You can very well imagine that while astronauts are in space, everyday menial chores become difficult to manage. From eating lunch, to brushing your teeth, to even clipping your nails, there’s a method to avoid damaging the equipment. Recently, the European Space Agency released a video of how astronauts have their hair cut in outer space.
While at the International Space Station, astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shows the world how they keep their hair looking stylish. Apparently, the process involves three people: the stylist, the person getting the haircut and someone operating the vacuum to catch the straying strands.
The team called it ‘Chez Terry’ – a makeshift hair salon on board the International Space Station. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is the one getting the hair cut, her colleague Terry Virts styles her hair, and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov follows the scissors around with a vacuum to catch whatever floats away. Astronauts must not let loose hair fall off the towel because floating hair can create a safety hazard since they can be inhaled or even aggravate the astronauts’ eyes. The astronauts even manage to shampoo their hair up there. Cristoferetti exclaims, “New Year, time for a haircut. Setting up shop at ‘Chez Terry’, Voila! I think Terry’s pre-flight training paid off.”
There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration while in space. For one, bathing is not an option because in microgravity, water clings to the body instead of running down so sponge baths are the way it’s done. Due to the limited supply of water, sponging also saves water. Shampooing is not done the traditional way; the astronauts use a no-rinse shampoo. They apply the shampoo, rub their hair and scalp vigorously with a towel and then use another towel to wipe their hair clean.
Watch this video and you will be fascinated for sure!
