Salon Scares And Regretful Stares: 35+ Unforgettable Salon Mishaps

Beauty salons are places where you can relax, be pampered, and leave looking and feeling like a million bucks. There is a saying, “Beauty comes from inside, inside the beauty salon,” Well, the people on this list will beg to differ; just wait and see. Instead of going home with a stylish ‘do, perfectly dyed hair, a pretty manicure, or a stunning full face of makeup, these individuals left their beautician’s chair with a look that got them attention on the internet for all the wrong reasons. These beauty blunders will make you wonder how and why the people responsible for these laughable looks got into the beauty industry. Anyway, grab a seat, get comfy, start scrolling, and let the fun begin!

“Nailed It”

Oh no! This woman’s nail tech really didn’t nail her French manicure. These nails needed nail polish remover and a redo, especially her pinky, which appears to have been neglected. A good manicure takes time, but this looks like it was done in two minutes.

This unfortunate manicure likely left the girl wishing for a pair of gloves to conceal her hands. It’s safe to say none of us would willingly parade around with such a messy outcome, don’t you agree? Undoubtedly, it’s a disheartening scenario—after all, manicures are intended to elevate and boost your self-assurance.

Big Brows

“Great brows don’t happen by chance. They happen by appointment.” That’s not always the case. This girl probably would’ve been better off watching a Youtube tutorial and doing her eyebrows at home. That way, she could have conserved her funds and avoided the situation of eyebrows that seem to be reaching for her hairline.

Adjusting the eyebrows with a slightly slimmer and lower shape could have potentially given them that trendy and flawless appearance. It’s our wish that she provided a one-star review to aid others in steering clear of departing the salon with eyebrows akin to this.

Nail Disaster

Here’s how to know if you’re dealing with an unprofessional manicurist; they get nail polish all over your fingers, don’t know how to do dip nails properly, and make your nails look uneven. Yeah, we’re talking about this lady’s nail tech. She really did her dirty.

Could you fathom the fact that they actually asked for $110 for this complete disaster? It’s truly astounding. The individual even recounted breaking into tears when they declared her nails were done. We don’t blame her; we would’ve done the same.

Golden Girl

Look everyone, it’s an Oscar statuette come to life! All jokes aside, how could the makeup artist not realize that’s not her shade? We wish we could’ve been there to hand her some makeup wipes ’cause no one deserves to walk around with makeup like this.

We know it is challenging to find a foundation that will match your skin tone and look natural but aren’t professionals supposed to be good at that? This makeup look deserves to be rated a zero. Yep, it’s that bad.

Coconut Head

This girl was given a similar haircut to Coconut Head from Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, and she is not happy about it. She’s got a bowl cut on the top and layers on the bottom. It’s quite surprising to think that this resulted from a professional salon visit.

This isn’t the worst fail you’ll see today, but that doesn’t mean this is going on a list of the best haircuts of all time. Well, we guess having a fringe that is more voluminous compared to the rest of your hair isn’t the most flattering look.

Uneven-Steven

This person’s hairstylist did a great job at cutting her hair—and that’s what we call sarcasm. Just FYI, she wanted the same haircut from the inspo pic and not the same hair color, so we can only judge her hairdresser for not being skilled with a pair of scissors.

Edward Scissorhands from that Tim Burton film is someone who knows how to cut hair, not this hairdresser. Anyway, luckily something like this can easily be fixed by an actual experienced stylist who knows how to snip-snip hair evenly. 

Messed Up Mani

In the words of Tammy Taylor, “A splendid set of nails holds an abundance of beauty and grace.” Unfortunately, this set of nails is neither elegant nor beautiful; they are rather untidy. Just look at the visible glue and how badly the jewels were placed.

The evident hastiness of her manicurist during the entire session is quite apparent. They certainly owe her a complimentary manicure that will be executed with proper care, inclusive of skillfully affixed jewels and meticulously tended cuticles.

Jump Scare

This makeup artist apparently never considered the term less is more when applying purple and black eyeshadow on her client. She applied it in a way that made her eyelids look all black and bruised. This makeup fail probably caused her to lose her as a customer.

We went on a rant about her eyeshadow, but we still needed to discuss the lipstick and false lashes. It looks like her makeup artist didn’t line her lips properly, and the false lashes are way too long. Hashtag botched makeup application.

No Twining Here

Another day another hair slay; is what we would’ve said if this lady’s hairdresser gave her the same haircut as seen in the inspiration pic. She asked for a chic pixie cut but was given a bowl cut instead. Who gave this hairdresser a license to cut hair?

We all know that when you ask a hairdresser to replicate a celeb’s hairdo, it won’t look the same, but this is just so far off from what she asked for it’s criminal. We feel really upset for her. They didn’t even cut her fringe straight!

Don’t Go For Gold

Black and gold are not a good combo when it comes to makeup. Seriously what were they thinking? Ok, when applied skillfully, gold and black eyeshadow can look stunning, but this is just hard to look at. This isn’t the kind of makeup that would make one feel confident.

The utilization of eyeliner and eyeshadow on the lips is a bit surprising—at least that’s the impression it gives—and the outcome isn’t particularly flattering. Makeup is intended to accentuate one’s innate beauty, yet it appears this makeup artist might have missed that memo altogether.

Yikes

Someone named Liza Lutz said, “Hair color is the easiest way to change your appearance, but a bad dye job might draw more attention to you.” This hair that has three sections of red, black, and orange is definitely going to get a sidelong glance from people.

The hair color that she originally wanted looks hard to achieve, but that does not excuse her hair colorist for dyeing her hair like this. The cost she likely incurred for this drastic alteration is something we’d rather not contemplate.

All Smudged Up

Have you ever fallen asleep with your makeup on or rubbed your eyes while wearing mascara or eyeshadow? Well, this seems to be the look the makeup artist was going for. This girl really doesn’t look happy with the results.

The Instagram post’s description claims to be “Harry Potter-inspired makeup,” but we’re struggling to find the magical connection in this look. If there were a makeup mishap hotline, we might consider dialing it for this artist, as a friendly observation, since the enchantment seems to be missing in this rendition.

Yellow is the New Green

Behold, another instance of hair dye not going as planned. Even the most cautious individuals can fall victim to subpar hairstyling experiences. Without her initial color intention as a reference, the notion that she was actually aiming for green hair would have remained a surprising revelation.

The young woman mentioned shelling out $60 to a beginner who was tasked with adding a touch of blonde streaks to her hair. Frankly, she didn’t even need to inform us that an amateur was behind this hair job; the evidence is glaringly apparent!

Gel Nail Nightmare

Look what we have here; it’s a nail fail! You will be shocked when we tell you that, according to this lady, this was after they fixed it. Yikes, what could be worse than these lumpy gel nails? We’re saying this in the nicest way possible.

According to this person, she wanted her nails to look nice for the moment her boyfriend popped the question. Ugh, no, we hope she managed to go somewhere else to get them done then. Beauty fails seem only to happen when you have a special occasion!

Pink Hair, Do Care

This person wanted her “pink hair, don’t care” moment but instead got hot pink hair, and she certainly did care and was very distressed about it. Wow, we feel we need a pair of shades just to look at this!

Despite her explicit request for the stylist to spare the top two inches near her roots from dye, it appears her plea was overlooked entirely. Regrettably, her hair now stands as a testament to that oversight, proudly showcasing a vibrant shade of hot pink.

It’s a Fail

Want to see something scary? Here you go. There’s nothing more terrifying than cakey foundation, lashes that haven’t been glued on properly, lipstick that’s all over the show, and these eyebrows. It’s hard to determine if this is meant to be humorous, but enthusiasts of beauty can only wish for that to be the case.

If we had to see a makeup artist present this to us, we would go through three stages of grief; denial, anger, and depression, and there would be no acceptance. We would also want a makeup wipe pronto to get that off.

Long Bob

Imagine the sounds of crickets chirping because we are at a loss for words. This is too terrible. This girl wanted a simple long layered haircut, but her hairdresser had something else in mind. Now, half of her hair is styled into a bob, while the rest retains its length!

On what planet is this a long-layered hairdo? Her hairdresser was a little too scissor happy with that one section of hair. This poor girl probably wanted to, in the words of Will.i.am, “scream and shout and let it all out” after seeing this messed up haircut.

Lady in Red

Quoting Rihanna, the singer once remarked, “Lipstick can elevate an entire appearance, especially in red.” However, it’s quite evident that this particular red lipstick missed the mark when it comes to adding a touch of glamour. The makeup artist went a bit crazy with lip liner, wouldn’t you say?

This makeup look is a full-on Monet. To quote Cher from Clueless, “It’s like a painting, see? From far away, it’s ok, but up close, it’s a big ol’ mess.” We’re saying this about the eyeshadow and the eyebrows; from afar, it looks good, but if you look closely, the makeup artist didn’t blend anything in nicely.

So Close, Yet So Far

This is expectations vs. reality at its finest. This person wanted a diamond but got a couple of lines instead, courtesy of their not-so-skilled hairdresser. How could their hairdresser look them straight in the face after doing such a lousy job?

The hairstylist was so close to getting the design of the undercut right. Jokes, they were way off. The problem is they made the lines too big, and they clearly don’t know how to use a razor. If this happened to us, we wouldn’t be laughing, but it is kinda funny!

Streaky ‘do

“P, panic, I, I’m scared, N, nauseous” Those lyrics from Lizzo’s’ song Pink, is probably how this person felt after she saw what the hairdresser did to her crowning glory. Her hairstylist let her down big time. She requested a balayage ombré with the color in the first picture but went home with a hair fail instead.

You’ll never believe that the hair salon refused to give her a refund. After they burnt her hair and gave her these blonde streaks, we’d say they do owe her a refund and a free haircut and color done by a good stylist. Who’s with us?

Ten Coats of Polish

Woah! It looks like whoever did these nails used about ten coats of polish. These definitely aren’t Instagram-worthy, don’t you agree? We think most people would turn into the Hulk if they had to pay for this set of wonky nails.

If you plan on going to a nail salon, make sure you show this to your manicurist so they can see what you DO NOT want to have done. We can’t see all of her nails, but we can imagine they are also not in tip-top shape.

Not Sisters, Not Twins

You know that saying eyebrows are sisters, not twins? Welp, these eyebrows don’t even look related. Why oh why did the beautician do this to her brows? This is micro-blading gone so wrong. Not even an eyebrow pencil could come to her rescue.

There is a quote, “Your eyebrows introduce you before you speak.” This girl’s brows are saying, “Hi, nice to meet you; I went to someone who did not know how to microblade very well.” We feel her pain through the screen.

Scream 3 Bangs

There is a quote that went viral on TikTok that Tyra Banks once said to a contestant on America’s Next Top Model, “It is so bad I want to give you a zero, but that’s not possible so I give you a one” and that’s what we would say to the hairstylist that did this to their client’s fringe. 

We wish we could ask this girl what is known as the five W’s; who, what, when, where, why. Who did this to her, what did she do after the haircut, when and where did this happen, and why did her hairstylist do her so dirty? All we know is these choppy micro bangs, are not it!

Hashtag Makeup Not On Fleek

“And I oop” This woman has got a little something on her face, and that would be unblended contouring. It looks like her makeup artist [MUA] isn’t a pro with an eyebrow pencil, either. Her MUA should’ve spent a little less time filling in her brows and more time blending in the contour.

Someone said, “Every face is a blank canvas, and every brush stroke creates something magical” Umm, this makeup artist didn’t exactly create a magical look but better luck next time. The most important skill they need to practice is contouring; we can’t stress that enough.

From Pixie To Bowl Cut

Here is what this lady wanted; that was what her hair looked like before, and the picture to the right is after her disastrous visit to the hairdresser. The stylist obviously thinks that a cute pixie cut and a bowl cut are the same thing, but she’s mistaken.

You know that saying, Once bitten, twice shy.” Translation; she will not be going back there again, that’s for sure. We would actually sue if someone didn’t give us the haircut we wanted and messed it up pretty badly, and yes, that’s kinda over dramatic, but no one should mess with someone’s crowning glory!

Makeover Do-over

Go get your makeup done, they said. It will be fun, they said. This lady wanted to treat herself to a makeover but ended up with a do-over instead. We can see that she is smiling, but we are pretty certain she is holding back tears.

Someone needs to give this girl the number of an expert glam squad. They would be able to choose the right shade of foundation, put on her false lashes properly, blend in her nose contour and choose and apply a nice shade of lipstick. This makeup was done all wrong, and it doesn’t make a pretty picture.

99 Problems and Her Nails Are One

It looks like we’re dealing with a case of another nail art fail. You’re going to think “Yikes, what happened” and you’re not alone! The manicurist could’ve run out of nail polish, but our money is on them not being very good at doing nails.

The person who fell victim to these atrocious nails said that this was the manicurist’s attempt at fixing them, and this was hands down the worst experience she had at a nail salon. They should’ve given her this manicure on the house because no one should pay top dollar for these!

Frizz is in the Air

Prepare yourselves to see; the “What I asked for versus what I got” hair edition. It looks like her hairstylist brushed through her curls which all curly head girlies know is a big no-no. Instead of bouncing curls, she was left with dry, frizzy her.

The last photo next to the mess is after this lady fixed it at home. She transformed the frizz into stunning curls. Who would’ve thought her hair had so much potential? Her hairdresser better move aside; there’s someone with more skill in town!

Makeup Not So On Point

Who’s wearing the wrong shade of foundation, a terrible lipstick combo, and should get a new makeup artist? This lady right here! Her makeup artist is lacking skill, just like her forehead is lacking foundation. This makeup look gets two thumbs down.

We are struggling to understand what vision the makeup artists had for her lips. It just looks like they took concealer and lip gloss and mixed them together. We hope they keep practicing and won’t recreate this beauty blunder again!

File This Under: Bad Haircut

We are going to go ahead and quote Rachel Green’s iconic “Nooo” catchphrase from Friends for this person’s haircut. Yep, that is an appropriate response to this messy cut that sorta looks like an uneven mullet. It’s the kind of haircut that you’d need to hide in a cap until it grows out.

This looks like a haircut that a child would give their Barbie doll. You wouldn’t expect a working professional to do this to a client. This person is probably never going to trust a hairstylist again after this unfortunate incident.

Abstract Nail Art

“I do my hair toss, check my nails. Baby, how you feelin’?” Those Lizzo lyrics end with “Feeling’ good,” but for this girl, we are guessing that when she checked her nails, unfortunately, she was definitely not feeling so good.

This girl paid full price plus a tip for nails that she did not even want. They are a different shade and have a different and messy design, compared to the mani in the inspo pic that she asked the manicurist to replicate. We would be so mad.

Choppy Head of Hair

Eye spy with my little eye, something beginning with B. If you guessed bad haircut, then ding ding ding, you are correct. The look the girl was aiming for wasn’t a “choppy mess.” She wanted her hair styled in layers like a butterfly cut and curtain bangs. Oof, her hairdresser really misunderstood the assignment.

We’re surprised the hairdresser didn’t curl her hair to hide the fact that it’s uneven, which a lot of people have done in the salon. But we don’t think curling her could’ve hidden the fact that one side is inches longer than the other.

Hair Brighter than the Sun

Here we have yet another expectation vs reality. The client expected the color on the left, but her stylist said, “Not today,” and gave her bright purple hair with a few pink streaks. The stylist thought she should go bold or go home with the hair color. This lady probably would’ve rather gone home.

It is fun to experiment with different hair colors until your colorist dyes your hair a shade of purple that you did not ask for. This lady definitely isn’t “feeling regal in her purple crown.” Yeah, this is not hair goals!

Sparkly Mess

A manicure can turn your frown upside down unless you get a nail fail like this! The girl’s inspo pic shows an ombré manicure, which her nail tech did not manage to recreate. She did ask them to change the shape and color of the nails but not the glitter design, but they ignored that part.

If you zoom in, you can see that the glitter is peeling off the one nail in the picture on the right, and the acrylics don’t fit her natural nail nicely. That, friends, is what nail fails are made of!

Queen Crowned in Messy Layers

Well, well, well looks like a pair of scissors fell into the hands of a novice stylist. The photo on the left is the uneven ‘do she was given, and the photo on the right is two years after the incident. What a difference, hey!

The so-called hairdresser was a family member that was a hairdresser’s assistant for one year in the ’80s. Pfft, that explains why they weren’t able to give her locks decent layering. Now she knows better than to let them touch her hair again.

Makeup Don’t

Oh, dear! It seems we’ve encountered another makeup mishap. This makeup artist tried and failed to give her client a flawless appearance. The foundation is three shades darker than her natural skin tone, and it looks like she’s got contour around her lips.

This overly bronzed makeup look shouldn’t be on the makeup artist’s portfolio as people will question their skills, and they aren’t going to attract many new clients. We hope they keep practicing to master matching the proper shade to their client’s skin tone.

Hair Appointment Gone Wrong

Ah, hair dye fails—it’s pretty embarrassing for people like this lady to say they paid good money for a botch-up. They must give her what she wants, what she really, really wants, and that would be a lovely copper color. Instead, she got more of a reddish-brown shade with orange highlights.

This lady’s hair appointment really did not go as planned, much to her dismay. The color, which, as we mentioned, is the wrong shade, was unevenly distributed, leaving it looking all patchy. It’s an upsetting sight for her to behold.

Orange Glow

Our jaws; dropped, and that would be because of the eyeshadow. The rest of the makeup is not so magnifique. The contouring is a bit harsh, the lashes are too long, and the shade of the lipstick is not it. Sorry for going all Simone Cowell on the makeup artist, but it had to be said.

Can you guess what’s also wrong with this makeup look? It’s the foundation; like most of the other makeup fails we discussed, it’s not her shade. If only the rest of the makeup was executed as skilfully as the eyeshadow, then this wouldn’t have to be on this list.

Two-Toned Hair Fail

It’s roasting time! The target: this half-brown and half-silver hair that’s completely different from what the client wanted her locks to look like. Man, we’re so confused; how did this even happen? We have no clue, but yikes, it even looks like a chunk of her hair is missing at the bottom.

Do you know those Cadbury Top Deck chocolates with half white chocolate on the top and half milk chocolate on the bottom? Well, this hair looks like that, but the colors are reversed. So instead of cool ombré hair, she looked like a version of a chocolate bar or half an Oreo.

Extra Hairline

It seems this person got a special at a salon; dye your hair and get your forehead, neck, and ears dyed for free. Ha-ha. After the hairstylist left her client with hair dye that should’ve just stayed on her head, they didn’t even attempt to help her remove it. That is not good customer service.

This lady was so mad that the hairstylist did this to her because she had an important event to go to in a few days. We hope it was an event where everyone wore hats with their attire because hair dye is hard to remove off of skin.

Child’s Play

Feast your eyes on these three looks done by a “professional” beautician. The eyeshadow is quite, umm, out there, and the manicure looks shockingly messy. Would you go to this person and pay them for a makeover? After seeing this, we would kindly decline.

The first eyeshadow look appears to not be blended very well, and the rainbow outlining the eyebrow looks out of place. The second eye makeup design would look complete with some lashes. The manicure looks lumpy, so it may need less nail polish, and instead of painting the hearts free-hand, they should use stickers.

Pretty Pink Mani – Not!

There is a cute caption, “Perfect nail polish. Perfect mood. Perfect day.” Well, for this girl’s mani, we have to change it to “Bad Nails. Bad Mood. Bad Day.” Last time we checked, nail techs aren’t supposed to leave huge gaps between the natural nail and acrylic nail ’cause that can cause an infection. Barf.

Her nail tech can say goodbye to her as she one hundred percent won’t be going back, and she can say hello to bacterial growth. These nails also look like they are all different lengths, but that is the least of her worries. Fingers crossed that she removed them immediately.

Chop-Chop

What do you get when a child plays hairdresser? You get this uneven haircut. Jokes, a child didn’t get their hands on scissors, a person who wasn’t paying attention when they were taught how to cut layers in hairdressing school did.

Gasp! Can you spot the enormous chunk missing at the bottom of her hair? Guess the stylist threw their scissors out the window and used a shredder instead. That’s the only plausible explanation for the client’s hair looking so uneven, that or they are just not good at their job.

What She Wanted vs. What She Got

Manicurist: “Pastel French tip nails, never heard of her.” The nails that the client wanted and what she actually got are night and day. The pastel color on the French tips looks so elegant. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for this neon color the manicurist gave her.

Is it us, or does it look like she’s got gum with neon strips glued to her nails? It’s probably because the manicurist put too many layers of gel polish. Anyway, she must search for someone with good reviews that will be able to make her nails look identical to the inspo pic.             

Expectations vs. Reality

We are ending this post with a hair fail. Oh, my days, we can see that she wanted a neck-length feathered haircut, but it looks like her stylist didn’t layer her hair, so now it doesn’t have any volume. It looks like it is just hanging.

Nobody wants dull, uneven, lifeless hair like this right here. Are we right, or are we right? It is not as bad as the other haircuts we have seen on this list, but it still gets a no from us!