How to Deal with a Bad Haircut

It happens to everyone. Whether it’s your regular hairstylist that does the heinous deed or a new one you took a chance on, the results can be devastating. Anyway you look at it, a bad haircut is unpleasant. A botched hair job hurt your morale and confidence for a few weeks or several months, depending on how outlandish it looks. If you’re the bearer of a really bad haircut, is there a way to reduce the damage enough to show your face in public again?

Assess the damage.

After a bad haircut, it’s time to put away the Kleenex and assess the damage objectively. Any time you radically change your look, it can be a shock when you first look in the mirror. This is especially true if you’ve gone from long to short. The first order of business is to wash and condition your hair to remove any hairstyling products. When you get a new haircut, the hairstylist may pile on the hair products to shape it. You may find that you’re more dissatisfied with the way your hair was styled rather than the actual cut itself. After washing and conditioning, lightly blow dry your hair and reassess the damage. The haircut may not look as bad as you originally thought.

Get several opinions.

After you’ve looked at the situation as objectively as possible, pick a few people close to you whom you trust to be honest and ask their opinion. It’s hard to be objective when it comes to your own appearance and a trusted outside source can give you valuable feedback about your “bad haircut”. If two or three reliable sources tell you, it’s not for you, you have a problem that needs remedial action.

Head for the hairstyle magazines.

Now that you’re convinced you really do have a bad haircut or at least the wrong haircut, it’s time to find a solution. The best way to do this is to consult some of the many hairstyle magazines that are available at your local bookstore or drugstore. Put on your dark glasses or a scarf over you head and make the trek to the nearest magazine rack. Buy as many hairstyle magazines as you can afford and choose a peaceful corner to peruse them undisturbed. Look for haircuts and styles that are similar to your new haircut. When you find one that appeals to you, cut it out or mark the page to show your hairdresser. Be realistic. If you’ve chopped your hair above the ears, don’t cut out photos of long, layered hairstyles that’ll be impossible to achieve with your hair length. This exercise serves two purposes. It shows you that your current “bad haircut” can look good if styled or cut a bit differently and it will show your hairstylist examples of styles you can live with. It’s true that a picture sometimes speaks a thousand words, particularly when it comes to hair.

Reschedule an appointment with your hairstylist.

You may be tempted to ditch your current stylist for giving you the wrong haircut, but if you’ve been with her for years, let calmer heads prevail. Schedule an appointment for a second haircut or restyling to modify your bad haircut. Be honest. Explain to your hairstylist that the cut is not for you and show her the photos you so diligently prepared. Give her a chance to shape your hair and show you new ways to style it. You may also want to discuss the possibility of adding subtle color highlights or layering strategic areas to play up your best facial features. Sometimes a little fine tuning is all that’s needed to make a bad haircut more manageable.

What if you still think you have the wrong haircut despite additional tweaking? Console yourself with the fact that hair does grow and you’ll get another chance to look your best. In the meantime, treat yourself to a facial or a new pair of earrings that’ll give you a beauty lift. And remember to smile. A beautiful smile can overcome even the worst haircut disaster.