your video, you'll need to use the track "Microwave" by Prime Sound. To get it, tap on a Defrosting Challenge video and select the sound at the bottom of the screen. From the sound's page, you can either tap "Use this sound" or bookmark it by choosing "Add to Favorites" to access it later. You can also get it by heading to TikTok's camera and tapping "Sounds." From there, search "microwave sounds," and it will appear at the top. To use it, tap on it once and then tap again on the checkmark icon.
2. Before you start filming, you'll want to change TikTok’s default recording time of 15-seconds. The actual microwave sound lasts for 30 seconds, so select 60 seconds to avoid a 15-second cutoff. Once you start filming with the sound clip, it will stop recording at the 30-second mark. If you'd prefer to film for 60 seconds, film first without the track, and then go to “Sounds” on the editing page, and choose "Microwave."
3. After you're finished recording, you'll need to add text to your video about why you're defrosting. To do that, tap the "Text" button on the bottom menu of the editing screen.
4. Finally, you're ready to post. Don't forget to add the "Defrosting" hashtag before uploading your TikTok.

Now that you know how to do the defrosting challenge on TikTok, start brainstorming all the reasons you can't wait to "defrost" — hello, beach days! — and turn on your virtual microwave.