Bean-Sprout Hairpieces Are China’s Newest (and Strangest) Fashion Craze

Sprouting tiny grass on your head is apparently a thing in China now
Photo: He lili - Imaginechina

A new, fairly odd fashion trend has popped up in China in recent months, reports the New York Times, and it’s one designed to make people’s heads look like a vegetable garden. The fad began with people clipping plastic beanstalks resembling the seedling emoji into their hair. But the look is intensifying, and China’s trendsetters are now landscaping their locks with plastic fruits and vegetables. No one seems exactly sure how the trend got started or why people are actually following it — though one theory posits that it’s an attempt (if a somewhat tragic one) to reconnect with nature. The default reading is simply that everyone else is doing it. “This shows that in China now we’ll try almost anything that we see on the Internet,” a college student “wearing a sprig of clover while strolling a Beijing street” told the Times. “Nobody knows what it means, but we do it anyway.”

Here’s how the trend is showing up on social media and the streets of China:

#豆芽#

A photo posted by 嘉雪shadow (@wrongtiming_) on

Photo: Liu Xianglong/Sipa Asia
Photo: Liu Xianglong/Sipa Asia
Plus flower crowns! Photo: He lili - Imaginechina

#染发 #豆芽 #새싹 5개씩이나 #눈썹 어쩔..ㅎ #睡不着 。。

A photo posted by SIM HA EUN (@tianen_grace) on

🍓GD同款·頭頂生草髮夾(仲有多款選擇) 💰20/3件 ➰GD戴到鬼咁cute😍好得意啊!快滴來買返只啦,好快賣晒!現貨不多 ➰賣到瘋狂,瘋狂搶購,草莓已經忙到人都顛左 📱有意請whatsapp:53606487 ———————————————————— 💁仲有更多平正野 入來睇下啦👉#strawberrylove____平靚正! ———————————————————— ⚠貨出不獲退換 ⚠滿30蚊以上交易 58蚊上包郵 💄日韓臺歐美美容化妝品👉 @strawberrylove____cosmetics 👑日韓臺歐美精品首飾👉 @strawberrylove____jewelry 👾韓日歐美紋身貼👉@____strawberrylove ✏️韓日臺歐美文具👉@strawberrylove____stationer 🍓VIP參加抽獎活動👉@my_strawberrylove_fans #GD#bigbang#bigbang周邊#豆芽髮夾#bigbangtop#我的鄰居是exo同款#熊大水樽#bigbang水樽#透明樽#linemybottle#太陽#燦烈周邊#韓風#hkigshop#hkshop#igshop#GD水樽#exo水杯#GDragon#豆芽#檸檬杯#韓國代購#芭蕉扇#風扇仔#韓國文具#bigbang太陽 不用上面果個 🍓GD同款·頭頂生草髮夾(多種款選擇) 💰20/3隻 40/7隻 ➰GD頭上生左草鬼咁cute😍好得意啊!GD都生左草啦,你仲沒生?快滴來買返只啦,好快賣晒!現貨唔多! ➰風靡全球,賣到瘋狂,瘋狂搶購 📱有意請whatsapp草莓:53606487 ———————————————————— 💁仲有更多平正野 入來睇下啦👉#strawberrylove____平靚正! ———————————————————— ⚠貨出不獲退換 ⚠滿30蚊以上交易 58蚊上包郵 🔮綜合店👉 @strawberryice____ 💄日韓臺歐美美容化妝品👉 @strawberrylove____cosmetics 👑日韓臺歐美精品首飾👉 @strawberrylove____jewelry 👾韓日歐美紋身貼👉@____strawberrylove ✏️韓日臺歐美文具👉@strawberrylove____stationer 🍓VIP參加抽獎活動👉@my_strawberrylove_fans #GDragon同款#bigbang#bigbang周邊#豆芽髮夾#bigbangtop#exo同款#熊大水樽#bigbang水樽#透明樽#linemybottle#太陽#燦烈周邊#韓風#hkigshop#hkshop#igshop#GD水樽#exo水杯#GDragon#豆芽#頭生草#韓國代購#芭蕉扇#風扇仔#韓國文具#bigbang太陽

A photo posted by 韓日台歐美代購藍莓姐 (@strawberryice____) on

Photo: He lili - Imaginechina

最近都流行豆芽呢#豆芽#

A photo posted by Gloria (@luogloria) on

Photo: Liu Xianglong/Sipa Asia

部屋にこもりすぎて生えてきました。 #湿気 #もやし #在房间里呆太久长出 #豆芽

A photo posted by Miyo❤️ (@miyo_e1203) on

A Chinese vendor sells hairclips with plastic plants. Photo: He lili - Imaginechina

唉!? 不是豆芽😂😂 #豆芽 #🌱#跟著趕流行ㄧ下

A photo posted by ✨ 大婷 ✨ (@fater60) on

And even the poor pets are subjected to the plastic-plant trend.

새싹콩이 #小狗#发夹#강아지스타그램#콩이

A photo posted by @ju_eun0 on

咪醬好流行🌱🌱🌱 #蜜袋鼯 #sugarglider #豆芽髮夾 #豆芽

A photo posted by 詹小貓 (@lovecat727) on

Beanstalk Hairpieces Are All the Rage in China