3 Before-and-Afters That Prove Any Bad Haircut Can Be Saved

3 Before-and-Afters That Prove Any Bad Haircut Can Be Saved

Layers from hell…Mangled ends…Missing chunks: To prove that no cut is beyond help, we found three women with styles gone terribly awry and brought in Garnier stylist Tommy Buckett to fix the damage.

Photo: Alex Beauchesne

One Head, Two Haircuts

The Backstory
Liz Hagelthorn, 25, wanted to start her new job as an assistant at Twitter in Palo Alto, California, with a fresh style. So two weeks before her first day, she went to a local salon for a trim of her midlength hair and a few layers around her face. She ended up with a look she describes as “a Carol Brady—Gene Simmons hybrid—somehow it’s both a bob and a mullet.”
When she saw the finished results in the salon mirror, she cried.
The Counseling Session
According to Garnier celebrity stylist Tommy Buckett, Hagelthorn’s problem was wildly uneven layers created with a flagrant disregard for blending. What makes the style especially egregious are its extremes: short pieces on top that form a bouffantlike helmet and long, stringy layers at the bottom that give it that ’80s hair-metal vibe. Undaunted, Buckett got down to business, transforming Hagelthorn’s shaggy style into an “edgy Debbie Harry bob.”
The Happy Outcome
Hagelthorn, who had never worn her hair this short, adores her new cut. “My style is more modern now, and it really suits me.”
Her Cut
Tommy Buckett cut five inches off the back and one inch from the sides, so the overall length was less jarring with the short front sections. “This will make the cut easier to grow out,” he says.
Once the longest layers were gone and the cut was more balanced, Buckett thinned some weight from the top to make it lighter there and fuller on the sides. “Liz didn’t need any more layers,” he says. “But she did need to blend the ones she had so they didn’t seem like separate haircuts.”
To complement the choppiness on the top, Buckett made all the ends more piecey by cutting into the hair shaft at an angle. A hit of texture spray accentuated the “lived-in look.”
Dress: Coast

Liz Hagelthorn, 25, wanted to start her new job as an assistant at Twitter in Palo Alto, California, with a fresh style. So two weeks before her first day, she went to a local salon for a trim of her midlength hair and a few layers around her face. She ended up with a look she describes as “a Carol Brady—Gene Simmons hybrid—somehow it’s both a bob and a mullet.”

When she saw the finished results in the salon mirror, she cried.

The Counseling Session

According to Garnier celebrity stylist Tommy Buckett, Hagelthorn’s problem was wildly uneven layers created with a flagrant disregard for blending. What makes the style especially egregious are its extremes: short pieces on top that form a bouffantlike helmet and long, stringy layers at the bottom that give it that ’80s hair-metal vibe. Undaunted, Buckett got down to business, transforming Hagelthorn’s shaggy style into an “edgy Debbie Harry bob.”

The Happy Outcome

Hagelthorn, who had never worn her hair this short, adores her new cut. “My style is more modern now, and it really suits me.”

Her Cut

Tommy Buckett cut five inches off the back and one inch from the sides, so the overall length was less jarring with the short front sections. “This will make the cut easier to grow out,” he says.

Once the longest layers were gone and the cut was more balanced, Buckett thinned some weight from the top to make it lighter there and fuller on the sides. “Liz didn’t need any more layers,” he says. “But she did need to blend the ones she had so they didn’t seem like separate haircuts.”

To complement the choppiness on the top, Buckett made all the ends more piecey by cutting into the hair shaft at an angle. A hit of texture spray accentuated the “lived-in look.”

Dress: Coast

Photo: Alex Beauchesne

Kitchen Beautician

The Backstory
For ten years, Brooklyn resident Staci Cupid, 35, had been cutting her hair herself using—wait for it—kitchen shears. (She’s not alone: An O poll found that 42 percent of readers have also gone the DIY route!) “Just for the convenience,” admits the Whole Foods employee. No surprise, she ended up with uneven layers and a hole in the back.
The Counseling Session
The key to solving all of Cupid’s hair issues at once was to create an architectural shape, so Buckett gave her an angled bob that’s shorter in the back. “The abbreviated nape makes a prettier silhouette than a one-length allover bob,” he says. As for the hole, “I camouflaged it by trimming the rest of her hair to meet it,” he says. Because Cupid’s hair has lots of texture, Buckett was careful not to over- layer, which would make it look poufy and round when she goes curly. To add shine, he smoothed a little oil through Cupid’s dry hair from the midsection down.
The Happy Outcome
Cupid was so wowed by the change that she vowed to start going to a professional for regular trims (yes!). She’s also decided to keep blowing her hair out straight. “I love the movement and the way my hair frames my face,” she says.
Her Cut
To help even out the overall style, Buckett chopped four inches off the back.
A swooping side bang adds a sexy touch when hair is straight and helps maintain a flattering shape if Cupid wears her natural hair curly.
The sleek cut hits below the jaw, slimming Cupid’s full cheeks.
Earrings: Forevermark by A. Link, Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal

For ten years, Brooklyn resident Staci Cupid, 35, had been cutting her hair herself using—wait for it—kitchen shears. (She’s not alone: An O poll found that 42 percent of readers have also gone the DIY route!) “Just for the convenience,” admits the Whole Foods employee. No surprise, she ended up with uneven layers and a hole in the back.

The Counseling Session

The key to solving all of Cupid’s hair issues at once was to create an architectural shape, so Buckett gave her an angled bob that’s shorter in the back. “The abbreviated nape makes a prettier silhouette than a one-length allover bob,” he says. As for the hole, “I camouflaged it by trimming the rest of her hair to meet it,” he says. Because Cupid’s hair has lots of texture, Buckett was careful not to over- layer, which would make it look poufy and round when she goes curly. To add shine, he smoothed a little oil through Cupid’s dry hair from the midsection down.

The Happy Outcome

Cupid was so wowed by the change that she vowed to start going to a professional for regular trims (yes!). She’s also decided to keep blowing her hair out straight. “I love the movement and the way my hair frames my face,” she says.

Her Cut

To help even out the overall style, Buckett chopped four inches off the back.

A swooping side bang adds a sexy touch when hair is straight and helps maintain a flattering shape if Cupid wears her natural hair curly.

The sleek cut hits below the jaw, slimming Cupid’s full cheeks.

Earrings: Forevermark by A. Link, Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal

Photo: Alex Beauchesne

The Bell Curve

The Backstory
Heidi Bird, 42, a tattoo studio owner from Highlands, New Jersey, has naturally wavy hair that she sometimes likes to wear straight. But she’s never had a cut that looks good with both textures. “I always end up with too much fullness at the ends when it’s curly, so it looks like a bell,” she says. “And when it’s straight, the layers have big gaps”—the result of her stylist trying to add shape.
The Counseling Session
To solve the bell problem, Buckett added longer layers in the back, which prevent Bird’s hair from mushrooming out at the bottom. Then he blended the rest of her existing layers, making the gaps much less noticeable when she wears her hair straight. As a final touch, Buckett cut some layers at Bird’s cheekbones to open up the eye area and emphasize her heart-shaped face. he worked styling cream throughout Bird’s wet hair before drying, both as a heat protector and to keep her hair smooth.
The Happy Outcome
“This is the best cut I’ve had in my life,” says Bird. “It’s so much easier to wear??? curly or straight???and it looks great even when I don’t bother to style it. I used to pull it back into a ponytail all the time. Now I wear it down, and it always looks good.”
Straight’s Great Too!
“I love waking up and not fussing over my hair.”
Her Cut
Buckett gave Bird a slight overall trim for polish, taking an inch off the length.
The shorter layers around Bird’s face highlight her bone structure, says Buckett. “Before, Heidi had a lot of heavy hair just hanging there, which did nothing to flatter her.”
Buckett kept the ends a bit blunt instead of going for a piecey effect. “If you slice the hair shaft, it doesn’t lie flat,” he says. “On curly hair, that’s how you end up with frizz.”
Necklace: Forevermark by Jade Trau, Dress: Nue by Shani

Heidi Bird, 42, a tattoo studio owner from Highlands, New Jersey, has naturally wavy hair that she sometimes likes to wear straight. But she’s never had a cut that looks good with both textures. “I always end up with too much fullness at the ends when it’s curly, so it looks like a bell,” she says. “And when it’s straight, the layers have big gaps”—the result of her stylist trying to add shape.

The Counseling Session

To solve the bell problem, Buckett added longer layers in the back, which prevent Bird’s hair from mushrooming out at the bottom. Then he blended the rest of her existing layers, making the gaps much less noticeable when she wears her hair straight. As a final touch, Buckett cut some layers at Bird’s cheekbones to open up the eye area and emphasize her heart-shaped face. he worked styling cream throughout Bird’s wet hair before drying, both as a heat protector and to keep her hair smooth.

The Happy Outcome

“This is the best cut I’ve had in my life,” says Bird. “It’s so much easier to wear??? curly or straight???and it looks great even when I don’t bother to style it. I used to pull it back into a ponytail all the time. Now I wear it down, and it always looks good.”

Straight’s Great Too!

“I love waking up and not fussing over my hair.”

Her Cut

Buckett gave Bird a slight overall trim for polish, taking an inch off the length.

The shorter layers around Bird’s face highlight her bone structure, says Buckett. “Before, Heidi had a lot of heavy hair just hanging there, which did nothing to flatter her.”

Buckett kept the ends a bit blunt instead of going for a piecey effect. “If you slice the hair shaft, it doesn’t lie flat,” he says. “On curly hair, that’s how you end up with frizz.”

Necklace: Forevermark by Jade Trau, Dress: Nue by Shani