What To Do If You Hate Your Haircut

We've all been there: You go to the salon for a fresh, new haircut and emerge an hour later shaking your fists at the universe. No one is immune to the curse of the bad haircut, and in some cases, bad really is bad, but it's not always that bleak. There are a few things you can do if you hate your haircut (other than panic, of course) that are way more effective than throwing a tantrum. I mean, you can totally still throw one...but maybe just try some of these, first.

Things happen. Whether there was a miscommunication between you and your stylist, you got a drastic cut on a whim without thinking it through, or your stylist just got too scissor happy, there are plenty of reasons why you could leave the salon totally dissatisfied. As hard as you might wish for it, you aren't going to stumble across a time machine to take you back and erase all of it, so you're just going to have to live with it and find a way to make the grow out way less painful. And don't worry, that doesn't always mean wearing your hair up or hiding under a hat for several months.

If you totally hate your new haircut, try these seven things first before panicking or making any drastic decisions.

1. Wait

Literally, no one wants to do this. You're angry — you want it fixed now! But hold off for a hot minute. Many times, I leave the salon hating my cut, but a week or two later end up loving it. There are times when cuts actually do go wrong, but other times, it's just the shock-factor of change that freaks you out. Wait a week and see if it grows on you, or maybe have someone take some pictures of you so you can see yourself from another perspective. It might not be as bad as you think it is.

2. Wash And Style It Yourself

OK, so you've waited a few days and you still hate it. Now what? Before you rush back angrily to the salon, wash and style it yourself. Only you know how you like your hair styled, and a bad blowout or different styling technique could make your hair look different than it actually is. If you wash and style it the way you like and it's still iffy, then you might have more cause for concern.

3. Heat Up Your Curling Iron

If shoddy layers are your problem, lay off the flatiron and try curling your hair instead. When your hair is smooth and straight, layers are more visible, so try curling/waving your hair to hide and soften the layers until they grow out.

4. Look To Celebs For Inspiration

OK, so Gisele was always your hair icon — time to change that. If you now have a bob, you can't emulate someone with long, beachy waves. Instead, look to celebrities that have a similar cut to your new one for inspiration on how to rock it.

5. Change Your Part

Try switching up the placement of your hair part. If you usually part in the middle, go deeper on the side, or vice versa. A different part can hide messed up layers, bangs that are too short, or just change the entire shape of a haircut.

6. Take Your Hair Vitamins

Hairfinity; $29.21; amazon.com

Take a vitamin for hair growth. Don't expect changes to happen overnight (they aren't magic, after all), but they will help your hair grow back stronger and hopefully a little faster.

7. Go Back To The Salon

I usually leave this as a last resort, because sometimes you can make irrational decisions out of panic that end up still being wrong, but if you've tried everything and you still hate your haircut, then go back and talk to your stylist about finding a fix. If you go back within a reasonable time frame (1-2 weeks), they usually will fix it free of charge, but realize that a fix will usually involve more hair being cut off, so know that that's what you really want before heading back.

Images: Fotolia; Amazon