Isabella Jacobs gets all dolled for special occasions like homecoming by adding in shiny pieces of gold tinsel into her hair, also known as fairy hair that adds an ethereal, glittery, and fun touch into her hair and overall look.
Jacobs says “The first time I got it, I was just with my mom at like a Galentine’s event… it was for fun”.
Jacobs, a senior at Westerville North High School, learned how to install the shimmery, shiny strands on herself after that event. Jacobs says “I watched TikTok videos… it’s just like you knot [the fairy hair] and then put it on, like a little piece of your hair”.
Fairy hair is a possibly decades long trend that has recently gotten popular again on the social media platform TikTok. It can be a cool, cheap DIY, or you can get it done professionally. There are also several different ways you can get it installed. How To Use Hair Tinsel to Elevate Your Look says, “These thin, metallic streaks are mean to add dimension and shine to your hair.” As its popularity increases, more salons, events, and pop-ups are established that make fairy hair more accessible.
The sparkly, eye-catching strands can also apply to other special occasions, like summer vacation or school dances. Jacobs says, “ I did it myself for homecoming… I did gold.”
In the past few years, fairy hair has seen somewhat of a revival, gaining millions of views across various social media platforms. Hair Tinsel Is the Glitzy, Unexpected Accent That’s Been Seen Over a Billion Times on TikTok, and article by Allure writes, “San Diego-based hairstylist Meg West of Mix Company Salon attributes the sudden interest in both ‘90s and Y2K beauty to hair tinsel’s resurgence.”
It’s a little unclear when these glittering hair strands precisely became a trend. A New York Times article titled Putting Some Sparkle Into Holiday Hair says, “Some internet sites say it was first a fad in the 1990s. Others describe the twinkling strands of gold attached to Beyoncé’s caramel locks at the 2020 Grammy Awards.”
Caroline Wro first discovered the pixie-like strands of tinsel when she was on vacation and had it put in her hair. She now has her own fairy hair salon named Twinkling Tresses Fairy hair, where she installs the tinsel using a unique crochet technique that she learned through internet research and videos. Wro says, “I was struggling as a single mom with one income and I just thought if I could learn how to do it… that it would be a fun way to make a little extra money.”
Tiffany Rupp also has her own hair tinsel company called Sparklez by Tiff. And she uses 100% high silk tinsel instead of plastic tinsel, which can be styled with up to 450 degree heat. Rupp says, “I was on vacation in North Carolina and found fairy hair and had it done and was obsessed with glitter. I’m like count me in.”
Both Rupp and Wro see an increase of business when the holiday season starts: from Thanksgiving to around New Year’s, according to the same New York Times’ article.
“Fairy hair, a common label for slender strands of tinsel threaded through anyone’s hair, also can provide some shimmer for holiday celebrations or a bit of amusement at any age.”
Wro, who has a majority adult woman clientele, says that the women tend to be more cautious about doing more with their appearance as they get older, worried what others will think of them. Wro says, “But this is kind of one of these things that is a really safe, fun, unique thing to do that they can enjoy without, you know, coloring their hair.”
Jacobs says, “When I did it, I ordered it off Amazon… it was $13.” But if you don’t feel comfortable doing hair tinsel on yourself, you can go to Caroline Wro’s website at https://www.ttfairyhair.com/ or contact Tiffany Rupp at (614) FINISH THIS
