Six hair mistakes everyone has probably made at some point

If you’re bored with your normal hairstyle, it’s altogether too easy to experiment.

You can drastically transform your look with a simple chop, colour or a new style – and (you tell yourself much too optimistically) if anything goes wrong, you can either undo it all or wear a hat until it grows out.

While we’re totally pro trying new looks, following this route almost inevitably means making a few blunders along the way.

Thanks to trends and certain rites of passages, we bet everyone has made a fair few of these hair mistakes in their time…

1. Experimenting with a fringe

At some point in every woman’s life they are struck by the thought: what would I look like with a short, straight, dramatic fringe?

While there are a select few who suit Amelie-inspired bangs which ooze Parisian chic, fringes are both difficult to pull of and maintain. However, that doesn’t stop you trying your luck.

As soon as the deed is done your question is answered – but at least you now know for sure whether a fringe is the look for you. Luckily, hair doesn’t take so very long to grow out. Unluckily, that time can feel much longer than it really is.

2. Dying your hair an unnatural colour

Like a fringe, dying your hair a ridiculous colour is basically a rite of passage. This is when you’ve chosen a colour that is natural for unicorns but not so natural for humans – think bright pinks, blues and purples.

Believe it or not, hair looks a bit strange when it’s not actually hair coloured. Not to worry, because most of these dye decisions are semi-permanent, so you could feel cool for a few weeks – and laugh at the pictures ever afterwards.

3. Crimping

We’re not sure who came up with the idea of using a heat-based tool to iron kinks into your hair, and yet here we are.

Every decade or so crimping comes back into fashion in one way or another – so does this mean we’re due a crimping renaissance? If it does, try to resist. Your future self will thank you for it.

4. Dodgy highlights

From dip dye and dodgy ombre to thick highlights that make your hair look like a zebra, there are so many potential ways your hair colouring can go wrong – and we’d put good money on you having tried at least one of these.

We’re not sure why it was once cool to have the top of your hair a completely different colour to the bottom – if this was you, we hope the the colours merged subtly together, rather than colliding in one line. And don’t even get us started on zebra highlights…

5. Perming your hair

There’s certainly a time and a place for permed hair…but that doesn’t explain why almost everyone in the Eighties got in on the trend. The result? Everyone – men and women alike – had super curly hair with excessive amounts of volume.

Special shout-out to all the women who decided to perm their hair when they already had curly locks…

6. Two random strands in front of your face

You’ll probably remember this one from your school days. When your hair was slicked back into a ponytail, it was cool to leave two small strands hanging loose on either side of your head. It was supposedly a way of framing your face but, obviously, you constantly fiddled with the strands and they quickly got greasy – which is not the best of looks.

This is basically a precursor to the current TikTok obsession for dying two strands at the front of your hair a bright colour. But hey, hair is there to be experimented on, and we don’t see this changing any time soon.

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto