Men Obsessed With New TikTok Trend Could Be Losing Hair
When it comes to the recent trend of ditching shampoo among men influenced by TikTok, I can’t help but feel grossed out. The idea of no longer using shampoo altogether and relying on water as a means to clean the hair seems unsanitary to me.
I worked with someone who believed it was better for the hair to use tea tree oil instead of shampoo. Let me just say the results were far from looking good. Her hair consistently looked excessively oily and when you got close, you could smell an unpleasant odor reeking from her scalp. You could also see white flakes of dandruff through out her greasy hair. To me, that was proof that water alone, without shampoo, could not effectively remove the buildup of dirt, oils, and sweat from anyone’s scalp and hair.
Reading in the Daily Mail about how some people believe that skipping shampoo can lead to thicker, healthier hair is disturbing to me. Dermatologists are warning against this #noshampoo trend. Dr. Angela Tewari’s explanation about the necessity of surfactants in cleaning detergents to effectively remove dirt and oil makes perfect sense to me. Water alone is not sufficient for maintaining proper scalp and hair hygiene.
What is The New TikTok Trend?
Dr. Anastasia Therianou explained that shampoos that we use today contain gentle surfactants that cleanse without stripping essential oils from the scalp and hair. In fact, shampoos are tailored to various hair textures and can be adjusted to prevent dryness.
Even I have been convinced that ingredients like sulfates are drying for the hair, so I have looked for non foaming types of shampoos. Dr. Therianou said that sulfates are generally safe and necessary for keeping the scalp clean. The claims about their harmful effects on our hair is not true unless you are one of the very few who has an allergy to sulfates.
The idea that ditching shampoo and using just water to help with scalp issues fails to address the root cause of conditions like dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis. In reality, neglecting proper cleansing can make these issues worse because it promotes the growth of harmful yeast.
Shampooing does not cause hair loss! According to expert Anabel Kingsley, regular shampooing does not contribute to increased hair fall. In fact, proper cleansing can prevent issues like blocked follicles and breakage. Preventing blocked follicles supports healthy hair growth.
So while the #noshampoo trend may have gained popularity on social media, it seems to just be a fad. Just as we would not neglect basic hygiene for our body or teeth, proper hair care should not be neglected either. As Anabel Kingsley puts it, our hair and scalp deserve the same attention and care as other parts of our body, and that includes using the right products for effective cleansing and maintenance.
No, You Don't Really Look Like Your Selfies - Here's Why
Lenses flatten us
Lenses flatten our image. Photographer Nadia Meli spoke with Cosmopolitan.com about this reality. “Our bodies and faces do not look the same in the mirror, on a professional DSLR, on the phone camera, the front lens the back lens – all of these don’t show us how we actually look either!” she said via the magazine. “Lenses always flatten us, it’s just 2D, not 3D and doesn’t give an accurate representation of what we see when someone is in front of us IRL!” Crazy, right? She added that the camera actually fails to capture what’s really in front of it.
Getty Images / IRA EVVA
The lens distorts facial features
Upworthy.com explains why selfie cameras are the absolute worst. They state, “Cellphone selfie cameras usually have an even smaller focal length than the 40 mm shown here (Winters points out that the iPhone 13 Pro Max selfie camera has the equivalent of a 23 mm focal length), so they distort facial features even more.” They add that other factors are how far away you are from the camera, because the closer you are, the more distorted your photos will be. Another reason the camera doesn’t capture what we look like in real life, aside from the lenses, is the 2D factor. You’re not going to look the same on a 2D photo as you will in real life. Lighting is also a huge issue. Lighting can make or break a photo.
Getty Images / AaronAmat
They make your nose look big
Selfies can make your nose look much bigger than it really is. “For years, I’ve heard patients and family members say, ‘Oh, look at my nose, it looks so big,’ when they show me a selfie,” Dr. Paskhover tells Yahoo. “I was always telling my patients, that’s not how you really look.” Selfies simply distort your nose shaped, due to the lens and your distance from it.
Getty Images / Motortion
We're used to a mirror image
“The image you see in the mirror is reversed compared to the image that others see face-to-face with you,” Psychology Today explains. “Your friends are familiar with your non-reversed image, while you are familiar with your reversed image in a regular mirror.” That totally makes sense.
Getty Images / Mariia Vitkovska
The lens can make you look thinner or fatter
The Huffington Post points out that, “Different camera lenses can change the way people look in photos.” They add that, “the shorter the lens, the wider it’s going to make your face.” So, make note if you don’t want your face to look super wide.
Getty Images / Viktor Gladkov
