It’s safe to assume that most of us have undergone at least one hair-related disaster. It might have been giving yourself a haircut at home—whether back when you were five or just a couple of years ago, during the DIY-filled period of the pandemic—or a visit to the salon gone terribly wrong, but no matter the case, one thing that likely provided hope was the fact that hair grows back.
Well, people in the pictures on today’s list probably held on tightly to the same idea. If you scroll down a little, you will find some of the most unfortunate haircuts and hairstyles the internet has ever seen. So, if you want to make yourself feel better about your unfortunate hair decisions, or simply look at what other people managed to do with theirs, go down the list and enjoy.
#1 Business Up Top, Party On The Sides
Image credits: ben_rosen
#2 Plastic Bag Used To Retain Heat While Bleaching Hair. Pure Genius
Image credits: PlausibleDeniabiliti
#3 I Let My 8th Grade Graduates Cut My Hair Each Year. This Year They Gave Me The Full Van Buren
Image credits: tpieman2029
For many people, cutting a chunk of their own hair out is a typical childhood experience; a milestone, if you will. If you haven’t done it yourself, there are plenty of videos online showing the aftermath of kids hitting such ‘milestones.’ (I myself still remember the shock in my mother’s eyes after she saw what I had done.)
But quite a few individuals say goodbye to their hair later in life, as they try to give themselves haircuts as adults, often not that successfully, unfortunately.
#4 Losing A Bet Can Suck
Image credits: AfroStoner
#5 3 Going On 50 And Divorced
Image credits: snoopal00p
Many of people’s less fortunate hair-related decisions were likely made during quarantine. Back then, they didn’t have much of a choice, as, due to the lockdown, they couldn’t go get their hair done as they normally would have. So, they tried everything from trimming their ends to dying their hair to even getting buzz cuts during the time they spent at home.
But to be fair, that was arguably the best time to try all of that out, since if the haircut didn’t end up looking good, no one outside of the household would likely see it. Not right away, at least.
#6 My First Attempt At “Shaving” My Head. Been At Work For Two Days Like This And Didn’t Even Realize Until A Coworked Asked If I’m Ok
Image credits: packaslimJIM27
#7 Anyone Seen That Viral TikTok Video Of The Woman Who Lost The Majority Of Her Hair In A Day After Bleaching At Home? Yeah, It Happened To Me
I was someone who bleached her hair several times over the years (at home) and never had problems, but everything changed today. My hair was finally getting long, so decided to bleach it, fast forward to the shower and rinsing it out, and my hair broke off in globs. I was mortified. I've never felt less feminine than I do now.
Please, don't let this happen to you. I'm not implying that everyone is like me or will make the same mistakes as me but when in doubt, or if you just don't have complete confidence, please let this be your sign to spend the money and see a professional. If I can help even one person by sharing that's all that matters to me.
Image credits: candyfornialand
#8 My Barber Did Me Dirty
Image credits: SnooPickles4285
A YouGov poll from 2020 found that during the outbreak of COVID-19, close to three in ten Americans had their hair cut at home, either by themselves or a member of their household. The poll also found that men were more likely to get their hair cut than their female counterparts during that time. More than half of surveyed women said they hadn’t had their hair cut at home at that point and they weren’t planning on doing so.
#9 What I Asked For vs. What I Got
Image credits: LemonberryTea
#10 This Dude’s Haircut
Image credits: jardanovic
#11 Hair Dye Fail
Image credits: neojipc
Nowadays, according to another YouGov poll, roughly 18% of people in the US always have their hair cut at home; 13% of them do it sometimes, and 12% rarely do it. Close to four-in-ten of respondents said they’ve never cut their hair under their own roof.
#12 My Mom Made A Mistake While Cutting My Hair
Image credits: sadkkman123
#13 Started Shaving My Hair Before My Razor Died, Right Before Having Dinner With My Girlfriend’s Family
Image credits: Supahsecretsauce
#14 My Friend Dyed His Hair, We Found Out That He Is Allergic
Image credits: Darth-Zeus
Around the time of the pandemic, in addition to cutting their own hair, many people tried coloring their hair, too, whether to fix their roots or to try out a new color completely. According to Statista, between the years of 2017 and 2021, the number of women dying their hair at home increased in countries all over the world. In Spain, for instance, it went from 29% to 31% over the course of four years, in Germany it grew from 20% to 23%, and in the US—from 22% to 23%.
It’s safe to assume that once people learned how to dye their hair at home, some decided to continue doing so even after the pandemic ended.
#15 Tried Cutting My Daughter’s Bangs And Failed
Image credits: Barajasjayr
#16 The Hairdresser Had “No Idea” How This Happened
Image credits: kitkat354
#17 Came Home From Work This Evening To See That My Wife Gave My Kid A Karen Cut
Image credits: Cory0527
In the years following 2020, some people didn’t limit themselves to just trimming their ends or touching up on their roots but instead changed their hair completely. While to some it might have seemed like nothing more than a style change, for others, it was a way to regain control during the turbulent time.
According to Dr. Vivian Diller, a psychologist, and author of Face It: What Women Really Feel as Their Looks Change, when everything else in the world feels out of control, one way for people to retain some control is by controlling what they can. “Organizing our closets or cutting our hair can serve that purpose,” Dr. Diller said in an interview with Refinery29.
The expert continued by pointing out that it’s not uncommon for women to change their looks to mark certain significant changes in their lives, such as marriages, moves, or losses. “It’s possible that cutting hair or changing styles during COVID is a way for women to use their appearance to make a statement marking this world event,” she added.
#18 Got A Haircut 3 Days Before My Wedding
Image credits: Zeb_ra_
#19 Let The Wife Cut My Hair. I Knew Something Was Wrong When She Started Laughing Hysterically
Image credits: natsess
#20 The New “Angled Bob” According To This Ladie’s Hair Dresser
Image credits: punkysilg
It’s unclear whether the haircuts and hairstyles on this list were a result of the pandemic, but they sure were lessons. Lessons that it might be better not to cut your own hair or try to save up to dye it at a sketchy salon. Though, some of them were arguably not even lessons, but plain old bad luck. But whatever the case, there’s always that glimmer of hope one can hold on to—hair grows back.
#21 Barbers Should Have Some Type Of Hippocratic Oath They Have To Follow
Image credits: SixthGrader
#22 My Brother Decided To Shave His Head (Left) And My Mom Tried To Fix It (Right)
Image credits: ohihatethesepants
#23 That One Time Almost 2 Years Ago When I Royally Messed Up My Kids Haircut And Didn’t Realize It Until The Next Day When We Were Out Grocery Shopping
I started laughing so hard and he kept asking me what was wrong. Obviously I had to take pictures to show him and he was so mad at me not just for the choppy cut but for laughing so hard I was crying.
Image credits: jeanlaurap
#24 Who Else Tried To Bleach Their Own Hair But Was Faced With Instant Regret?
Image credits: leila.anne.hairdressing
#25 So, I Tried To Cut My Hair
Image credits: Volosa_Golddragon
#26 Gave My Brother A Bowllet
Image credits: ShrekQueen
#27 Never Ask Your Hairdresser For “Something Different”
Image credits: buddhai-beats
#28 Tried To Give Myself A Haircut. You Never Think It Will Happen To You
Image credits: GamatetheEngineer
#29 I’ve Dyed My Hair With Some Weird Hair Dye And I Can’t Get It Off My Hands
It’s not coming off no matter how hard I try do y’all have any tips how to get it off I don’t want my mom knowing I did all of this at 4am.
Image credits: Inevitable_Honey5166
#30 My Mother Took Up A Hair Cutting Course 9 Years Ago. She Confidently Lured My Brother In For A Haircut And This Is The Result
Image credits: GuccimyBoi
#31 The Hairstylist Will Call You A Troll If You Are Vocal About Not Liking It
Image credits: 3k4n5h1
#32 Dyed My Hair Back To Black, Didn’t Have Gloves On. How Do I Get It Off?
Image credits: Lizaboo242
#33 Not The Worst Haircut I’ve Ever Ha-
Image credits: RuViking
#34 5 Seconds Into My Haircut
Image credits: BillsSabresSeminoles
#35 Attempted To Dye My Hair Silver, Not Realising You Had To Really Get It White Before Doing So! Aah Well, Light Bluey Greeny Yellow Hair Will Have To Do For Now
Image credits: harley_5150
#36 Guard Broke Before The Next Swipe
Image credits: hcl8811
#37 My Girlfriend Of 3 Months “Can” Cut Hair
Image credits: cardbord_spaceship
#38 Tried To Save Money By Having My Roommate Cut My Hair. She Forgot That She Took The Guard Off
Image credits: SirRinjez
#39 One Finger Of My Glove Busted While I Was Dying My Hair Black
Image credits: kelleyjo
#40 She Let Her Brother “Fix” Her Hair. She Looks Haunted By Her Life Choices In The After Picture
Image credits: mmfair000
#41 My Hair Wasn’t The Only Thing That Was Dyed. This Took Over An Hour Of Scrubbing To Get Out
Image credits: SaphirMeer
#42 Comb Over With A Hard Part, Like “Moses Parting The Red Sea” Hard
Image credits: reddit.com
#43 I Asked For 8 Inches Off
Image credits: bluenighthawk
#44 Went To Get My Bangs Cut, Came Home And Brushed My Hair Out To Find This
Image credits: NannerWheat
#45 Asked For A High Fade And To Even Out The Top. This Is What I Got
Image credits: eddiecasillas
#46 I Guess I’ll Have To Wear A Hat Until It Grows Out
Image credits: Pandabears1229
#47 Got My Haircut In China
Image credits: krockthewilly
#48 Recently Tried To Dye My Hair Red, But It Came Out Bright Orange
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#49 Girlfriend Was Helping Cut My Hair, She Was Doing A Fantastic Job Until I Heard A Gasp
Image credits: GentlemanCookie
#50 The Razor Edge Broke Off In My Hair And Left Me With The Following
Image credits: JKrookz
#51 My Personal Hair Trimmer Broke While Using It Today
Image credits: Eyad_Hefny
#52 New Barber Left Me With A Hard Part Moses Would Be Satisfied With
Image credits: Kontemporary
#53 My Friend Was Feeling Good, Until He Saw The Back
Image credits: F_Diemer
#54 Parents Got Me A Well Known, Posh Salon Voucher For My Birthday, This Was The Result Of A €250 Dye Job
They also lied and told me it was all one colour, then said it was my fault for dying my hair with semi-permanent dye three years ago (which I told them about in advance).
Image credits: Deadanddugup
#55 Quarantine Hair
Image credits: lockdown_haircut_fails
#56 When You Cut Your Own Hair And You Still Book The Job LOL! Crafty Was The Best On This Set! At Least He Picked Some Cheese Too
Image credits: friedmantwinkies
#57 My Friend’s Kid Really Likes Cutting His Own Hair. This Is Not The First Time. What Should We Call This?
Image credits: loveerictaylor
#58 My Beautiful Femme Butchered This Butch
Image credits: pawlyamorous
#59 After Fixing My Hair Trimmer, I Forgot To Put The Depth Thing Back On
Image credits: BipedalSnake
#60 I Had Hair Down To My Hips And It Went In A Nice V, Shape But I Wanted To Get Some Of The Bleach Fried Hair Off, And This Was The Result
Image credits: GlitterGoth8904
#61 Husband Had Long Hair, All One Length, And Decided To Get An Undercut
Image credits: pandabearwife
#62 My Moter-In-Law Cut My Son’s Hair Without Asking
Image credits: Whspers12
#63 Was I Wrong To Leave A 1-Star Review For This Hair Dye Job? $140 And They Told Me It Was “Impossible” To Get The Dye Of My Neck, Forehead And Ears, And It Would Come Off “Eventually”
Image credits: SpringtimeMoonlight
#64 My Dad Forgot To Put The Spacer Back Onto The Machine When Cutting My Hair
Image credits: strohmy98
#65 The Box Said “Warm Ashy Brown” I Got Severus Snape Black
Image credits: instagram.com
#66 Meet My New Friend Spot And Bloch
Image credits: sirwillowfartsalot
#67 My New Haircut
Image credits: Nova_Voltaris
#68 Let My Friend Cut My Hair
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#69 I Went To Get My Hair Cut By Mom Who, Hours Earlier, Said She Went To The Eye Doctor And Wasn’t Sure If She Could See Properly To Do It But Later On Assured Me She Could
Image credits: JoeEstevez
#70 This Haircut That I Paid $60 For
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#71 My Boyfriend Decided To Get A $5 Haircut, And It Shows
Image credits: hgmarieeee
#72 Are We Talking Bad Haircuts? Courtesy Of Grandma
Image credits: purpletube5678
#73 This Is Me After Using A Coupon For A Haircut At Greatclips
Image credits: PajammySammy
#74 I Asked For Subtle Balayage. Hair Stylist Won’t Text Me Back After Asking Her To Fix It
Image credits: ninefortysix
#75 When Will I Learn That Blue Hair Dye Just Rarely Works For Me?
Image credits: coppermoonwitch
#76 Is This A Bad Haircut?
Image credits: viral_goalz
#77 Mistakes Were Made. My Friend Just Tried To Dye His Hair Red Without Using Any Of The Instructions On The Box
Image credits: Westindian_
#78 After Another Rinse My “Lavender” Hair Dye Has Turned Swamp Green
Image credits: kkantoinette
#79 Dyed My Hair “Periwinkle”. It’s Awful! I Hate It
Image credits: sophieiam
