‘Never heard of it’: Aus trend baffles millions as video goes viral
Aussies were left confused after an international influencer shared a video of a popular trend Down Under — but no one had heard of it.
A British beauty influencer has confused a lot of people after she described a particular look as originating from Australia, stumping many locals.
Atlanta Daley-Smith, who is based in England, recently took to TikTok to share her attempt at an “Aussie slick back bun”.
“I’ve seen them all over my For You Page and they look so nice, so I’m going to try and do one,” she said.
To get the look, you need to start with clean hair before applying a styling product such as gel and mousse to your locks. Then, a comb or brush is used to slick the hair back.
Ms Daley-Smith began by creating a middle part, then applying hairspray to her hair. She said she was keeping the two front pieces forward before slicking the rest back. She then brushed the front back and create some lift at the top of her hair.
Clearly happy with the final product, she asked: “Why is it slaying?”
The clip, which has been viewed more than two million times, attracted a lot of confusion in the comments from Australians.
“As an Aussie, what is an Australian slick back,” one asked.
One added: “I’m an Australian hairdresser and I have no idea what an Australian slick back is.”
“As an Aussie I’ve never heard of an Aussie slick back,” another weighed in.
One said: “Um idk who be doing that.”
“As an Aussie since when did we have a Aussie slick back,” one social media user said.
Despite many Australians in the comments being confused, there are 112 million videos in the search “How to do Aussie Slickback” on TikTok, with videos clocking up 15.6 million views.
Others said they’d seen it before — it was just that Ms Daley-Smith hadn’t executed the look.
“Aussie hairdresser here. First I’ve heard of it but now you mention it haha that’s so true, so many girls do this style hehe in Sydney anyway,” one said.
Another chimed in: “An Aussie slick back has more bumps but yours looks better.”
“That’s not an Aussie slick back,” someone else wrote.
One social media user said: “This looks so good but it’s not a real Aussie slick back.”
Ms Daley-Smith told news.com.au that she believed the confusion came different generations, saying she had a lot of comments from Aussie teachers that many of their students were doing this look.
“I think the confusion comes from the different generations, with the younger generations of Australians knowing what the style is,” she said.
“Where as the older may not have seen or heard about it. I’m overwhelmed with the response, I didn’t expect the wide range of responses from around the world and Australians particularly!
“It’s been lovely to connect with them in my comment section and share thoughts about this hairstyle. Being British myself with a low amount of Australian viewers I have seen a massive increase in followers from Australia which I am very grateful for!”
She said she was a massive fan of the look, and was taking on board all the tips from Aussies on how to perfect it.