My worst haircut ever still stands out in my memory. It might have been a few decades ago, but seriously, I remember it as if it was yesterday.
It happened the summer before I began my high school graduating year. I’d flown out to Vancouver to spend a few weeks with my old classmates. While there, I made the rash decision to get a perm for my long, straight hair. (Remember perms? I try not to.)
It was a terrible, terrible decision. Unable to bear the chemically-curled mess that was my hair – “Volume! You’ll get so much volume!” the hairstylist had gushed. Yeah. Right. I looked like I’d stuck my finger in an electric socket – I made an even rasher decision. I went to another hairstylist and demanded, Cut. It. All. Off. Make. It. Really. Really. Short.
That fall, we had our grad pictures taken. And as a result, my worst haircut ever was immortalized for the world to see. Forever.
If you think I’m exaggerating about the immortality of this bad haircut, I’ll just add that my two older children attend the same high school I went to. One of the things they like to do is drag new friends to the picture of my graduating class and point me out. “That’s my mom!”
(The silver lining is that they like to tell me I look much older in my grad photo than I do now; being teens who don’t think particularly highly of looking younger than one’s age, they are blissfully unaware of the compliment they pay me every single time.)
Recently, my daughter Hayley got what she calls a bad haircut. (I personally think she looks very cute, but she says, “Of course you say that. You have to. You’re my mom.” I’ve given up arguing with her brand of logic.)
There were a few days of banging and smashing sounds coming from her room. But today I was inspired to learn that she had channeled her bad haircut frustrations into a video:
What a creative use of a bad haircut!
Have you ever had a bad haircut? If you have, and feel up to reliving the memory, please share your story in the comments section!
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, I think Hayley looks adorable and I don’t have to say that!
I agree with Kathy!
My bad haircut memory: perm. Nothing more needs to be said.
.-= Cathryn´s last blog ..Flash Fiction: Lunch Meeting =-.
I’m with you – I think your daughter’s haircut looks cute.
In high school, I for some reason thought it would be a good reason to cut off ALL of my hair. For the longest time, I had a chelsea (which I actually loved – shaved in the middle with bangs and long fringe on the side), but it originally happened because I had this weird male pseudo pompadour thing going on, and when I look back on pictures, it it to this day the most hideous haircut I have ever seen.
And of course I got to have it for winter formal.
.-= Audrey (brizmus)´s last blog ..(Pseudo) Review: The Vampire Diaries 5: the Return: Nightfall =-.
Love the video! I had a really bad perm in high school that I try really hard to forget – wish there was no photo evidence! I think your daughter’s hair looks great!!
.-= Jemi Fraser´s last blog ..Time and Watched Pots =-.
One hairdresser thought I’d look cute with a hair about 1/4-inch long. Can you imagine 3 years of bad hair. ARGHHHHHHHHHH. Hayley looks cute, but what do I know?
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Readalong 2: The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien =-.
Not a hair! but a haircut of about 1/4 inches long everywhere. Horrible.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Readalong 2: The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien =-.
When I was a little girl, all I wanted was braids. However, Mom couldn’t stand my screaming when she brushed my hair out so every week she took me to her hairdresser who gave me a little old lady style, plus regularly I had a frizzy perm.
At home, all the kids would crowd around to see, “What did she do to you this week?” And then they would laugh hysterically. I hate beauty shops to this day and wear my hair very, very short.
.-= Barbara´s last blog ..April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month =-.
Well I don’t mind the haircut as it gave her an excuse to make another adorable video! (and of course the haircut isn’t bad at all but I empathize with the feeling!)
.-= rhapsodyinbooks´s last blog ..Flowers in the Desert =-.
You bet I have! I also tried a perm once – because I was pregnant and thought it would be nice with some pretty curls I wouldn´t have to comb all the time. The hairdresser just forgot to tell me that because of all those hormones, a perm would be completely unpredictable. I went around with a round, swollen face and huge Afro-curls for months! Well, I have never experimented much with haircuts since (but now and then with colours).
.-= Dorte H´s last blog ..Lotte og Søren Hammer, Svinehunde (2010) =-.
I have very thick curly hair. Other than one cousin, the rest of the family has straight hair. My mother treated my hair like it was straight, and I didn’t know any better.
Thus, I had a bad haircut from the age of about 13 till my early 30s when I finally learned how to deal with my hair.
I know all about bad haircuts, and that is NOT a bad haircut!
I love Hayley!
I don’t see a thing wrong with Hayley’s haircut! Of course, I’m a mom too so it’s possible I’m clueless. Or, I’m so behind on the times that I don’t know what a good haircut looks like?
So, I actually have to bad haircut experiences.
The first: junior high. Poodle perm. It was horrendous!
The second: ten years ago. Took a picture to my hairstylist, and I came out looking like a Q-tip. Lots on top, little to nothing on the sides. Looked NOTHING like the picture. It was so bad my father-in-law offered to buy me a wig!
Needless to say, I’m now extremely picky about who does my hair. I found an awesome stylist now. She does great work, complete with an AMAZING head massage. It’s to.die.for!
.-= Jenn’s Bookshelves´s last blog ..Mini-Review: Skin and Bones by D.C. Corso =-.
I think her new haircut makes her look a little punk rock.
As far as bad haircuts go…I haven’t had that many (thank the heavens), but I did have one that made my dad spit fire when he saw it. Also, short bangs–worst decision ever. If anyone is contemplating this route, stop, take a breath, and reassess.
Oh, to answer Hayley’s final question, definitely in front. Bangs combed down in front.
.-= Ann-Kat (Today, I Read…)´s last blog ..Alas Poor Bookmark, I Knew It Well (or The Evolution of Index Cards) =-.
I remember getting a bad haircut like it was yesterday, too. I was in sixth grade and I went to my mom’s hairstylist (of course), who cut my hair the exact same way every time. But this time I wanted something different, so I asked for a bob with a wedge cut in the back. He gave me this look like how DARE I tell him how to cut my hair, and proceeded to hack into my hair so that everything was uneven and it just looked terrible. I went home and cried. That was a terrible year altogether.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..Hex Hall Discussion =-.
I remember my worst ‘do’. It was affectionately referred to as ‘The Helmet Hairdo’. Because my hair was just past my shoulders and I, too, thought a perm was the best idea ever. It pulled itself up into a tight, little helmet bob, complete with spiral curls for bangs. Ugh. It was awful. But the worst part was when I overheard someone comment that it reminded them of one the teachers hairdo’s.
I think Hayley’s is pretty awesome. It’s kicky and fun. She can tease it out, or smooth it down. I gotta say, without a perm, she doesn’t know what bad is!
.-= Online Publicist´s last blog ..Blog Button! =-.
Haley’s cut was cute, and her video more so! At least she has the self confidence not to languish around and mope every moment until her hair grows out. Which, inevitably, it will.
That’s the beauty of a bad cut. Hair always grows. Sometimes just not as fast as we would like!
.-= Cat Woods´s last blog ..Fresh Garlic, Fresh Writing and a Winner =-.
Thanks for all your stories, everyone. I always laugh these days when I think back to how much drama I brewed up with my bad haircut incident!
I had long brown hair, that hung past my breasts. It had a beautiful wave and every morning I woke up I didn’t have to touch it. It always looked good. One thing that was bothering me were my highlights that were starting to fade grossly because of the sun. A few days ago, I decided to go into the hair dresser to dye my hair back to it’s natural colour. For some reason, my hair dresser thinks my natural hair colour is jet black. And decided on his own that most of my hair was dead so he cut it to my shoulders. I have very thick hair and I now look like a Gothic mushroom. This wouldn’t be so bad to cover-up because I could just sling it into a ponytail. Unfortunately, my grade 12 year starts in 3 days. I’ve never cried more in my life than these past few days. I want my long wavy hair back more than anything in the whole world. I just hope it grows out for grad. As for the colour, I’ve washed my hair about 4 times in the past day trying to make it fade.