Why Women Are Sticking Their Pantyhose in the Freezer

Many fashionistas know that you can stop a run in your pantyhose or tights from getting worse by putting a dab of clear nail polish on the edge of the snag. And while this works great in a pinch and can get you through the rest of your day without requiring you to run out for a new pair of tights , it doesn't prevent you from getting those annoying tears in the first place.

But a popular hack making the rounds on social media might be able to just that.

Find out why women everywhere are putting their tights and pantyhose into the freezer before wearing them below. Who knows, this cool trick (pun intended) may just become your favorite new way to get more wear out of your delicate leggings and tights.

Why are people freezing tights? Some believe it can prevent runs.

When you open your freezer you may expect to find some bagged veggies, a pint of ice cream, or even the occasional container of frozen leftovers , but for the most part the very last thing many people expect to find is a pair of pantyhose. Except, that's exactly where some women believe that you should store your pantyhose for the first 24 hours after you get them.

How to freeze your tights to prevent runs:

According to fashion forward social media users like Instagramer @tsagana_24 , following the below process can help make your tights more durable.

@tsagana_24 tells her followers to soak their pantyhose in a bit of water, put them back into the package, and then stick them into the freezer. After 24 hours in the freezer, she says you'll want to rinse the tights under running water, and then let them dry before your first wear. Then, your tights will supposedly be more resistant to rips.

She's not the only one who swears by this method. TikToker @allsheer4me is also a fan of this process, and shared their own take on it — instead of rinsing them after they come out of the freezer, this person says you can just thaw them until they are warm enough to wear — garnering some praise from their followers.

One commenter even shared that this has been her go-to hack since the 1970s!

Does freezing pantyhose really work to prevent runs?

We all know that you can't believe everything you read online, and according to Good Housekeeping , this hack may be more fiction than fact. After running some tests in 2015, the magazine discovered that there was no real difference in durability between tights that were frozen before being worn and those that were put on fresh out of the package.

That being said, this trick does have plenty of support online, especially from those who grew up watching their family members do this at home. "My grandmother and mother did this for years," one of @tsagana_24's followers wrote. "It was an honor to get picked to go pull the stockings from the freezer for grandma."

While the idea of squeezing into ice cold tights in the middle of winter sounds like a terrible one to me, it may be worthwhile to test this idea out over the summer months.

Even if you don't end up strengthening the fibers in your tights like some believers claim, at least you'll end up with an extra boost of cooling comfort before you head out into the sweltering heat for your efforts!