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TikTok has given us plenty of useful beauty tips over the years. It’s also convinced some people to pour fermented rice water over their heads and sunbathe their scalps in pursuit of Rapunzel-worthy locks.
As summer holidays and heatwaves put haircare back in the spotlight, Dr Amy Vowler, NHS GP and Hair Restoration Doctor at Hair GP, is separating fact from fiction and revealing which viral hair hacks deserve a swipe past.
MYTH: Tanning your scalp encourages hair growth
“The idea that sunbathing your scalp encourages hair growth is not just a myth, it’s genuinely risky. The scalp is one of the most sun-exposed and under-protected areas of the body, and UV damage there can harm the follicles as well as raise your skin cancer risk. If anything, you want to protect your scalp, not expose it.”
“We spend a lot of effort protecting our face from the sun and then forget the scalp entirely. If you can see your scalp through your hair, it needs SPF or a hat, especially in summer, and certainly not deliberate exposure in the name of hair growth.”
MYTH: Chlorine, saltwater and hard water ‘strip’ hair
“There’s a lot of misinformation about chlorine, saltwater and hard water ‘stripping’ the hair. These can certainly leave hair feeling dry or rough, but they aren’t causing hair loss, and the aggressive clarifying routines people adopt to counter them can sometimes irritate the scalp more than the water ever did. A gentle, consistent routine beats a harsh corrective one.”
“Summer is hard on hair, but it’s usually a cosmetic problem, not a medical one. Rinsing with fresh water after swimming and using a conditioner does far more good than the elaborate stripping and clarifying routines doing the rounds online.”
MYTH: Rice Water Rinses Grow Hair
“Rice water is one of the biggest hair trends on TikTok right now, but there’s no evidence it grows hair. The protein it leaves behind can actually build up on the strands and make them brittle and prone to snapping, so for some people it does more harm than good.”
“If your hair feels nice after a rice water rinse, that’s a temporary coating effect, not growth. Genuine hair growth happens at the follicle, under the scalp, so nothing you rinse through the lengths can change how much hair you grow.”
