TikTok is a treasure trove for weird and wonderful beauty-related hacks, which include everything from contouring the nose in under a minute, to sleeping with hair wrapped in a sock for smoother tresses.
We stumbled, once again, on a hair hack that looks way too strange to be true. TikTok users showed themselves running a piece of aluminium foil over their hair and, immediately, their hair appeared smoother, sleeker, and with much less frizz.
Since this aluminium foil hair hack uses such a common household item and seems to reap results so instantaneously, it made me wonder if it was but an inside joke that TikTok users were in on. But I’m all for tips to tame my unruly hair, and already have aluminium foil stashed away in my kitchen drawer – what did I have to lose? Of course, I had to test it out for myself.
I tried the aluminium foil hair hack
I saw some users on TikTok first run a brush through their hair before using the aluminium foil to comb it over, so I ran to my room to get a hair brush, and to the kitchen to grab a roll of aluminium foil.
@dailyvanity We ran, not walked, to try this hair hack for ourselves ? #aluminiumfoilhair #frizzyhair #frizzyhairtips #hairhacks #hair #statichair ♬ original sound – Daily Vanity Singapore
After brushing my hair, I tore about a palm-sized piece of aluminium foil and ran it over my fluffy, staticky, hair-brushed tresses. I divided my hair into smaller sections, placing one section between the aluminium foil, and sliding the foil from mid-length down to the ends. I pressed down lightly on the aluminium foil so that there was some tension as it glided through.
Surprisingly, my hair looked sleeker and straighter, with much fewer flyaways than before. In fact, the strands of hair that I worked the aluminium foil on would “hold” together in a straight, smooth section.
I slid the aluminium foil over the rest of my tresses, and, guided it over the strands nearer to my roots – every time I look in the mirror, my hair shocks me by forming a staticky flyaway crown at the top of my head – to try to calm my hair down.
My hair really did look much smoother and more tamed after, so, turns out, this aluminium foil hair hack isn’t that crazy after all.
Why does the aluminium foil hair hack work?
Here comes the science behind why the aluminium foil hair hack really does work. Rather than make your hair actually smoother, what the aluminium sheet does is defend against the static that makes strands stand and make your mane appear all the messier.
Static in the hair can be a result of friction that comes from brushing, wearing a hat, or taking a nap (as your hair rubs against the pillow). Think: that age-old trick of rubbing a balloon back and forth over the hair to make it stand, just for fun.
Temperature and humidity can also affect the static charge, so your hair gets more staticky in colder or less humid spaces.
Aluminium foil is made of, well, aluminium, which is a metal and conductor of electricity. The metal gathers and carries away the static charges present in your hair, thus, taming your flyaways in the process.
It’s a hack that’s science-backed, takes little extra effort, and works – which means it’s worth trying if smoothening down your staticky hair is something you struggle with daily.
How else to solve a staticky hair problem?
Although the aluminium foil hair works, I personally don’t see myself going to my kitchen each morning to grab a piece for smoothening my hair down.
Thankfully, there are other ways that you can fight the staticky, unruly hair battle, like swapping your plastic combs for boar-bristle or wooden brushes. The natural materials are gentler on your hair and scalp, and don’t cause static on your stands.
In addition, you want to keep your strands nourished and well-hydrated beginning in the shower.
Dry hair strands are particularly prone to static, so you want to look for hydrating shampoos and conditioners that are infused with oils or butter. These help to lock in moisture for your strands, so your nourished hair can defend itself against pesky static electricity!
