Cutting Your Hair with Fire: 10 Hair Trends We Won’t Be Trying

We’re huge fans of thinking outside the box when it comes to hair. But there are a few trends that are a little too out there, even for us. Items that belongs on a grocery list, or weaponry of any kind. Styling tricks that are literally just playing with fire. But hey, you may be more adventurous than we are! In the spirit of trying new things in the new year, here’s a roundup of the internet’s favorite bizarro hair hacks:

1. The fire haircut (also known as “candle cutting”) doesn’t indicate that your new cut looks super awesome. It means your—brave? crazy? both?—stylist actually used fire to singe off your extra inches. Stylists who trim hair with fire have noted that scissors can cause split ends and fire doesn’t, and setting your hair on fire can actually protect against split ends, repair the hair cuticle and promote growth. Sounds great...but between the smell of singed hair and the possibility of second-degree burns, count us out.
2. An axe haircut might even be more metal than the fire haircut, and possibly even riskier for your life and well-being. “Hatchet grooming” has actually been around since the thirties, but one contemporary Russian hairstylist is bringing the trend back with a bang. We think this might be the polar opposite of relaxing with a magazine while you get a trim. Hard pass.
3. Coloring your hair with red wine is not the least complicated way to become a redhead, for sure. If you have a bottle of red, some henna powder, apple cider vinegar, and a little olive oil on hand, you can create a DIY dye to slather over your hair. A Trieste Red color kit is faster, less messy, and you get to save your wine for your next dinner party. Cheers to taking the easy way out.
4. Using cayenne pepper to promote hair growth is only worth trying if you don’t have a sensitive scalp. Rumor has it that cayenne pepper, which contains the active compound capsaicin, can make your hair grow faster by stimulating blood circulation to the hair follicles. You can try this at home by applying a tincture of cayenne pepper and castor oil to your scalp. Your scalp will feel hot and tingly. We will be sitting this one out.
5. Removing dandruff with yogurt seems like a waste of a perfectly good breakfast food to us, but if you want to give it a try, here goes: wash your hair first, then apply a generous amount of plain yogurt to your scalp and wait about 15 minutes. The theory here is that the live cultures in yogurt will help prevent dandruff-causing bacteria. There’s also regular dandruff shampoo.
6. Masking with egg yolks means adding yet another wet ingredient to your grocery cart. If you want your hair to smell like eggs, no judgment. Beat a couple of egg yolks with olive oil and apply to your roots and mid-lengths. Let sit for about an hour before rinsing and washing. We’ll opt for a deep conditioner, thank you.
7. Replacing dry shampoo with cornstarch is completely unnecessary, since going to the drugstore is the exact same level of difficulty as going to the grocery store. But if you want to live on the edge, “Cornstarch as Dry Shampoo” actually has a 4.5 rating on MakeupAlley. Many reviewers recommend flipping your hair over and massaging cornstarch into your roots before bed, then waking up with the va-va-voom hair of your dreams. Who knew?
8. Using hand lotion to smooth down frizz and flyaways is an option that’s available to you, if you have hand lotion in your bag. You can also carry Tame in your bag, and it’s much lighter, less greasy, and adds pretty shine, we’re just saying.
9. Making homemade curlers from bananas is a truly bananas (sorry not sorry) suggestion that you can easily try for yourself after a trip to the grocery store. First, spray your hair with water, then section. Wrap sections around a banana (yes, a banana, we don’t make the rules) before blowing dry. Alternatively, leave the bananas to the pancakes and use a curling iron instead.
10. Mixing a grape Kool-Aid® packet with conditioner is one way to correct brassiness in blonde hair. But it’s not the way we would choose, because this DIY toning mask might deposit too much color onto your hair. Blue hair, would care. Try Crema Gloss instead, which neutralizes unwanted yellow tones and adds healthy-looking shine.

Would you try any of these hair hacks? If so, you’re braver than we are. Stay safe out there, and make sure you have a working fire extinguisher.