It takes courage to dare to bare your neck and shoulders with a bold short haircut. No matter how excited you might be about the change, it’s natural to squeeze your eyes shut while you’re sitting in the salon, placing your trust in the hands of your stylist. While many people are delighted to see their final transformation, many encounter a reflection that leaves them recoiling in horror. What seemed like the perfect short haircut in theory has gone horribly, terribly wrong in reality.

It’s acceptable to cry
There’s no real way to hide a bad short haircut. For all the hats, scarves and accessories in the world, your hair is going to be seen at some point. If you don’t like the style you’ve just been given, it is perfectly natural to let that frustration out.

This doesn’t mean you should scream or tell the stylist that she has just ruined your life. But you can – and should – express your displeasure about the final result. If you do, perhaps the stylist will have an idea for how to modify the style so that you like it more than at present; if you don’t, the stylist will never be the wiser. It is especially important to tell the stylist that you are frustrated if the cut looks nothing like what you had discussed. This is where bringing photographs of your envisioned cut pays off – if you said you wanted a chin-length angled bob and you wind up with hair above your ears, she did not deliver what she told you she would.

Understand shock value
Sometimes the stylist has given you precisely what you asked for. You do look amazing. But when you look at the mirror, the shock of a sudden change has left you scrutinizing features of your face or head you’d never before noticed. You see the imperfections, not the overall picture of style and sass that is actually in front of you.

Take some time and give yourself a day to adjust to the new you. When you are at home, styling the new haircut with your own products and tools, you will get used to the sight of less hair and more you. Many people who have gone short say that they realized how great their new look was only after the initial shock wore off.

Accessorize
When a short style goes awry, you can make the most of the situation. Headbands, scarves, barrettes and hats can give you a funky vibe that sells your haircut to the rest of the world. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you even manage to sell yourself, too.

Own it
Your hair isn’t what you wanted it to be. This is difficult and emotional, but after your initial tears have dried, it is important to accept this style as reality. If you exude confidence about your new look and accept the compliments that people give you, no one will have to know that you don’t like the cut. Confidence is attractive and can make even a hair don’t look like an enviable new ‘do. It will only be a matter of time until your hair grows back and you can try something new. Once it does, you can laugh about your own personal hair horror story.