There is no shortage of hair hacks on the internet that promise luscious, voluminous locks. From homemade masks to the infamous no-poo debate, there are hundreds of quick fixes “guaranteeing” the hair of your dreams.
One such trend has recently circulated TikTok, and it made me shift perspective on my current hair routine. Specifically, it flipped it upside down. This technique requires no extra products or tools—just a (literal) position change.
The “upside down hair wash” is exactly what it sounds like: you wash, condition, and style your hair while it’s upside down. Curious but skeptical, I tried it out myself.
The Rationale Behind Going Upside Down
According to the internet, washing your hair upside down has several benefits. It allows you to access parts of your scalp you might miss when shampooing upright, like the base of your neck and behind your ears. This reduces the likelihood of damaging product build-up, resulting in a cleaner, lighter-feeling scalp.
Upside-down washing is also said to improve circulation and blood flow to the scalp, which research shows stimulates hair growth. While I haven’t found any studies specific to upside-down washing, I can get behind it logically: the head goes upside down, blood rushes to the head, ergo, the scalp.
Finally, upside-down washing also promises increased volume. Helen Reavey, a certified trichologist, explains in a reaction video on TikTok: “Do you ever notice when you get this flat patch [at the crown], and you cannot get any volume? That is the water from the shower just beating on your scalp and flattening it.”
So, this one simple fix makes hair cleaner, more voluminous, and even helps it grow faster? That’s a tall order for an upside-down wash, so I tried it out myself.
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My Upside-Down Experience
First thing’s first: it’s a little unpleasant. I have long, long hair that stops just above my hip bones. Unsurprisingly, upside-down washing means a waterfall in your face. It’s also awkward reaching for products while hunched over and blind, but I proved it’s not impossible.
Despite the water-in-eyes dilemma, I noticed an improvement in how easy it was to reach my whole scalp. Because my hair was dangling freely instead of sticking to me, I could maneuver my strands to get a better scrub.
After I was done shampooing and conditioning, I wrung out my locks and wrapped them in a towel for a few minutes to sop up extra moisture. Then, I unwrapped my hair and resumed my hunched-over position. I added my go-to leave-in conditioner (I love the moisturizing power and delicious scent of this leave-in cream by Carol’s Daughter), gave my tresses a good scrunch, and flipped my head right-side up.
A Surprisingly Effective Hack
I immediately noticed extra volume, even while my hair was still completely wet. My roots had lift that they don’t typically have straight out of the shower. And as my hair air-dried, the volume was more noticeable. Was it bouffant-worthy? Well, no—but considering I had used no volume-specific products, it was pretty impressive.
Additionally, I found my hair stayed cleaner longer. I usually wash my hair two to three times a week, depending on how oily my roots get. After my upside-down wash, I went a full week before my scalp started to get greasy. I’ve been trying to pare down my twice-weekly routine to once a week, and upside-down washing looks like one way to do it.
While I can’t yet speak to the growth aspect of this internet hair hack, the rest of the claims bore out. Note: I’m not sure it’d be a viable option for those without a handheld shower head. But if you have one and don’t mind a little water in your face in exchange for a week of clean, voluminous hair, I’d say this viral hack is worth its weight in likes and shares.
