Are nose hair extensions the latest hot beauty trend?

It’s super fun to keep up with the latest trends in fashion and beauty — maybe even more so when they’re totally outrageous. That’s why stories about “nose hair extensions” are suddenly buzzing around the internet and confusing us all.

The articles seem pretty convincing, with posts from Instagram users and quotes from respected medical websites about the importance of healthful nose hair.

But, come on. Is this for real?

Probably not.

A little Internet sleuthing reveals that the “trend” originated in 2017 with Instagrammer @gret_chen_chen.

She posted a pic of herself with eyelash extensions stuck around the edges of her nostrils and called them “nose hair extensions.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ1pCEGhF6t/

If you check out the rest of @gret_chen_chen’s posts, though, you see that the nose-hair extension photo is just one of a bunch of silly images she’s posted.

It’s pretty clear that it’s supposed to be funny.

The idea created a brief stir in October 2017, when vloggers Davison and Taylor R. spotted @gret_chen_chen’s pic and decided to give it a try.

On Instagram, @Davison even went the extra mile and added “lip lashes” to her look.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ7i9FvjA5M/

There is at least one sincere video tutorial about nose-hair extensions and how to work them.

It comes from Taylor R., who has more than 360,000 followers on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ-ihviDGoc/

In her YouTube tutorial, Taylor says she’s doing the nose-hair extensions “for fun, for experimental purposes, mostly because I’m home alone and I have nothing better to do.”

Davison also thinks the whole thing is a big joke.

Also in 2017, New Zealand makeup artist and vlogger @heygorgeousxxx threw up some snaps of her own lushly enhanced nostril hair.

Her photo’s been used widely to illustrate the “trend.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BadLJYHn1QC/

Going back to 2017, these same pictures of Taylor R. and @heygorgeousxxx show up in almost every article about this supposed phenomenon. It’s because they’re among the few who’ve ever done it — this is not really a legit beauty trend that ever took off.

Most of the Instagram photos tagged #nosehairextensions are people joking about the idea.

People like @justzophie, who wants to look “like great great grandma”:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwnw735Fwv8/

Or @makeupbyragnhild who is truly apologetic for having to post this image at all.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaEthVFHn3d/

Or @schwaighoferart, who did it for the dudes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaRiqzKn70R/

I think it’s safe to conclude that there’s no way this is a “thing.” If anything, nose hair extensions simply generate clicks for disgusted ranters and attention-seeking internet personalities. This is, as they say, a nothingburger.

I’ll let this post from @kernowvets, tagged #nosehairextensions, sum things up:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeZFQAKlGKK/

Of course, Christmas-tree hair was a thing that actually took off recently, so you never know.