A video that has reached millions of viewers around the world on social media offers a rare look at an everyday routine carried out in the most unusual conditions imaginable: washing hair in space.
French astronaut Sophie Adenot shared how she washes her hair aboard the International Space Station, where even the simplest task becomes a small scientific operation. With no gravity, no running water and hair floating around her, the process is nothing like a shower back on Earth.
The European Space Agency, recognizing the viral potential of the moment, also shared the clip, in which Adenot demonstrates the routine step by step.
She begins by combing her hair. Then she wets it using water injected through a special straw. After that comes a dedicated shampoo, followed not by a normal rinse, but by wiping the hair with a towel.
Even the towel has a second purpose. Adenot explains that after it absorbs the moisture, it dries out, and that humidity is then collected and recycled into drinking water.
The clip sparked curiosity among viewers, who filled the comments with questions. Some wanted to know how long it takes hair to dry in space. Others asked whether she misses showering at home. Some viewers, meanwhile, were less focused on the science and more amused by the image itself, saying they had not realized she was in space at all, but thought she was simply being filmed upside down.
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Sophie Adenot washes her hair in space
(Photo: From the European Space Agency’s YouTube page)
What is clear is that the video reminded millions of people how much creativity and technology are required for even the smallest actions in orbit.