Living in a western country and seeing the traditional Indian beauty ritual hair oiling rise in popularity when it was once scoffed at, is perplexing.
The hashtag hair oiling has garnered an astonishing 35.7 million views across social platforms like TikTok and has somewhat resulted in many commercial brands capitalising on the “trend” that has long held cultural significance for Indians.
Now seeing it as part of the clean girl aesthetic, brought back fond memories of growing up and hearing my mom tell us to “soak your heads in coconut oil” and of course the funny faces you would get if you dared to enter shared spaces with strangers having obeyed her.