There’s a new ~influencer~ trend doing the ’rounds on social media and we thought it necessary to warn readers of its many dangers. You may have noticed a bunch of internet famous folk using what’s called expanding foam to tizzy up their homes with the DIY foam mirror trend.
Also known as spray foam, it’s a chemical product that works by spraying isocyanate and polyol resin onto something and it’ll expand up to 30-60 times its liquid volume.
Observe an example below by influencer Hannah Perera:
Hannah posted the above video where she shows her many, many followers how to apply the foam and have it transform your stuff into a foamy masterpiece.
“Had so much fun working on my little DIY project over the past couple of days,” she wrote after trying the foam mirror trend. “I think I may edit it a bit still though but for now it’s looking pretty good next to my bed.”
Fans were quick to point out the dangers of the product in the comments section, prompting her to edit her caption to include the risks.
“It has now come to my attention – please be careful when using expanding foam,” she said.
“It can be very dangerous not only if inhaled.”
“Even though I wore protective eyewear, gloves and made sure to cover up head-to-toe to not get it on my skin, I was unaware of how extreme the risk it has on your internal body.”
She also called out the influencers who she had been inspired by for failing to mention these dangers with the foam mirror project in their posts.
“Please be safe and wear the right protective gear if you do decide to get inspo from this,” she said.
“Also in case you aren’t aware it is also extremely flammable whilst using it.
“The gas used in the product is quite dangerous so please also be very careful on where you choose to use expanding foam.”
In summary, expanding foam is no joke and if used incorrectly, you could seriously harm yourself and others. If you become exposed to the harmful chemicals in spray foam before it has a chance to fully cure, you could risk developing asthma or other breathing problems, along with eye and skin irritation.
So yeah, please be aware of the dangers before blindly following the influenzas in the DIY foam mirror trend.
