prank

Unless they are working OBGYNS, had a bunch of sisters growing up, or chronically on WebMD, odds are that many men don’t have a detailed clinical knowledge of all the ins-and-outs of the female menstrual cycle. Heck, it can be perplexing enough to those that actually have menstrual cycles.

Apparently, all of this mystery surrounding that time of the month can make for excellent prank fodder.

In a video shared onto Instagram by @hairlookslondon, a girl films herself in front of a mirror peeling off either a sheer face mask…which just so happens to look like she’s actually shedding skin off her face. Granted, it could be real skin after a chemical peel of some sort. But one thing it’s definitely not is a PMS symptom.

But she tells her boyfriend it is anyway.

In the clip, we see a shocked young man ask in horror “what is that?” as flesh pulls from the girl's face.

Nonchalantly, the woman replies, “my skin…It sheds every month. Surely you knew that Aaron.”

No, Aaron most certainly did not know that.

She takes it one step further by saying that her entire body will soon shed, like a lizard. It happens to girls every month, for their time of the month. Duh.

The look on his face when she politely asks him to throw away the lifeless shreds…priceless.

Watch:

In case anyone here needs this: skin shedding is most definitely not something that happens during a menstrual cycle. Shedding of uterine lining? Sure. But skin? Nah.

If you thought the video itself was hilarious, get ready to crack up at the comments women left playing along with the ruse.

“When woman live together for a longer period of time, related or not related to each other, we’ll start to synchronize shedding as well 🦎😮💨”

“PMS stands for Peeling My Skin… I thought everyone knew that.”

“Wait until you have kids!!!!…you shed so much more!!!! 😭”

“Little known fact: Garden sheds were originally invented so women had somewhere private to do their monthly shed. It’s an excellent fertilizer too.”

Another little known “fact”: shedding apparently varies widely across the world!

“In Jamaica, when the women shed their skin we go into the mountains where the shedding trees are and cover ourselves in shed tree sap to help the skin shed faster. It feels so good to finally talk about it.”

“As a Muslim woman myself, we aren’t allowed to share our shedding cycle with men in our family except husband. Hoping we will get there one day, where everyone can talk about this more openly.”

“In Germany when we shed we give the skin to make sausages.”

“In Brazil there are some indigenous tribes that bury the shed in the woods so the plants grow stronger and help the forest regenerate.”

“I’m Japanese. We have loads of beauty clinics here where they help our skins to shed properly. You know when we tried to shed in our teens? It was such hassle and some parts wouldn’t come off properly so it left spots. In clinics, they massage and plump the skin so it peels off in one piece from head to toe, it’s sooooo satisfying…”

“My Swedish grandmother made tea from her dried skin sheddings. Added a tiny bit of wild honey. It’s a great way to get your magnesium.”

Some kindly chimed in with their own “shedding tips.”

“Drinking loads of coconut water and eating watermelon a week before the shed starts has really helped me. It just peels off faster and easier. Hope this helps those who face difficulties with their shed. Staying hydrated is the key.”

“I feed my pets with the shedded skin parts, great source of collagen, especially for senior dogs.”

A few even praised this woman for trying to normalize this deeply guarded secret among women.

I’ve been with my husband 15 years and he’s only seen me shed once - I blamed it on a sunburn. We should normalize this

Others…weren’t so happy she publicly revealed something so “sacred.”

“I can't believe she allowed him to see her shed. I do mine in private.”

“The fact that someone would come on the internet and publicly shed is weird AF 🥴 it’s supposed to be a private intimate phenomenon but you posting it for everyone to see.”

Gosh, the comedy gold just keeps going and going. Kudos to the community for understanding the assignment. Hope that fella isn't too traumatized though.