If you’ve been on TikTok recently, you may have seen people with their hair being twisted and then yanked with a loud pop. It looks and sounds painful, but folks who do it say it has a real purpose: to help with migraine.
But this phenomenon, known as scalp popping, or hair cracking, probably hurts more than it helps, stresses Vanessa Cooper, MD, a headache specialist at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. “I took a deep dive into social media to learn about it, and came out pretty disturbed,” she says.
Here’s a closer look at scalp popping — what it is, what happens when your scalp pops, and why you don’t want to try this yourself at home.
What Is Scalp Popping?
Scalp popping is when your hair is pulled so hard that you pop the galea — a sheet of soft tissue attached to your scalp — off of your skull, says Anthony Young, MD, a plastic surgeon in Detroit, Michigan. “We usually only see these sorts of galea tears when we treat people who have been in car accidents,” he adds. “It’s definitely not a natural thing to do.”
The trend is so risky that TikTok has even issued a warning against it when you search for it on its app.
What’s Really Happening During Scalp Popping?
Your scalp has five layers. The pericranium is a thick fibrous membrane that covers your skull. Above that lies a layer of loose connective tissue, then the galea, then another layer of connective tissue, and then finally your skin.
During scalp popping, your hair is tugged so hard that the galea is separated from your scalp. “That’s what causes the popping sound,” explains Young. “Needless to say, for that to happen, someone has to yank very, very hard.”
Does Scalp Popping Help Migraine?
It’s unclear why people on social media would tout scalp popping, or hair cracking, to treat a migraine. One theory is that when you pull on your hair, you stimulate nerves in your scalp and release endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers.
But there’s no published research to show that scalp popping helps with migraine, says Cooper. “If anything, we worry that this trend will make your headache worse,” she notes. Up to 70% of people with migraine experience allodynia — nerve pain that makes them sensitive to touch — during an attack. “I’ve had patients tell me their migraine attacks get worse when they brush their hair, or pull it back in a ponytail,” she says. “Hair cracking puts so much stress on your scalp; it could very well trigger a migraine.”
How to Pop Your Scalp
If you are curious about scalp popping, you can find tutorials about it online on sites like TikTok. Most people grab a few strands of hair close to the scalp, wrap them around their fingers, and then pull them hard away from the head until there’s a popping sound. Some folks do it themselves, and others enlist someone else to help them.
Is Scalp Popping Safe?
In a word, no. “It disrupts the natural anatomy of your scalp, and can cause all sorts of problems,” says Youn. These include:
Hematoma. A hematoma is a collection of blood in a certain area of the body — in this case, your scalp. “Your scalp is very vascular, which means it can bleed a lot after an injury,” he explains.
Hair loss. When you pull on your hair a lot, you can cause traction alopecia, which is a type of hair loss, notes Marisa Garshick, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. Over time, your hair follicles may get damaged so much that your hair will stop growing back, leading to permanent hair loss.
Infection. Any trauma on your scalp can lead to breaks in the skin, raising the risk of infection, says Garshick.
Safer Alternatives to Scalp Popping
There are safe ways to manage migraine on your own, in addition to medication, that don’t involve scalp popping. Here are some alternative things to try:
Sleep hygiene. A night of poor sleep can trigger a migraine. You can help ensure that you get better sleep if you:
- Wake up and go to bed at the same time every day.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol.
- Don’t look at your phone or other electronic devices right before you go to bed.
Eat a healthy diet. Focus on fresh fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and limit processed food. One study found that omega-3 fatty acids, found in flaxseed and fish, can help lessen migraine frequency.
Get regular exercise. Physical activity helps improve migraine. People with headaches who do moderate intensity exercise like brisk walking have fewer and less severe migraine attacks.
Try acupuncture. Research shows that it can help reduce the frequency and severity of your migraine attacks, says Cooper. A 2024 review published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine found that sessions three times a week for six to eight weeks were helpful.
Head and neck massage. This may be especially useful for people who also get tension-type headaches, which are caused by muscle tension, explains Cooper.
Neuromodulation. These are devices that stimulate your brain and nervous system using magnetic waves or electric currents. They are available by prescription. Two common ones are Cefaly and Nerivio. They’re used both for treatment and prevention, says Cooper.
Use biofeedback. It’s a technique that shows you how to control body functions such as your breathing and heart rate. It’s been shown to significantly reduce both migraine frequency and severity, especially when it’s combined with prescription medication.
Takeaways
Scalp popping, or hair cracking, is popularized on social media sites like TikTok as a natural way to treat migraine. To do it, you need to pull so hard that you pop the galea — a sheet of soft tissue attached to your scalp — off of your skull. But there’s no research to support the use of scalp popping, and, in fact, it might make your migraine worse. It can also cause other complications, such as skin infection or hair loss. There are many other safe and effective migraine treatments to try instead.
