The pasta strainer hair hack is blowing up on TikTok for giving unreal curls

Another day, another bonkers beauty hack blowing up on TikTok. This time it’s the turn of the pasta strainer hair hack that creator Liz Fox Roseberry (aka @foxcraftcustom) casually shared to her page 3 days ago. We know what you might be thinking… if you’ve been burned before by some of the cray-cray techniques plugged on the app (looking at you lube face primer), you may be ready to scroll straight on ahead. But, this hack has clearly captured people’s attention since at current count, it’s racked up over 18 million views, over 700,000 likes and more than 7,000 comments.

Introducing her video with the caption, “I can’t tell the difference between crazy and genius anymore lol,” Liz start the video with her wet hair scooped into metal sieve. “Just learnt that my pasta strainer is better at diffusing my waves than my diffuser,” she wrote, showing users her alternative journey to a head of perfect, bouncy, defined curls.

While there’s some debate in the comments as to whether the tool for the job is a “sieve” or “pasta strainer” the overwhelming consensus is that people are on board. “I’ve learned more from TikTok than high school and college combined,” one user wrote. “Ugh…. *adds pasta strainer to cart,” wrote another. “I have been influenced,” yet another said. 

And while there were some who questioned how hygienic the hack was (“and that’s why I don’t eat at people house [sic],” one user said), others have been quick to add on their own tips for the hack. “Just remember that’s straight metal you’re heating up. Use a medium to low heat so you don’t scorch your hair,” said one commenter.

It makes sense that the hack is blowing up since alongside given a very impressive end results, people in the comments have argued it’s much cheaper than buying an expensive diffuser attachment.

As for what the pros think, they get it… sorta. “Using a pasta strainer works in the same way a diffuser attachment does,” explains Jason Collier, hair stylist and brand educator at Jerome Russell BBlonde. “It distributes the heat evenly to the curls so the curl pattern remains intact and circulates the air so the hair has a more air-dried effect.” But also, they recommend sticking to hair tools. “You don’t need to look in your kitchen cupboard,” says Jason. “With the right styling you can keep your strainer for pasta.”

Jason recommends keeping things gentle. “When drying your curls use your diffuser, but use it gently, it can be easy to become over-zealous with the scrunching which can increase frizz,” he says, adding, “using products that hydrate and define your curls is key.” He recommends a heat protector to protect your hair, and a thickening mousse before applying heat to hold the style in place. Then a curl gel like Bstyled Curl Jelly to hydrate and smooth.

As for the products Liz used for her pasta strainer hair hack, she created a follow-up video to run-down the exact formulas and techniques she used to create her now-viral curls.

For more from GLAMOUR’s Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk