Bad Hair Day, Don't Let It Ruin Your Day!

So what’s a girl to do when she climbs out of bed on a sunny morning, only to greet a less-than-happy ‘do that you can’t seem to do a darn thing with?

The simple solution is to cover it up – go preppie chic with the back-in-style headbands, or throw that mess up in a butterfly clip, leaving ends kicked out in a spiky, flirty way.

What about when it’s more than just misbehaving bed head? Bad perms, blotchy color, and the wrong cut can seem like a total hair catastrophe. Just keep in mind – hair will grow back, it always does. Try to maintain a certain amount of perspective

Okay, that’s enough. You may return to your regularly scheduled hair nightmare. But please resist the urge to shave your head completely, or douse your hair in more chemicals!

One home technique you can try to rid yourself of a bad perm, is to saturate your hair with canola oil. No, really. Then wrap hair up with plastic bags and cover the whole thing with a towel and sit tight with a book or a stack of magazines, because you need to leave that oil on your hair for a good hour or so.

After your locks have marinated for a while, jump in the shower and wash the oil out – you may need a gentle shampoo to get it all out. Then cover hair with a good conditioner for chemically treated or colored hair, and let it sit for a minute or so.

Repeat this whole routine for about a week, and you should see those curls loosen up a bit – and feel a little less like a poodle!

If it’s a snip-happy stylist who has caused your bad hair day, all is not lost. First off, sleep on your new ‘do. Sometimes a cut can be so shocking that you may need a bit for the style to "grow” on you. If the morning light does not shed a happier glow, it’s time to take action.

If your regular stylist was the culprit, don’t hesitate to call back and politely express your disappointment over the cut. Most salons will re-do an unhappy customer within 48 hours.

If that just ain’t gonna cut it, consider extensions, clip-in bangs, sparkly hair accessories, hair vitamins, or a luxurious new hair product. And just keep repeating – it’s gonna grow back, it’s gonna grow back!

If hair color has left you cold, fight the urge to grab a box from the drugstore and try to correct yourself. You can overload your ‘do with chemicals, and cause major damage.

If you initially went to a salon, your best bet is to call and have them fix it, which many stylists will do for clients at no additional charge. If you had a DIY hair disaster, try shampooing with a clarifying shampoo – over and over – and remember that heat styling is a fast fader for color.

Bad Hair Day Tips

Some options, when you find yourself in a hair funk that you can’t seem to style your way out of, are:

• Resurrect an adorable hat – from newsboys to fedoras to cowboys to a plain ol’ baseball cap. Dress around that hat and don’t forget to work it!

• Brush it all out and try to style all over. If you were working on fighting your natural texture (straightening curls or vice versa), just knock it off and go with what you’ve got.

• If time permits, jump in the shower and wash that mess out. Sometimes hair that has been heat-styled will simply refuse to re-heat style, and there’s no other choice.