Hello from The Goods' resident internet culture reporter, [Rebecca Jennings](! On Tuesdays, I'm using this space to update you all on what's been going on in the world of TikTok. Is there something you want to see more of? Less of? Different of? Email me at rebecca.jennings@vox.com.
Influencer hair, the Instagrammifed cousin of [TV hair](, is one of those things where you know it when you see it: Itâs always a little too long, a little too thick, a little too perfectly âbeachyâ when literally nobodyâs hair has ever looked like that at the beach. Of course, thereâs no way it could, because influencer hair isnât their real hair: It is made of a lot of expertly placed and wildly expensive extensions, so that a 5-foot-2 Bachelor contestantâs head ends up looking like it weighs more than she does.
There are plenty of hair salons that will give you influencer hair should you choose to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for it, but thereâs one that over the past year or so has become nearly synonymous with the genre: Habit Salon, and more specifically its owner, Chrissy Rasmussen.
Even before the pandemic, [influencers deemed]( Chrissy worth the trip from Los Angeles to Arizona; for years, her popular Instagram [@hairby_chrissy]( documented the hair transformations of [recognizable reality TV stars](, [YouTube vloggers](, and [style bloggers](. This year, she opened a West Hollywood offshoot, presumably to be closer to her target demographic.
Because itâs 2020, that demographic now includes TikTokers. By summer, massively popular TikTok influencers were starting to appear on Hair by Chrissyâs social media pages. It was on these posts that viewers noticed a potential scandal: Despite large groups of clients and employees seen in the videos, there wasnât a mask in sight.
You can probably guess what happened next: Commenters flooded not only Hair by Chrissyâs TikTok page but also her Instagram and Yelp reviews. Complaints about safety measures also evolved into criticism of Chrissyâs hairstyles themselves â hashtags like #hairbychrissyblockme and #hairbychrissyvibes are full of [parody videos]( of the salonâs signature transformations. âHair by Chrissy slander TikTok is my new favorite place to be itâs like every other video someone is coming for their neck and Iâm here for it,â reads the caption on [one popular video](.
By October, âHair by Chrissyâ had become its own meme, a means of expressing frustration at influencersâ disregard for social distancing during the pandemic. Habit Salon and its owner are a perfect punching bag for average teens who watch famous TikTokers gleefully live their lives, while they have to stay home from school and can no longer participate in the kinds of activities that make being a high schooler bearable. Itâs more than a fair critique: As Morgan Sung [notes at Mashable](, âIf you don't want to be shamed by Gen Z's incredible talent for coming up with painfully specific insults, consider wearing a mask.â
I think itâs just as much critique of influencer hair in general, or at least what itâs come to stand for. Hair By Chrissyâs factory-like approach, chronicled in dozens of identical videos in which a beautiful woman enters the salon and leaves with the exact same uncanny valley mermaid hair, is a microcosm of the [monotony of female beauty standards on social media](. The collective distaste for this specific salon may have less to do with the lack of masks (influencers whoâve been filmed at giant parties clearly donât care anyway), but with the idea that apparently in order to be considered a hot girl online, you have to get the same fillers, the same lashes, and the same Hair by Chrissy extensions as a certain segment of LA aspiring whatevers. Itâs clear that weâre all sick of this â consider the popularity of [intentionally bizarre cool-girl face filters!]( â which means that with enough time, the look will become played out. But yeah, until then, they should definitely be wearing masks.
TikTok in the news ðï¸
- In other juicy business drama, Triller, an app marketing itself as an âedgierâ version of TikTok, was quick to bring on celebrity investors and paid TikTok stars to join its platform, according to a report from the [Timesâs Taylor Lorenz](. The company has rented mansions, leased cars, and gifted its creators production equipment (including at least one helicopter) to get them to stay there, to the point where creators joke about how desperate it is.
- This isnât all that surprising, considering [this Wall Street Journal explainer]( on Trillerâs founders and their history of alleged fraud. The company is also rather litigious â itâs suing an app tracker that disputed Trillerâs claim that it had 250 million downloads (according to the tracker, it was more like 52 million). Triller also happens to be the favorite shortform video app of President Trump, and followers of QAnon. Do with that information what you will.
- Last week, the [company/art collective MSCHF]( paid [TikTok users to make videos]( about how awful certain brands are. Example: For $50, all you had to do is film a TikTok about Fashion Nova stealing designs and using sweatshop labor, and the resulting video had to get 25,000 views. Itâs over now, but theyâd like you to know that âthese companies are still terrible.â
- The co-head of United Talent Agencyâs digital division is [leaving to become]( the president of DâAmelio Family Enterprises, a media company led by teen TikTok stars Charli and Dixie and their parents Marc and Heidi. âI think they could be as big as any family that have taken over American media,â he said.
- Hereâs a [really nice story]( from Julia Alexander at The Verge about how the skateboarding community is a lot more welcoming for women on TikTok than in real life.
- Hereâs another [really nice story]( from Colleen Stinchcombe at Eater about how TikTok star Teena Thach is boosting BIPOC-owned Seattle restaurants while going viral on TikTok.
- [Stevie Nicks](! Stevie Nicks! Stevie Nicks!
One last thing ð
The [dystopian YA novel]( your 12-year-old self would definitely have a poster of.
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