Bad haircut killing your self-confidence? Here’s what you can do.
New York stylist Mari de Monte gives her for professional advice on what to do when haircuts go all wrong.
What Should We Do When WE GeT A BAd hAircut?
First, let your stylist know right away if you’re not feeling your cut. We can help you out!
One of my clients once brought in a photo of a very trendy undercut. We did the transformation, but I could tell he wasn’t sure about it when he left. So, I sat him down and showed him the different ways of styling it and all of the new options he had. But, I also explained that if a week from now he still was frustrated, he should come back in to change it.
If the new cut is shorter than you care for, then it really comes down to getting creative. Accessories are your friends: hats, hair bands, and bobby pins are all in your bad haircut arsenal. YouTube tutorials are an amazing resource to get styling inspiration.
You can also consider changing up the color to rework the look. After all, if you’re already at odds with your hair, you’ve got less to lose if it goes awry. Try that red you’ve always thought about! Go a little lighter! Embrace the chaos!
Photo: @z_ramsey
Do you have any advice for growing your haircut out faster?
Hair is an extension of our health. What you put into your body will reflect in your skin, nails, and hair. A scalp massage or special shampoo can never compete with the biological effect of healthy nutrition. Clean eating and vitamins are the best and most efficient paths to better hair. It’s amazing what a simple biotin supplement can do to encourage hair growth.
How long should we wait after a bad haircut before trying again?
I always suggest that my clients wait as long as they can until they feel like they’re going a little crazy. Then go in and get a cut. In fact, I don’t even want to call it a cut… let’s call it a “reshape.” That means just cutting into the hair and reshaping it while trying to keep the majority of the length. If you’re eating healthily and taking vitamins, the new length should already be healthy without a lot of split ends to cut off of the length.
how can we avoid getting a bad haircut to begin with?
Most of the time when a client asks for a much shorter cut, or a different style, what they’re really asking for is change. Just because you bring a photo of Emma Stone in as a reference doesn’t mean that you’ll look like Emma Stone when you leave the salon. Think about what it is that you like about her hair. The shape? The color? The feel? What you want and what you’re asking for are usually two different things. You should have a good stylist who understands that.
have you ever gotten a cut you really didn’t like?
Yes, woof. My hair was down to my mid-back and I wanted an extreme change. I went to a stylist I really admired and he gave me a beautiful pixie cut. I loved it. But after a few months I decided to take a chance and try someone new, which resulted in the worst cut I’ve ever had. It was so short that no bobby pins or clips could have done anything. So after spending an entire afternoon hat shopping, I finally found a hat that was very much my style and wore it for three months straight.
Any final advice on bad haircuts?
Three years after I got that awful cut, my hair is long again. But I still wear that hat and it’s a part of my signature look. It never would have happened if I hadn’t gotten that too-short cut.
Getting a bad haircut is traumatizing. However, it’s also an opportunity to embrace the chaos. Try different styles or your natural curl or that color you’ve always wanted to try. At the end of the day, hair grows. Just like your taste, style and courage—it all grows.
