I have. Quite a few times, actually!
The first time it happened I was in the sixth grade…
My mom and dad forced me to chop off all of my long hair, and I ended up with a short, boy’s haircut.
They never said exactly why they were making me do it, but looking back, I think it had something to do with my boobs growing in at the time…
My folks freaked out.
The next time I was 14. I went from not wearing any makeup to school, to wearing a full face, all in the span of one weekend, LOL!
My mom says that she noticed my burgeoning interest in makeup because I’d taken to reading teen beauty magazines, so she very thoughtfully took me to a Clinique counter for a makeover. That was pretty awesome… It’s one of my fondest makeup memories.
No more drastic changes until college, when I went through multiple hair phases, both growing it out and chopping it off.
The most dramatic one occurred when I was a junior, I think, when I went from long, waist-length hair to a short bob. It happened on a whim one weekend when I suddenly realized that I was over an ex boyfriend.
I did it again a few years later in my early ’20s. My hair had grown long again, down to my elbows, when I needed a change. I walked into the salon one day and asked for a chin-length bob with the ends flipped out.
Sooo 1999, I know. But even that wasn’t enough of a change for me, so I also got red streaks!
I call it my raver girl phase, and I’m pretty sure it was also related to a breakup.
Yeah, I tend to take things out on my hair. 🙂
So, babe. Have you ever made a drastic change to your look? Any sudden makeup/hair/beauty revamps? Tell me all about ’em.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sounds like you like mixing things up, Karen! 🙂 I am very conservative myself. I cut my hair short once, and I regretted it the next day. I had long hair, but I knew my boyfriend liked those sleek mid-length Rihanna bobs that were in style a few years ago, so I had it cut. Spent the next years growing it back out and constantly telling myself to never cut my hair again 🙂 I am not afraid to change hair color though. There was a time when I had bright red hair and I loved it. But I had to touch up the roots every few weeks so I grew tired of that. I also constantly go from bangs to no bangs. Growing those out isn’t such a biggie. And as for make-up, I always go for the focus on the eyes. I never really go for a natural look or just a bold lip and a naked eye. So yeah, I guess I am conservative when it comes to my look.
You’d think mid-length hair would be easier, but it’s hard, right? I remember having to get trims at least once a month, otherwise my hair wouldn’t sit right and I’d look kinda crazy.
Oh, and what’d give to not have to touch up my roots!
Hell, yes! Few times. I was not allowed to let my hair grew long because of some silly beliefs that shorter hair gets thicker after a while. It didn’t. While in first grade, I chopped my shoulder long hair to a punk(ish) short one. Entering the class, my friend bursted out laughing as a shock. As an adult I had pink and red curls with great style. Lately I decided to have straight fringe and short hair. I love it!
I change my look all the time!! I get bored so quickly!! I’ve yet to find one look that sticks… Maybe one day, but at the moment it really depends on what mood I wake up in!!
Nat x
Makeupandnailsbynatalie.blogspot.com
Yes!
When I was 16, I did fire-engine-red streaks in my shoulder-length dark brown hair.
When I was 18 and 2 days from moving away to college, I got an accidental mullet (what I get for going to BoRics for a $10 ‘trim’) and got it fixed by my regular salon…the only way to fix a mullet is to chop it off. I went from below-shoulders to chin length. I cried, but it was a new start, I guess?
Since then, no drastic haircuts, but I’ve gotten neon-purple highlights twice. I love it, but can’t afford the upkeep right now.
I’ve got my first hair appt in 6mos next weekend…and I can’t decide if I want to do something semi-drastic or just get a trim. 😛
Hi Christine,
My bff got an accidental mullet a few months ago. 🙁 She was really unhappy with it! Apparently the stylist went crazy with the layers. She didn’t want to chop it off and just lived with it for a while.
For your haircut next weekend, what type of styles are you thinking of?
I was too embarrassed to go back in to the stylist after the botched chop, myself. I probably would have left it, but my mom took pity on me and paid for the redo at the more expensive place.
I have no idea as far as next weekend – my hair is long (chest-length), the layers are heavy and over-grown. I might get short-for-me bangs (something shorter than my chin!) and maybe taking it up to just-past my shoulders. I’ve had zero inspiration lately!
Oh a few times for me too.
First was in high school – few days before graduation from my sophmore year i chopped of my long hair to a page boy cut-ish. And a few days before going back to school that summer i coloured it black. (The beging of my total rocker phase – I am still but in a more grown up way)
Then i college the first year i changed my hairstyle completely every few week. Every new course started with a new style ^^
Love the purple bangs btw <3
Thanks, Petra! I used a temporary hair powder called Condition Culture Colorsmash Hair Shadow in Rags to Riches. It’s fun for when I need a little bit of a change but don’t want to commit to color.
Woo hoo for rocker babes!
Had bangs and coloring back in 2010.. I didn like the outcome though it just changed my look 🙂
Bangs are fun!
Yep! My hair fluctuated some in high school and college, but the most memorable change was about 4 years ago. Right before my husband and I moved to Montana from Seattle, I chopped off my practically-waist-length hair into a pixi cut. I had decided it was time for a change, since we were moving, and I loved loved loved it – until one week later when I went back to the salon, asking if there was any way I could style it into a faux hawk. My wonderful hairdresser sat me down in the chair and chopped the remaining hair I had into the cutest freakin pixi-turned-faux hawk you have ever seen – but I wasn’t quite prepared for that (pretty small) change! So I went home and cried at THAT point. After a few days of adjustment, though, I totally rocked the ‘hawk until it grew out – then I went back to a normal pixi cut for a few months before letting my hair find its way back to my shoulders (and beyond).
My hair is past the bottom of my shoulder blades again, and I’m getting the itch… I kind of love chopping off my hair, and I’m getting bored with it! (Not to mention the heat in NYC makes its current length/mass UNBEARABLE.) The hubby likes long hair, though, so I might need to do something less drastic this time.
Hi Shannon,
I think I remember you mentioning the pixie cut in the comments. 🙂 Has it been four years already? Time sure does fly.
I think I have had every hair colour under the sun. Currently I have glitter extensions, and I have ombre ends. I have dyed it black, blond, red, everything I can pretty much. I’ve even had pink highlights last summer.
I think my hair is my biggest experiment. I don’t really jump around too much with my makeup of clothing style.
How fun, Emily! What color are your glitter extensions?
I also take things out on my hair. Most recently I went from red hair to dark brown. Needless to say I hated it and I am back at red again. Apart from getting sudden urges to go from blonde to red hair, I don’t think I have changed my look too drastically haha.
Hi Danielle,
I’ve done red before, too. I love it, but it’s so challenging! What hair care products do you use to keep your color?
I’m pretty conservative (read: lazy) about doing stuff with my hair, I just hate the upkeep of coloring and whatnot, but my most drastic change was a couple years ago, when I chopped off my long, flowing locks in favor of a short, cute, flippy layered cut (think mid-neck-length) and dyed the bottom layer purple. I loved it!! And the first time I saw my boyfriend after I did it I wore sunglasses and he didn’t even recognize me for a minute, it was awesome!! =D I’m growing my hair out now but when I cut it off again I’ll definitely go for a similar cut and surprise everyone again. I go through phases where I grow my hair out till it’s long and gorgeous, and get sick of it and chop it all off. I love drastic changes like that!
Hey Brooke,
That’s so cool that your boyfriend didn’t recognize you! It took El Hub two weeks to notice I dyed my hair pink, le sigh.
I have ALWAYS had long blonde hair. When I was a softmore in college I went quite a bit darker and it was terrible! I walked out of the salon crying and called my mom. She told me to go back in and get it fixed. The lady (who I was good friends with) put more highlights in it but it was still terrible. She wouldn’t strip the color out so I lost a friend in the process and end up having another friend who fixed it with no problem. I don’t ever dare to do anything but blonde again! Toners are not my friend either….
I also went through a phase when I was dating my ex where I really started to go plain Jane with my appearance. I just wasnt happy and was changing for him I suppose. I wore more boring clothes and simple makeup…so not me! It didnt take long before I really began to pick myself up. I purchased a Kat Von D eye palette and started wearing smokey eyes and dressed up more. Low and behold soon after that I met someone new and have been with him since and I dont know what I would do with out him. It was like all the stars were lining up! Kinda funny how those things happen. Oh and that’s also how I got into reading beauty blogs and became obsessed with make up.
Hi Bree,
Thanks for sharing your makeup story. It’s really great to hear about people’s paths to beauty. I’m glad that makeup helped to pick you up when you needed it. It does the same thing for me too.
Did you just do this today? I love the violet!
I accidentally turned my hair into a brassy, orange mess with Sun-In when I was in my early teens, but that probably doesn’t count as an intentional change. Color-wise, I’ve mostly stayed to the brown/auburn/blonde highlights. Pretty conservative.
I’ve gone through phases of cutting my long hair (sometimes it was mid-back length) to a short bob, too. My worst ever was about 15 years ago when I had it cut to just below my ears with very short bangs. I keep a pic in my office so I remember how horrific that looked. 🙂
Hi Kim,
It’s temporary hair shadow color — Condition Culture Colorsmash Hair Shadow in Rags to Riches. You get fun color without the commitment.
Oh gosh, and who didn’t have a bad Sun-In incident back in the day? My friend Jen used to use it and it turned her hair orange. I wonder if they still sell the stuff. They probably shouldn’t, LOL!
I like the idea of a Hair Shadow – it looks great!
I just checked and they do still sell it. There’s now a “warning” that it’s best for blonde or light brown hair and that it may cause reddish results in darker hair. Thanks for that head’s up, like 3 decades too late, Sun In. HAHA! One of my friends had short, curly hair and – no exaggeration – she looked like Lucille Ball afterward. Bad!
Although I’m more conservative now in my younger days my hair color changed according to my mood. I’ve had red, blond, jet black and purple hair. The worst hair cut I had was when I was about 14 and went to a barber shop and he cut my then afro into short mannish looking style, hated it, still cringing,lol. Now I dye,relax and cut my own hair and it’s long and healthy.It’s hard for me to trust a hair stylist with my hair.
Hi Denise,
It took me a really long time (and a lot of bad haircuts) to find someone whom I trust with my hair. I feel ya! What color is your hair these days?
Twice, and both were the results of styling gone wrong. The first time I went somewhere (name withheld, lol) to get a few inches taken off…and I came out looking like Snape. I kid you not, it was the only time I have ever cried over a haircut. My best friend immediately took me to a salon and I got it styled into a chin-length bob. It’s the shortest I’ve ever had my hair, and it was pretty awesome!
The second time was when I went to a salon (again name withheld) to get highlights. The bleach was left in my hair a little too long so I went from black hair to somewhat dark blonde locks, which looks interesting because I’m Indian. I thought it was pretty cool once I got over the shock, but eventually I had a color deposit done to go to a warm dark brown color.
Hi Nikita,
I’ve cried over a haircut too. You’re not alone!
My journey with makeup has been gradual with no overnight drastic changes. I did however experiment a little with my hair in college – nothing very dramatic though! I got highlights and chopped off a good length so that I could maintain my chemically treated hair better, wouldn’t want to go back to that phase!
i have had thick, wavy shoulder length hair for about 8 years now, in long auburn layers. i’m seriously thinking of getting a long mohawk. when it’s flipped over to one side, i want it to hit right between cheek and jawbone, and colored an intense copper.
OMG! I did it way too many times !
I first died my hair at 12 blond (yellow, horrible) then pink, purple, red, black, blue, purple and pink at the same time ( you know when a color on top and one under was fashion!?), then again brown (trying to be natural once in a while)then blond!
Last year I choped my hair Emma Watson style!
Every time something troubling happens to me I change my hair… I was now wondering should I stay blond or be a red head XD
It will never finish!
Oh my gosh! This morning I went in to the hair salon a blonde, and came out a brunette. Then I logged in to read this post!
OMG I am now wondering if I should go light brown or red (emma stone style) or stay blonde. I am fair skined and my hair doesn’t not appreciate the care blond hair needs! What made you decide to do this bold choice? Do you like it :)?
I once streaked my raven hair blue at a hairdresser’s, only to cut it all off into a short ‘do (Long for a boy, but way short for me – above my ears!). I was fourteen, and my Mother was mortified. It was such a waste of a salon dye job! That year I was going through a rather chaotic phase of changing up my appearance. I went Goth, then started wearing neon brights and pink lipstick and green eyeliner – with streaked blue-green hair. It was annoying to say the least – I kept growing out of stuff really quickly.
I look back on that period and all I can say is I’m really glad I’ve grown out of it. I think all that change was a sign of being unsure of who I was, so I didn’t look like myself! Now I’m back to the way I’ve pretty much always looked: raven haired, and more comfortable in my own skin. I look back on my teens and I’m just grateful to have grown past it. And not just because I was a fashion victim!
I’ve done so many changes in my lifetime, hair-wise. I was actually kind of known for it in high school. Looking at my yearbooks, people would say things like, “It was awesome seeing how your hair would change.” I’d just chop it all off, then dye it blue or green or pink and so on. Then I got dreadlocks, which I’d dye fancy colors.
The past 10 years ago, I’ve bee keeping my hairstyles a lot longer than I used to. I’ve had this current style (natural curls, straightened side-swept bangs, long hair, dyed black) for a few years now. While I love it, I kind of feel a change coming. I’ve been thinking about shaving off one side. We’ll see!
I started with make up during my 2nd year in High School, I was a bi-curious gal that had girlfriends(note the plural)that needed to hide my sexy phase from my mom, besides, a cute girl in HS will always get the attention of other cute girls. I started with powders and glosses which was a natural for my age, except I’d always wear crazy eyeshadow colors. On a Monday an neutral brown, then Tuesday a black thick one, on a Wednesday a red kabuki… Since then I’ve learned neutrals weren’t my taste but I’ve also realized to do my experimentation at home.
My look experimentation began in the 3rd grade when I decided to give myself a haircut (I had always wanted bangs). After that, Mum always kept the scissors locked away! I was always using mums makeup but from that age on I really began to experiment. Luckily for me my Mum embraced it and started buying me my own makeup and by the time I was 12 took me to a makeup artist for a makeup lesson. Then as I went through high school I started with the crazy hair colours- my favourite to date would be the bleach blonde with the pink ends. I’ve never dared try short hair. I’ve had waist-length hair since I was 12. I’m now 22 and I love my part in the middle all one length long brown hair. It’s my Cher phase! Makeup is another story- I never keep it the same. I love switching it up depending on my mood, and I love to keep surprising my boyfriend and friends.
I had a bob haircut most of childhood but grew it out from 8th grade until end of freshman year of high school till it was consistently waist length for a few years. During that time I did use Natural Instincts non permanent dye fairly often, mostly redder than my natural medium brown.
At the end of freshman year I chopped it off into a bob cut, and got bangs. Right now it’s very highlighted dark blonde with sort of showing dark roots (I’m pretending i’m heading toward ombre 😉 When my dad died this spring I talked about putting in hot pink streaks but then a job offer showed up and I decided to behave.
I think at 14 my mom let me buy my first foundation and some better eyeshadows, but otherwise my makeup has never changed drastically, sometimes I’ll be in a phase of wearing more eyeshadows or darker liner but it’s a phase and I usually go back to brown liner, rarely shadow but when worn neutrals, concealer, and plummy lips.
Little over a year ago, I got a sidecut (buzzcut on 1 side of my head) which I kept for about a year, but which I’m growing out now. I probably would’ve kept it for a longer time, but my cousin who buzzed it for me had to leave the country for 3 months, so that prompted me to just grow it out.
Some time this summer, I’m going to dye it with red Henna, but I still need to find time for it.
A friend and I were just having this conversation today! She was saying how she had cried when she cut her hair to a midlength style, and I was telling her my story about donating a foot and a half of hair to Locks of Love a few years ago. The conversation had started as to what we would do with our hair for our future careers since the requirements are above the collar (but you don’t have to cut it depending on the department). I had said that if I had to cut it, it wouldn’t be a big deal since I had donated that much hair to Locks of Love before, but I do not like short hair on myself. My hair is super thick so it gets frizzy and puffy and I had to straighten it every day to make it look sleek and professional.
That was probably my most drastic change, going from hip/butt length to about chin length. By the time all was said and done, it was 2 feet of hair total cut off. I was fine with it until I couldn’t put it in a French braid for work, then I had a moment of tears. But after that I thought, it’s just hair, and it will grow back. Luckily my hair grows very fast so within a year it was back to the length I like it, right below the shoulders. As for my dye jobs, I have had it red like Simone Simons, the lead singer of the band Epica, blue black, and blonde highlights. Currently it is very close to my natural color for maintenance, and I like it dark, but not black or lighter brown, these days. The perfect length is right around the bra strap, as it weighs itself down but isn’t too long or too short.
I guess I’m boring, but not really! I’ve had the same haircut, more or less, since I was 13, and I like it that way. It’s changed lengths a couple times, but it hasn’t changed that much.
I started wearing eyeliner when I was 17 or so, so I started wearing that on bottom and top lids, but honestly, I’ve mostly ever worn relatively natural makeup looks. When I worked at Lancome, I guess I had quite a bit of a makeover for working there – I actually had to look like I was wearing makeup! During that phase, I pretty much wore winged liner and coral lipstick on a daily basis. After quitting that, it took a while to figure out what a normal amount of makeup was!
Name a color of the rainbow and I’ve had it, short hair, long hair, dreads, my hair is a fun play toy to me haha. I always try to experiment with makeup too, at least eyeshadow wise. I’m not afraid to make changes since it’s a once in a lifetime chance.
I don’t do anything drastic, but I try to change up my hair slightly every few months, like going from bangs to no-bangs, or from layered to stick straight edges. Once, I got a very short haircut but I looked like a boy so I grew it out again.
I have gone through a few drastic changes. In 8th grade I chopped off all my hair and got thick blunt bangs. It was something I really regretted a week later and did all I could to hide the shape of my hair. I used to take clips and pin the bangs to the side of my head; looking at pictures now I realize that made it look worse. Since then I have been keeping my hair long but I am pretty adventurous with color. For my cousin’s wedding I got 4 different colors of highlights (ashy blonde, light brown, medium brown and auburn) effectively changing entire hair color. Then I went through a purple phase. For a couple years I let everything grow out and then three years ago I got peekaboo streaks of purple, blue and pink. I touched them up a few times and then changed the colors to emerald green and black. Now I have some medium brown highlights and an ombre (from dark brown to dark blonde).