The year 2020 did not end without a new viral challenge on TikTok. The goal ? Crack your scalp. This is the "scalp popping challenge" and it worries health professionals.
It all started when a Tikotokeuse shared her Mexican mother's secret to relieving migraines. In the video, we see her standing, next to her daughter who she is sitting, before wrapping a lock of her child's hair around her finger. Then "listen carefully", we read in the images, the mother pulls the wick with a sharp blow when we hear a crack. A magic trick ? No, it is what they call "scalp popping" which can be translated by the scalp cracking or bursting, in reference to the noise generated by this practice.
The "scalp popping" is not without danger
1.8 million views later, TikTok subscribers are intrigued by this hair phenomenon. Could you crack your scalp like you crack your bones? The video goes viral and quickly turns into a challenge, since everyone wants to know if they are capable of it and, above all, if it really has a saving effect. For those who have the courage to give it a try, the amazement at the moment the noise rings is the same. Because it's the complete opposite of ASMR, hearing this sound causes tension. But where does it come from? According to Health Magazine, a magazine specializing in health-related issues which devoted an article to the phenomenon on December 1, 2020, it could come from an aspiration when the scalp comes off the skull, or from the "the fascia (a thin covering of connective tissue that holds bones, muscles, organs, blood vessels, and nerve endings in place) that tears". So it can be dangerous. Not to mention the fact that scalp popping can cause hair loss where it is pulled.
A practice reserved for professionals
In 2016, the video of a woman practicing "hair popping" (as she called it at the time) had made the buzz. Because this method is nothing new. It is used in some Asian countries as well as in areas in Mexico, as mentioned by Tiktokeuse. But most of the time it is performed by massage professionals for its relaxing effects. The "scalp popping", here is a challenge to be thrown into oblivion of the year 2020.
Ophelia Manya
See also: Tik Tok challenge leads to death of teenage girl
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