Over the past several months, there’s been an explosion of hair loss “influencers” on TikTok and other social media platforms sharing their experiences. And while the tone is often upbeat and optimistic, experts have warned that much of the advice these individuals are giving out is often completely untrue or exaggerated.
TikTok Trend #1: Don’t Wash Your Hair
Influencers on TikTok have recently started touting the supposed benefits of bucking decades of personal hygiene standards by suggesting people don’t wash their hair for days or even weeks at a time. The trend is referred to as “hair training,” and these so-called experts say it improves the health of their hair and scalp over time.
Hair training involves gradually increasing the length of time between hair washes. You start with two days, then go to four days, and then to a week. Eventually, you can work your way up to 30-day gaps between washing hair.
“[Hair training] stems from the belief that chemicals such as sulfates (present in many haircare products) dry out the strands which causes an overproduction of natural oils and that by training the hair and scalp, it will return to its natural, healthy state,” says Sam Carpenter, a global educator at a hair care company who has attempted to understand why this phenomenon is gaining such traction among young people.
If you speak with the actual experts – the ones who understand the science behind hygiene, haircare, and skincare – it’s clear that hair training is nothing but a misguided social media fad.
Carpenter and others say that failing to wash your hair regularly can lead to a buildup of dirt, oil, bacteria, and hair care products. The result? Scalp itchiness, dandruff, irritation, inflammation, and…ironically enough…hair loss.
Now, this isn’t to say everyone has to wash their hair on a daily basis. Some people have naturally oily hair, which may require daily washing. However, others have dryer hair and might only need to wash their hair once or twice per week to be healthy. Knowing how often to wash your hair highly depends on unique factors (and can’t be generalized in a viral TikTok video.
TikTok Trend #2: Wash Your Hair With Rice Water
While there’s one camp on TikTok that says you shouldn’t wash your hair regularly, there’s another viral trend that supports washing your hair with rice water in an effort to help with hair growth. (Videos tagged with “rice water” have picked up nearly 1 billion views on TikTok.) But despite the online clout this method has received, it may not actually be as helpful as people think.
“With the wide interest in rice water for hair health, applications and methods tend to vary person-to-person,” Kaitlin Sullivan writes for Health.com. “Sometimes people let the water sit and ferment, often with added citrus peels to mask the odor. Some apply the concoction every day, while others reach for it monthly.”
Proponents claim this hair care method turns hair silky smooth and may even halt hair loss in its tracks. This is supposedly due to the nutrients that are packed into rice. However, experts believe these TikTok influencers are making a massive leap in their logic that doesn’t actually justify the end results.
“The problem is that we’re making this leap that something that is meant to be consumed can be applied to your hair—which is dead cells—and that it can make all these changes,” Deirdre Hooper, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, told Sullivan and Health.com.
For starters, there’s just not enough research to support rice water for hair growth. Secondly, any “benefits” that people experience are likely due to the fact that people who are trying this trend are usually also adopting other healthy habits at the same time (such as eating a healthier diet). It’s much more likely that the hair health benefits are coming from those dietary or lifestyle changes.
Which Hair Loss Prevention Methods Actually Work?
If you’re going to think outside the box when it comes to hair loss and hair health, experts suggest leaning into actual solutions with proven track records in clinical studies. Low level laser therapy, also known as LLLT, is one of the methods experts point to for real results.
For example, the 272 MD Elite Laser Cap Complete System has a 93 percent success rate in clinical studies and is backed by a seven-month results guarantee. Methods like this are much more likely to generate results than viral TikTok trends that emerge overnight and then disappear.
Adding it All Up
The explosion of strange hair health treatments on TikTok speaks to a larger trend of unsubstantiated health “hacks” being touted by young people on social media with no background in health or wellness.
But for every misguided viral method, experts say there’s usually a proven option that delivers long-term results for those who are patient enough to let them work.