Fix Any Hair Disaster

How to Recover From Hat Hair

Sure, hats are cool to wear, but their evil spawn — hat hair — is anything but sexy. Here's what you can do to help prevent it.

STEP 1: First, nix static (which gives you a ton of flyaways) by running a fabric-softener sheet over your hair or misting your brush with Static Guard before running it through your strands root-to-tip.

STEP 2: Now, fluff it up. Lift matted-down roots by flipping your head upside down and gently massaging them to boost volume.

How to Fix a Dud Dye Job

Orange roots are a telltale sign of a bad at-home hair color experience. Here's hot to fix it.

STEP 1: See a colorist as soon as possible. If you try to fix the problem on your own, you'll just make it worse. This process is typically more complicated than a straight coloring job, so be prepared to pay a bit more than usual for what the pros call color correction.

STEP 2: Until your appointment, you should wear your hair curly or tousled to make your color appear more blended.

How to Disguise a Bad Home Bang Trim

You thought you were so savvy trimming your own fringe — until you chopped off an inch where a centimeter would've sufficed. Here, some possible remedies to hide your mistakes until they grow back.

OPTION 1: Part your hair on the side where your bangs are the longest, then sweep them across your forehead so they fall over the too short bits. Bonus tip: Side-swept bangs are flattering on all face shapes.

OPTION 2: The more piece-y your do looks, the more effectively your unsightly bangs will be camouflaged. Work a dab of pomade between your fingertips, then twirl little sections of hair from roots to ends.

OPTION 3: If your bangs are too short but not crooked, brush them against your forehead and place a thick scarf or headband at your hairline to nudge them down to a normal-looking length.

How to Deal With Product Overload

If you overestimated the amount of goo to use and now your strands look really dull or oil-slicked, take these measures depending on the type of styler you OD’d on.

PROBLEM 1: Hair spray, mousse, and gel: Brush, brush, brush. Let your bristles revive your locks for you. These products are alcohol based (and therefore dry), so they comb right out.

PROBLEM 2: Shine serum and smoothing cream: Sprinkle on a shake of talcum powder to absorb the grease, then finger-style.

PROBLEM 3: Pomade, wax, paste, and thick balms: Spritz alcohol based hair spray over the gunky parts. It will help dry up some of the gook. Then gently use a comb to separate any sticky strands.

Try on a new hairstyle now.