(Not) Hair Raising Hygiene: Bald Astronaut Fires Back At Outer Space Shampoo Video [Videos]

“Not Hair Raising Hygiene” is the quirky name of an equally quirky video from the International Space Station (ISS) that bald astronaut Luca Parmitano posted to YouTube yesterday.

The video by the Expedition 36 crew member and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut is a direct challenge to fellow ISS crew member Karen Nyberg, the 50th woman in space — and the star of a viral video posted on July 9.

If you aren’t one of the already 1.4 million and climbing people who have seen it, Nyberg’s “Hair Raising Hygiene” is a step-by-step demonstration of how she washes her hair in space. Since water doesn’t fall down nicely without any gravity to give it a hint about which direction to go, people all around the world have been wondering just how a lady can wash out her hair — and now Nyberg has provided the answer.

The results are more Bride of Frankenstein than Vidal Sassoon, but her YouTube release of the hair-washing routine became an instant classic. Even the comments are funny. Apparently, hair dressers have an opinion, even if they haven’t exactly ever given anyone a shampoo in earth orbit themselves.

In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted her video down below for your convenience.

The “Not Hair Raising Hygiene” riposte I posted up top gets most of its punch from the way that the huge bubbles of water roll over Parmitano’s bald scalp in the low gravity environment.

For my money, it’s absolutely hilarious and deserves to make the bald dude just as YouTube famous as Nyberg. The more people who watch, laugh, and pass it along, the better chance he has of racking up the same number of views as his fellow crew member.

So go ahead. Take a look. You know you want to.

So what do you think? I’m giving the nod to the bald astronaut. Both videos are funny, but “Not Hair Raising Hygiene” is just a little funnier.

[ISS photo via NASA]