The 'Scandinavian hairline' beauty trend of bleaching your baby hairs is going viral, and viewers are divided on whether it ages you or makes you glow
A hashtag for the "Scandinavian hairline" beauty trend on TikTok is associated with nearly 150 million views.
It involves bleaching your baby hairs for a halo-like, root-free effect.
"Does this look cute or do I look grey?" asked one TikToker who was dubious of her results.
The latest beauty trend making the rounds on TikTok is the "Scandinavian hairline" trend, with the hashtag associated with 150 million cumulative views on the app.
The technique sees colorists bleaching a wisp of baby hairs around a client's hairline, typically conducted as the final step of a color service, per Allure, and usually painted in freehand. The process aims to create a halo effect around the face like a Nordic god or goddess, according to the outlet, as well as to make clients look more naturally blonde with no dark roots.
In a TikTok video with 22.2 million views from July, the creator Monika Klinaviciute showed herself getting the service at a salon, as many viewers were confounded about what exactly a Scandinavian hairline meant.
"Sitting here in Scandinavia, being Scandinavian and having no idea what you're talking about," one commenter wrote.
In another video with 5.5 million views, the Florida hairstylist @sam.honeyandsage captioned a clip "Scandi hairline for sure." The video, which showed off one of her clients' results, divided viewers.
"This is quite literally the best color blonde i've ever seen," one wrote. Others, however, felt the bleached baby hairs had a greying effect. Commenters on @sam.honeyandsage's video also expressed concerns about upkeep, the way it might change the shape of one's forehead and hairline, and the potential damage incurred by dying fragile baby hairs.
"Surely it's bad for the hair," one wrote, "dying the weakest parts of hair."
When reached, @sam.honeyandsage told Insider that upkeep is something customers should be mindful of if they're considering this process — especially for brunettes.
"This technique is not one that I would personally choose to perform on a natural brunette because I would have to process already fragile hair for too far in order to achieve the bright Scandi look and the upkeep would be too frequent for the integrity of the hair," they said over email. "A natural dark blonde, on the other hand, is the ideal client."
The technique has been tried out by non-blondes as well — and with similarly mixed results. The TikToker Amelia Liana tried her hand at the trend "as a brunette" earlier this month after seeing it all over her For You Page, she explained in the viral video with 1.1 million views.
"At first I thought, 'This is stupid, I look like a freak, what the hell have I done?'" Liana says in the clip. "But then we kind of blended it, and I was like, 'Does this look cute or do I look grey?"
Commenters on her video were not sure how they felt.
"In the nicest way possible it aged you," the top commenter wrote. "It looks sooo good but also maybe a bit grey??!" another added. "But love it weirdly????"
In a follow-up video captured days later, Liana confirmed she wasn't satisfied with the results but couldn't have her hair fixed as she was on vacation. Instead, she took a root touch-up product and sprayed her roots back to a deeper shade of brown.
In the comments, fellow Scandi hairline opponents commiserated about being burned by the trend.
"I was a victim too of the scandi hairline," one wrote. "The scandi hairline doesn't work when there's high contrast," another added. "Always just makes us look like our hairline is receding lol."
Insider has reached out to Klinaviciute, @sam.honeyandsage, and Liana for comment.
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