Mindlessly thumbing through Instagram turned up a rather alarming result Tuesday morning. Hairstylist James Pecis posted a photo of a barber casually lighting the back of his client's head on fire. In James's words hashtags, “#realhaircut, #nobullshit.” A frantic email followed, subject line: Need info on the fire scissors. (Was originally “Fire talk with me.” but unsure of his familiarity with Twin Peaks, the former was used.)

He replied, “This was an old way to finish off a cut. There was a time when people believed you needed to seal the ends after a cut so that you would not catch a cold. It's a way to close off the ends. This practice is still used on men's cuts and sometimes to seal off ends or close off the fly-aways around braids. It's a fun way to give a haircut...but can really go wrong.”

Of all the old-school beauty tricks that require a flair for danger (bloodletting to get rid of toxins; leaded makeup; $8 pedicures), this probably isn't the worst for experimentation...but don't. Seriously. ITG can't be held liable for third-degree burns, property damage, or bad DIY haircuts.