Tiktokers are pulling their scalps until they pop, experts say that’s a bad idea 

Gruesome TikTok trend sees creators pull their hair until their scalp POPS – but experts warn it can lead to bald patches or even internal bleeding

  • TikTok creators are pulling their hair off their scalps until it creates a popping 
  • Experts have warned that the strange trend can lead to hair loss and bleeding  
  • The bizarre pulling could do lasting damage on the surface and below the scalp


Like many trends that emerge from the video app, TikTok, ‘scalp popping’ had spread quickly, but it could be more dangerous than you think. 

TikTok creators have been sharing videos of themselves pulling a few strands of their hair so hard that a loud popping noise can be heard coming from their scalps.

While some were just experimenting with the trend for the sound, hair-pulling is a long-standing cultural practice as a remedy for headaches. 

But experts are warning that it could be harmful, and after videos racked up millions of views on the site, TikTok removed the ability to search for footage under ‘scalp popping’. 

As well as putting you at risk of bald patches by disrupting hair in its growth phase, experts have warned that the practice could even cause internal bleeding.  

Yana Semerly recorded a video of her and her friend pulling each other’s hair so that their scalps created a popping noise

One popular viral scalp popping video made by Yana Semerly, from the US, showed her having her hair pulled by a friens standing behind. 

In it, the girls giggled as the friend twisted some of Yana’s hair around her finger before pulling hard on the strands. 

Pulling close to the base of the root a popping noise was heard before they both looked up, seeming shocked and then switched positions so that Yani’s friend could have her scalp ‘popped.’

Yana’s video quickly gained 5.1 million views as teens became transfixed with the popping noise. 

Erika Bretado posted a video of her sitting with her eyes closed as her mother pulled her hair in an attempt to relieve a headache

Erika Bretado posted a video of her sitting with her eyes closed as her mother pulled her hair in an attempt to relieve a headache

In another video captioned ‘My mum’s own Mexican remedy for headaches – “garotillo”‘ uploaded by Erika Bretado, from Mexico, the TikTok user showed her mother pulling her hair. 

It seems seems Erika is not alone in viewing the hair pulling as a cultural practice because ‘scalp popping’, ‘hair cracking’ or ‘Chucaque’ has been common in many cultures for head pain relief for years—but experts caution to be wary of the trend and it’s new emergence.

Dr Emma Craythorne, a Consultant Dermatologist from London, said: ‘The reason for the popping sound is because it is a hair that is in a growth phase. In other words the root is still intact and when you pull it out it creates a little vacuum that closes over.  

‘The reason why people might say it’s a stress relief is because pain can release some endorphins that in the short term can provide pain relief or a ‘high’ that, say, being stung by a bee might cause.

‘It might work for headaches because you’re distracting yourself from the pain of the headache.’

However, while you might get a brief moment of relief, you could end up regretting it when you next brush your hair.  

‘But the short term consequences are that you’ve removed a hair that’s in the growth phase,’ Dr Emma said. 

‘So it means that that hair is no longer going to grow and if you create lots of those, you’re going to have areas of bald patches. 

‘You have to wait for the follicles to come out of the “sleeping” phase and then wake up to start growing.’

‘Ultimately you’ll be left with a lot of hair that’s shorter than others. If you do the popping so aggressively that you cause a scar to that follicle then it’s gone and you’ve lost it completely at that site.’

Hair follicle damage isn’t the only side effect to be wary of either according to one US TikTok doctor, Dr Anthony Youd. 

After seeing the trend on his feed, he warned creators that internal bleeding could be caused by the galea aponeurotica (a film under the skin across the skull) popping off your skull. 

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