I grew up Amish with gas lamps and no electricity – I had to get super creative to use my curling iron during Rumspringa
A FORMER Amish woman gave viewers a tour of her family’s electricity-free home.
She shared the innovative trick she came up with to power her beauty devices, such as her curling iron.
Carol (@carolyoder_78) gave viewers a peek into the Amish lifestyle in a viral TikTok.
Her Amish brother and sister-in-law’s home, she explained, has zero electricity.
Necessities, such as a lamp in their kitchen for light, were powered by gas.
She revealed that the couple exclusively relied on gas-powered lamps throughout their home.
Instead of electricity, her Amish family used gas lines that ran through their ceilings and carried lighters to set the lamps ablaze.
Other key sources of power, she added, were battery-operated devices, such as a lamp in their living room, and renewable energy like solar panels.
A long cord connected to the solar panel powered the hair dryer she used to dry her strands that morning.
Carol explained that the techniques were “luxuries” she didn’t have as a kid.
Instead of batteries or solar energy, she had relied on kerosene lamps for light.
As a teen, she explained she had to get creative with her hair-styling techniques when she went through Rumspringa, a rite of passage and period of growth for Amish youth.
“As far as doing my hair… when I was in the Rumspringa phase, I would like to curl my hair,” she explained.
“I would take my curling iron and an oil lamp that had a chimney on it and I would set my curler on top of the lamp so that it would heat up.”
To keep her curling iron hot, she would set the tool back on her oil lamp.
Many still had a number of burning questions for Carol, despite finding her hair-curling solution effective.
“How did you blow dry your hair growing up? Curling it! Genius!” said one commenter.
While some were concerned about the amount of gas involved, others vouched for the method’s safety.
“Whew baby I wouldn’t step foot in there!” said one worried viewer.
“I’m afraid of gas stoves so imagine my anxiety in a fully-powered gas house.”
“That seems safe,” joked another.
“We had a summer trailer in Maryland growing up that had a fridge, lights, and stove that were all using propane gas to work,” said a pro-gas commenter.
“The heating also!”