Celebrities tend to live life on the edge when it comes to their hair and fashion choices. This is probably due, in part, to the on-staff hairstylists they have the luxury to employ. In fact, their beauty teams give stars the latest and greatest in hairstyle trends. But being simultaneously on the cutting edge and in the public eye isn’t always a good combination.
Because as you may know, some trends – especially hair trends – just aren’t built to last. And others? Well, other celebrity hair trends probably should never have existed in the first place.
We’re not hating, though. We mean, if anyone had access to the photo archives on our decade-old digital camera’s memory card, they’d see some of the unbelievably bad hair decisions we made as well.
Celebrities just have to bear the burden of having the public eye on them at all times. Consequently, their questionable, confusing, or just plain bad hair decisions are immortalized via the internet and accessible with just a few simple clicks. Imagine living in a world where anyone and everyone could access your most secret, fringe hair choices at any given time! No, thank you.
And let it be known.
Just because a hairdo is a little out there doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a hair don’t. We mean, as you’ll see below, some of these celebs are so chic that they actually made me consider a mullet as a dead-serious hair cut option (don’t worry, we didn’t go through with it).
While we can’t say every hairstyle on this list left me feeling inspired, we will say that the wild and wonderful world of bizarre celebrity hair trends is an absolute trip.
Check out these celebrity hair trends and styles that we really can’t believe were a thing.
And try to remember whether you or someone you know actually attempted any of these at home.
1. Justin Bieber’s Hair Sweep
This man has a history of making some decisions when it comes to his golden locks, decisions that make us question everything about his life… and even our own. Let’s discuss.
We’ll begin with baby Justin Bieber’s side-swept ‘do.
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Um, it’s more of a don’t, if you’re asking us. We feel kind of bad hating on a literal child’s haircut. But since Justin has since grown up and had a series of other bizarre hair do’s, we’re OK with it.
How deep into the style did he go?
J. Bieb’s iconic teenage helmet of side-swooped hair took the world by storm in the late aughts. And then, probably for the best, swept itself away.
And then there’s adult Justin Bieber’s recent foray into a longer, shaggier, less-kept look.
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We barely recognize him!
People were not huge fans of his hair in 2018, as he took to Instagram to make thinly veiled threats to grow his already-maligned long hair down to his toes. It officially hasn’t happened yet, but we’ll look forward to updating this post when it does.
2. All Of Miley Cyrus’s Bowl-d Hair Choices
Although, honestly, no one is shocked. This pop princess loves to experiment with her style, so it’s no surprise that she’s been pretty liberal about her hair choices, too.
So, yes, she rocked a full-blown bowl cut.
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She rocked it proudly.
And it wasn’t a minor one (although I’m not sure how one achieves a “minor” bowl cut, anyway). She went for a full-blown, bowl-atop-the-head type cut. We’re not sure why this happened, but it did.
And of course, there were her rainbow braids.
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This was a fun and nostalgic look.
Mostly because it reminds me of what it was like to take a look at 11-year-old me’s Claire’s shopping basket, with each item delicately placed atop Miley’s top knot. Or maybe like someone chopped up a few My Little Pony manes and tails. Lots of interpretations here.
3. Metallic Silver Hair
Many people exert a whole bunch of energy trying to avoid the inevitable grey-haired period of their lives. But leave it to celebrities to turn anything into a trend.
In fact, because of the A-listers, average citizens take to the look quite frequently.
During the festival season, silver heads abound. And which celebs chose to embrace the premature silver fox look early on? You’ll remember them immediately.
Sisqo’s classic Thong-Song-era metallic buzz was legendary.
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Why everyone isn’t still talking about this epic, highly-metallic head of hair? It certainly shunned all social norms. Look at how the light reflects off of that color. How is it possible? And is that the color of the pearly gates?
Kim Kardashian also had a silver moment.
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Kim’s no stranger to experimental hairstyles and colors (thanks in part to her large collection of wigs). So we’re not super surprised to see that she embraced the silver-haired trend for a moment in time.
Even Ariana Grande jumped on the silver train.
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It was accentuated with the signature Arianda high ponytail, too. She thank u, next-ed this look pretty quickly, but it was fun/weird/different while it lasted.
4. Spiky Hair
Part hair gel, part potential torture device, and 100% weird, these bleach-blonde spikes have made their way into way too many celebrities’ hair archives.
Guy Fieri basically iconified this look.
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But is it iconic in the best way, or the worst way? If it looks like it’s been electrocuted and soaked for too long in peroxide, it must be Guy Fieri’s hair.
You couldn’t miss him.
Gotta love this bold choice, though. It’s the television personality’s signature look, after all. And if he’s not embarrassed, we’re not passing judgment.
Miley Cyrus had a moment with these blonde mega-spikes, too.
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Ah, the Met Gala. She rocked this bleached-out, spiked-to-the-heavens hairstyle at the 2013 Met Gala. However, it’s not even the most out-there of her hairdos.
Dare we say it’s even a bit avant-garde?
Whether you vibe with the look or not, it’s definitely one to remember. There are, however, always memorable styles at the gala.
Plus, Pink rocked this look way back in 2oo1.
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She really embraced the gravity-defying ‘do in her “Get This Party Started” music video, albeit with a slightly more stylized hair clip look.
And how did the singer really make her look stand out?
You can see the defining factor if you look closely. And of course, the style matches her name. But perhaps the best part is the fact that her roots are slightly pink, bringing us right back to the good old ’90s.
5. Rat Tails
Here’s a look that’s confused us since the first time we saw it. We still remember setting our eyes upon the mysteriously long lock of hair growing from the base of a classmate’s skull in first grade, juxtaposed by a short, buzzed haircut.
We stared at this singular, foot-long strand with confusion.
Sometimes it was braided, other times it just hung there. Turns out it was a rat tail. Apparently, some celebs couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon. For style? For attention? Just because? Who knows?
Kristen Stewart sported a braided rat tail at Cannes once. Hers was dainty, weirdly fashionable, and overall well-received, though.
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…But, it was a rat tail nonetheless.
So we’re just not sure how to feel about it. If we were ever to describe a rat tail as “cute,” it would be this one? Jury’s still out on this, though. Maybe we should leave rat tails for the rodents.
Shia LaBeouf’s rat tail, on the other hand, was officially not dainty, fashionable, or well-received.
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Oh wow.
I’m all for freedom of expression, but this one feels weird to me. Why and how is that rat tail so thick? Shia! What can we do to help you?! Tell us what we can do!
6. The Modern-Day Mullet
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Remember when Scarlett Johansson had a straight-up mullet?
Business in the front, party in the back, and overall a mildly unpleasant look for anyone. The mullet trend was brought to us by the ’80s, and it confusingly resurfaced among celebs more recently.
If your brain blocked out this moment in pop culture history, we wouldn’t blame you.
ScarJo was so dedicated to this look that it’s actually immortalized forever on the covers of numerous magazines. But as far as mullets go, it could be worse, right? She is actually pulling off the worst the ’80s had to offer with a glimmer of modern-day style, if you ask us.
It’s not the worst thing ever.
That said, can someone please explain why a mullet-laden Rihanna still manages to look like a glamorous queen?
Like, how?
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Saint RiRi can honestly do no wrong. She somehow makes mullets look chic, which basically means that she is immortal and will never die. Enough said.
OK, one more — because Carly Rae Jepsen’s brief, but iconic, mullet cannot be left out.
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Not gonna lie, this mullet is super cute, in the most ’80s-tastic way.
And TBH, after digging through numerous celebrity mullet moments, we have to say we’re actually a fan of some of the reconfigurations of the classic look. It almost makes us want to experiment with a mullet. Almost.
7. Hair That Doubled As An Accessory
Who needs a hair accessory when you can just twist, tie, and glue the heck out of your own hair? Definitely not Lady Gaga, that’s for sure. When your hair looks like this, no hair accessories are needed.
That’s because her hair is the accessory.
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Let’s be real. Absolutely no one was surprised that Lady Gaga supported such a bold hairstyle. But this hat made out of her own hair (and presumably a lot of glue) is just a lot to handle.
How was it even crafted?
It’s actually just fascinating from a gravitational perspective, as well. And we really want to know. Exactly what products does one use to attain such a look? We don’t recommend trying this at home.
And that’s for more than one reason.
Plus, both Gaga and Paris Hilton have, at times, found reason to forego a good old ribbon in favor of a giant bow made of their own hair.
It’s Hello Kitty-approved.
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We actually remember seeing numerous attempts at this particular trend trickling down from celebrity land and into our everyday life. It wasn’t good.
8. NSYNC’s Truly Bizarre Hair Choices
NSYNC gave us so much more than a bunch of late 1990s/early 2000s bubblegum-pop bangers. The group also bestowed upon the world several bizarre and deeply confusing hairstyles.
Can we please talk about Justin Timberlake’s instant ramen hair?
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This is one of our favorite looks.
Who could ever forget baby J. Timb’s gel-encrusted, bleach-soaked ringlets, which eerily resembled the contents of an instant noodle packet? Let this be a lesson that one’s youthful hair mistakes need not shape their ability to become a successful pop star in the future.
And let us not forget Chris Kirkpatrick’s classic, long-standing updo.
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J.T.’s ramen hair is pretty show-stopping in retrospect, but Chris Kirkpatrick’s always-confusing braided ponytail-esque hairdo is also a hard one to forget.
And then there’s the time JC Chasez grew his hair out into long layers with nice natural highlights.
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What a time to be alive. In fact, doesn’t the above photo make you want to time travel back to the ’90s, eat some Gushers, buy more boy band posters, and listen to Avril Lavigne on repeat?
9. The Kate Gosselin
This somehow achieves the opposite effect of the mullet — party in the front, business in the back. You remember Jon & Kate Plus 8, right? If so, then you most certainly remember Kate’s iconic haircut.
We’ve never seen anything quite like it.
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Short in the back, long and asymmetrical in the front, this ‘do was always slightly reminiscent of an angsty MySpace-era teen boy’s ideal cut. But we digress. What was even weirder is that other celebrities jumped on this bandwagon, too.
Like our very own Posh Spice.
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OK, no one should dare hate on a Spice Girl in our presence, no matter what sort of fashion crimes they might commit.
The entire group is almost as close to untouchable as you can get.
But really, Victoria Beckham was up to some weird stuff during this asymmetrical bleach-blonde phase. Where was the trail-blazing fashion darling getting inspiration from back then?
Or was this cool and we just missed the mark?
The usually posh (pun intended) style icon rocked the Kate Gosselin for a minute, and honestly, it wasn’t our favorite look of hers.
10. Chunky Color Stripes
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More than a few celebs tried this trend in the early 2000s. Some A-listers went in for the slightly more subtle version of this look. They went platinum blonde and had peek-a-boo black highlights sprinkled throughout.
In fact, Christina Aguilera loved this look.
How much did she love it? The “Ain’t No Other Man” singer was so enamored with the style she went through a few different versions of it. Once she did an ombre – icy platinum on top and jet black on the bottom.
Another iteration that was hit or miss for her?
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Aguilera also did some vivid red streaks in her day. Somehow, the look exuded both innocence and ultimate punk rock vibes. She pulled it off, but we have to wonder who her stylist was.
We can’t forget Gwen Stefani.
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This queen of peroxide-white blonde hair got chunky streaks in her ‘do too. And bangs completed the look. You can’t say she didn’t fully commit.
Every look she tried was equally attention-grabbing.
Stefani never seemed to veer too far from her blonde roots for long, but it’s obvious she craved a bit of color back in the day.
Remember that bubble gum pink look?
It could fit in with the millennial pink. But we don’t think it was nearly as original as her some of her hairstyles. In fact, the singer even made chunky color streaks look a bit contemporary.
We’re talking about that short asymmetrical style she rocked a few years ago.
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It had movement. It had color-blocking. It could be an actual art piece if her hair wasn’t attached to her body. And Stefani even managed to don a red lip with this bold hair color. We wouldn’t attempt it. But the pictures aren’t half bad.
