These 5 TikTok Trends Are Destroying Your Hair—Here’s How
Hair today, gone tomorrow
From DIY haircuts to bad styling advice, here’s what to avoid when it comes to TikTok’s biggest hair trends.
As every beauty girl will know, TikTok has served up some truly ingenious hacks, from revolutionary new heatless curl methods to countless time-saving makeup tips. That said, not every beauty hack is a win—sometimes, it’s just plain stupid.
In fact, the list of stupid TikTok trends is vast, from DIY fillers to at-home vaginal bleaching (yuck!). And, with engagement farming on the rise, shock content has really started to drown out the good stuff on the app.
READ: 13 Hair care mistakes you need to stop making
That said, not all bad advice comes in ludicrous packaging. Most are discerning enough to differentiate between influencer entertainment and genuine advice (we hope, at least), but sometimes it’s just not that simple.
The trends that tend to pop off look great on social media and are great for social media. But, that’s pretty much where they should stay. They may not necessarily be harmful to you, but they sure can take a toll on you in other ways. For instance, things like DIY haircut techniques and hair hacks are fine for entertainment or once-in-a-while attempts, but can really do some damage to your locks in the long term.
READ: Why you should never go to sleep with wet hair—according to an expert
That’s why we’ve rounded up five seemingly innocuous hair trends from TikTok that could be ruining your hair. Find out more below:
Trend #1: Hot brushes and blowout brushes
@mane_____ *clears throat* Hi, besties! Getting back to regular posting feels a bit strange with everything going on in our corner of the world, but we’ve always wanted to be your lil cozy hug or huge chaotic belly laugh on the internet 💗✨ What better way to start your week than learning how to use our Hot Round Brush without tangles? Let’s keep slaying together and spreading those feel-good vibes🥰 We hope this slice of unhinged happy brings a big smile to your face and a little extra sunshine to your day 💖 #thermalbrush #stitch #hairstyling #hairtutorial
Blowouts are back in a big way this year as we embrace nostalgic glamour in full force. As such, one tool that has really risen in popularity is the hot brush or blowdry brush. Essentially, these tools double as hair brushes and hair tools, streamlining your routine into one easy step—or, at least, that’s the idea.
They’re actually great tools, for the record. Blowdry brushes like the GHD Duet Blowdry or the Dyson Airwrap take your hair from wet to styled with little heat damage. Hot brushes like the GHD Rise Volumising Hot Brush work on dry hair, eliminating the need for any other tools as you curl or smooth your tresses.
The problem arises with technique—unfortunately, most users don’t utilise the tool properly.
Instead of gently gliding the bristles through detangled, well-prepped sections, you’ll find that most TikTokkers are partial to ripping through knotted, unconditioned hair. Being rough with these tools can cause a lot of breakage over time, and it is pretty much impossible to fix once the damage is done. Worse yet, blowdry brushes tend to cause the most damage as wet hair is notoriously more fragile.
There is a solution, however—firstly, prep is everything. Before even looking in the direction of one of these tools, you should detangle your hair (either with a detangling brush or wide-toothed comb), douse it with heat protectant and add a little hair oil for some extra slip. Then, while using the tool, ensure that you’re being extremely gentle with your strands, taking care to work your way through each section without tugging excessively. Better yet, rough dry your hair before using the blowdry brush to prevent breakage!
Trend #2: DIY butterfly cuts
@bradmondonyc Easy to follow butterfly cut #butterflyhaircut @sophia la corte
There are a lot of trendy haircuts that circulate on the TikTok app, but none have prevailed as gloriously as the butterfly cut. Popularised by DIY aficionados, the two-ponytail cut is thought to be an easy way to give yourself volumising layers.
There’s just one thing—it’s not always a win. In fact, it’s so easy to get it wrong, that even Brad Mondo has had to make a full-blown tutorial to help you avoid a big hair disaster. In short, nailing the sectioning is key to the cut—if you don’t place your sections right, you’ll end up with choppy, uneven layers that will take forever to grow out.
So, make sure that your ponytails are in the right place. Secondly, if you have super straight hair and you do not like to style it every day, avoid getting this cut. Waves and curls will do wonders to conceal any choppiness, but straight hair unfortunately leaves no room for error.
Trend #3: The Split Ender
@abbeyyung From what I’ve seen these don’t cut off very much hair so I don’t think its a big deal to use infrequently. But using this all the time could definitely cause issues over time & I’m SO careful with my hair these days I just dont want to risk it 😂 #splitendtrimmer #splitenderpro #splitends #splitend
The Split Ender comes back in vogue every few years, and it takes thousands of victims with it until it is banished back to the land of bad hair tools, awaiting its next attack. In theory, this tool is amazing. If we go by the marketing, it picks out your dodgy split ends and snips them off cleanly without losing you any length. Fantastic, right?
Wrong. While it definitely tackles the split ends that stick out from the shaft of your sections, it also takes a fair few healthy ends with it. And, it also misses a bunch of split ends! No doubt, your hair will feel amazing after the first few passes with this tool, but the more you use it, the worse your hair quality gets as it snips more strands shorter and shorter. You’ll eventually be left with more frizz than you can handle—and there is absolutely no cure beyond starting from scratch and growing your hair out again. Your best bet for splitless hair is just getting a regular trim, either at your usual salon or at home.
Trend #4: Daily slick backs
@emzztok Am I gonna stop doing slick backs? No 🙂 #hairtok #hair #alopecia #relatable #slickbackbun #slickedbackhair
This should come as no surprise, but slick backs are awful for your hair. Part of the “clean girl” uniform, slick backs have become a go-to staple for late mornings and wash days. However, the tight, sleek bun or ponytail can cause traction alopecia, migraines and breakage. Yikes!
You might not want to hear it, but the solution is simple—stop slicking your hair back. Of course, if this is a look you just can’t give up, then at least try to keep slick days to a minimum. And, after every tight bun comes down, make sure you’re following up with a nourishing and pampering scalp and hair routine to offset the risk of potential hair loss.
Trend #5: Sleeping with damp hair
@ireraen Replying to @⋆˚࿔ minchi 𝜗𝜚˚⋆ thanks for the love and support on my video 💗☺️ here’s the tutorial! #hairtutorial #goddesswaves #wonyoungism #hairinspo #heatlesscurls #overnightcurls
Now, TikTok isn’t straight-up recommending that you sleep with damp hair, but the heatless curl methods that have quickly gained traction on the app certainly are. As we mentioned, sleeping with wet hair can lead to breakage and damage, and sock curls, unicorn heatless curls and braids all require one prerequisite for lasting results: damp strands.
Fortunately, you don’t have to give up your heatless curls to solve this pickle. All you have to do is, well… use a little heat. Once you’ve wrapped your damp hair up nicely, just give it a quick blast with your blowdryer to get rid of excess moisture. Not only will it help your curls hold better, but it’ll help your tresses stay strong through every toss and turn. If however, you prefer to stay true to the no-heat lifestyle, you can also use the cool setting on your hairdryer—it will just take a lot longer to get you settled for bed. The choice is yours.
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