13 Major Hair Transformations Celebrities Still Regret

We've all been there: You tried something new and experimental with our hair and wound up completely regretting it. From bad dye jobs to cuts that were just a bit too short to damaging our lovely locks, experimenting with your hair sometimes doesn't go exactly as planned. Similarly, there have been many stars over the years who have been unlucky in their transformations. But where the pictures of your hairdo fails have likely been safely hidden from the world, celebrity hairstyle flops live on forever via the internet.

From Rihanna's pixie cut to Natalie Portman's shaved head and Jennifer Aniston's "The Rachel" cut, there are countless famed hairstyles that will go down in pop culture history as iconic. But on the other hand, there have been even more celebrities who chopped off their hair, let it grow too long, or overdid it with the bleach that, to this day, still hold onto regret over their major hair transformations.

From Christian Bale to Ariana Grande and Jonah Hill, there have been many celebrities who looked drastically different after a role. James Marsters, for one, is completely unrecognizable today if you remember him best from his character Spike on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" between 1997 and 2004. Playing a platinum blonde vampire for seven years definitely left a lasting impression on his fans, but Marsters sports a more natural look today in the form of coiffed gray hair.

It likely serves as a relief for the actor to no longer be under contract, as he had no clue how long he would be required to bleach his hair when he first signed on to play Spike. "They told me repeatedly my hair would fall out, or rather, they were not sure I would have hair by the end," Marsters told The Minnesota Star Tribune in June 2016.

The actor explained that the bleach's instructions advised not to use it more than once every six weeks, but his roots were being touched up weekly while filming. "I agreed to bleaching when I thought I was going to die in five episodes," Marsters noted. "I don't know if I would have agreed to it for seven years." While the role secured the "Angel" star's position as a '90s heartthrob, the health of his hair and scalp paid the price. Marsters added, "It wasn't the most glamorous part of the job."

There's no denying that Paris Hilton was one of the major fashion icons of the noughties with her low-rise jeans, exposed midriff, and lots of bling. Her hair has had a lot of stellar moments as well, from her two-toned waist-length locks to her trendy side bangs. Even her ultra-short, chin-length bob was a force to be reckoned with in 2001, but Hilton herself thinks it's a look that should remain in the era of flip phones and Juicy Couture tracksuits.

During her interview with Vogue in June 2024, the socialite was questioned on what she would like to leave back in the noughties. "My Tinkerbell haircut was very in back then," Hilton began. "But when I look at it now, I am like, 'It was just so short!'" The choppy cut was certainly a hit over 20 years ago, with variations of the bob appearing on celebrities like Rihanna, Winona Ryder, and Victoria Beckham around the same time period. But perhaps that's exactly where Hilton's look should stay. "I don't think I would ever do that again," she added. "I love a cute bob, but that was just something else."

We all have cringe-worthy fashion moments from the past — we're looking at you, '80s shoulder pad-wearers. Sarah Jessica Parker is no stranger to style regrets, as she reminisced about the less-than-ideal fashion and hair choices she made years ago during Vogue's "Life in Looks" series in February 2022. From her thrifted blazer to her ultra-curly ponytail worn on the top of her head, Parker pointed to quite a few faux pas.

But there was a more recent look the "Hocus Pocus" star has expressed regret over, which she discussed with Yahoo! In June 2015. There have been many celebrities who completely transformed their look with a haircut, and while Parker was certainly one of them when she chopped off her enviable long locks in favor of a short, curly bob, she believes it was for the worse. "Serge [Normant] cut it off for 'Sex and the City,'" Parker explained of the haircut that was unveiled during Season 4 of the show. While the star was quick to defend her longtime friend and hair stylist's work, it's clear the hair transformation is one Parker doesn't look back on fondly. "That's maybe time to be forgotten and to never be discussed again," she remarked.

Throughout his 21-year soccer career, David Beckham has become known not only for scoring major goals, but also for his business ventures, marrying a member of The Spice Girls, and his many hairstyles. He's sported everything from mohawks to ponytails and buzzcuts, as well as a controversial look he donned in 2003. While Beckham was vacationing in the South of France, his wife's hairdresser friend styled his hair into cornrows — and it haunts him to this day.

While the famed soccer star isn't the only celebrity to come under fire for cultural appropriation, with Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, and Kim Kardashian also wearing the style in the past, he has at least recognized that it was a mistake. While on "The Graham Norton Show" in February 2015, Beckham addressed his cornrows, saying, "That was maybe a bad decision." He elaborated that it wasn't just because of the cultural significance of the braids, but that he had a meeting with the great Nelson Mandela planned for just two days later.

In July 2023, as Beckham told The Sun, "And the picture that I've got of Nelson Mandela is me holding his hand with cornrows in my hair. That's my only regret." While the images will live forever on the internet, it's fortunately not a mistake the soccer legend has made twice.

The "Harry Potter" franchise has remained incredibly popular for years, and a whole new generation has been introduced to the magic and whimsy of the Wizarding World. However, if there's one aspect of the movies that fans continue to poke fun at, it's Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe's long hair in the fourth installment, "The Goblet of Fire." While some argue that the shaggy, shoulder-length hair was on-trend at the time, it's hard for others to see past it, and that includes Grint himself.

In September 2024, while on Dax Shepard's podcast "Armchair Expert," the actor known for playing Ron Weasley expressed his feelings over the look. "There were some awkward stages for sure," Grint noted about growing up on the big screen. "My hair in film four is one of my biggest regrets," he added, going on to call it "very cringy."

Radcliffe also felt unhappy about the awkward haircut, but as the actor explained in the December 2021 documentary, "Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts," it was exactly what director Mike Newell wanted for the movie. It was tradition for the young stars to let their hair grow out between filming, and as Radcliffe explained, "Me and Rupert [Grint] both dutifully grew our hair for months and then came in. He [Newell] was like, 'Oh yeah, great!' And we were like, 'No....you're not leaving us like this?'"

Given Nicole Kidman's incredible transformation over the years, it's hard to imagine the "Big Little Lies" star as having anything but her smooth, silky hairstyle. It seems the grass is always greener when it comes to our looks. Whether it's due to societal beauty standards or frequent comparison of oneself to others, it's common that those with dark hair feel compelled to go lighter, or shorter people wish they were taller. In Kidman's case, she too altered her looks to fit in by straightening her natural red ringlets.

"I really wanted to have that suntanned skin and long blonde hair," she told Who magazine (via Today) in April 2017. "I wanted to conform and be the Aussie beach girl. And I was never going to be that." Unfortunately, it seems that in order to achieve the smooth hair she's known for today, Kidman did irreversible damage to her locks. "I wish I had my curls back," she said of her hair. "I tortured them to death."

It's been impressive to watch the stunning transformation of Carey Mulligan over the years as she's shot from a small-time BBC actor to starring in movies like "Drive," "Promising Young Woman," and "Saltburn." While it's clear she puts her all into her roles, some have come at an unfortunate cost, including a minor part in a 2009 project in which she worked alongside Johnny Depp.

During an interview with Elle (via The Telegraph) in December 2010, Mulligan addressed her ultra-short blonde style. "I hate my hair," she began. "After 'An Education,' I had a small part in Michael Mann's film Public Enemies and he wanted me to dye it white blonde, and it wrecked my hair." Although her nearly-white curls looked sweet in the film, having just a handful of appearances wasn't worth the damage her hair endured. "Literally, ruined it. It was falling apart, fried," Mulligan explained. "So I had to cut it off. I cried." The actor has since become recognized for her cropped styles, and it seems her hair has recovered, but it was undoubtedly an experience she would've preferred not to have gone through.

If you've ever let a friend cut your hair, you understand the absolute trust you have to have in the person holding the scissors. Sadly, Cameron Diaz put her faith into the wrong hands when her friend chopped off her gorgeous long tresses and left her with a much shorter 'do. While appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (via Marie Clare) back in May 2011, the "Bad Teacher" star showed off her new bob and explained how it came to be.

"There was a little misunderstanding," she remarked. The night before Diaz's friend was due to leave for Christmas, the actor had wanted to get a quick touch up done but they were running out of time. "I said I just wanted a little bit cut off and it went from here," Diaz said, gesturing to a longer length, "to here." The actor held her hand up to match her much-shorter cut.

"It was one of those moments where I just couldn't ... I just burst into tears," Diaz stated. "I felt so vulnerable." Her friend felt terrible and they were both left crying in the kitchen over the star's botched hair. On the bright side, though, Diaz totally pulled off the short look again after rocking a similar length in 1998's "There's Something About Mary."

Between 2010 and 2017, Ashley Benson starred alongside Troian Bellisario, Lucy Hale, and Shay Mitchell on ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars." The wildly popular teen drama series showcased the fashion and style trends of the time perfectly, but one aspect the actor likely wishes wasn't a part of this time capsule is her hair.

Benson's glamorous blonde locks always looked on point, whether she wore her hair up or in a cropped cut. Something fans may not have noticed, though, was that she was dealing with a major hair disaster in the midst of Season 3. "My biggest hair regret was when I tried to bleach my hair and then the person who did, bleached my whole head off and I lost all my hair," Benson told People in June 2017. She added that if you were to re-watch episodes from this time, you would be able to see the damage caused.

Later on, in August 2018, the "Her Smell" star spoke with Elle about her top beauty tips. Her top advice: "Stay away from heat as much as you can," Benson remarked. She again stated, "Bleaching my hair was my biggest regret."

There's no doubt that Shakira's long, tousled waves have served as hair inspiration for countless fans over the years. She's sported her natural curls in brown, blonde, and bright red over the years, and pulled it off almost every time. However, the "Hips Don't Lie" singer debuted a look at the 46th edition of Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale that she'd probably like to forget.

While appearing on British Vogue's "Life in Looks" series in June 2021, Shakira broke down a handful of her iconic looks, but when she came across the choppy blonde bob she sported in 2012, she visibly cringed. "Oh, how terrible," she said. "That's a really bad haircut." Shakira went on to explain that the hair transformation was inspired by her mother-in-law. "She said, 'Hey, why don't you cut your hair? It's really damaged,'" the singer remarked. "Worst mistake of my life."

After getting her big break with "Winter's Bone" in 2010, everyone knew Jennifer Lawrence's name. She went on to star in several more movies and won an Oscar in 2013 for her performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" before she made a drastic change to her look. After just a couple years in the spotlight, Lawrence debuted a pixie cut and became one of the many celebrities who look unrecognizable without their signature long hair.

During Yahoo!'s "Fireside Chat" in November 2013, ahead of the release of "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," Lawrence revealed why she felt she had to chop off her hair. "I cut it earlier, and ... it grew to that awkward, gross length, and I kept putting it back in a bun," the actor explained. "I was like, 'I don't want to do this!' So I just cut it off." Previously, Lawrence mentioned (via Today) that her initial cut was necessary because her locks had become "fried from being dyed too much."

Although this haircut was more than a decade ago, Lawrence made her regret over this transformation known as recently as September 2022 during Vogue's "73 Questions" series. When asked if she had any advice for those contemplating getting a pixie cut, the "No Hard Feelings" star replied, "Obviously, my advice is don't do it. Think everything through."

At the time of writing, Kaley Cuoco is still best recognized for her character Penny on "The Big Bang Theory." For the majority of the 12-season sitcom, she sported long blonde hair, but ahead of the show's eighth season, the actor chopped off her locks in favor of a layered pixie cut. While Cuoco has had a gorgeous hair transformation over the years, this is one style she definitely regretted. She initially cut her hair for the 2015 movie "Burning Bodhi," but the actor said that she also initially saw a lot of positive reasons for the cut.

In speaking with writer Jessica Radloff for the 2022 book, "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," (via People) Cuoco said, "I don't know if I was being rebellious. ... Something needed to shake up." She had hoped that this transformation would result in her spending less time in the makeup chair on set but, unfortunately, her new hair "wasn't easy to style," resulting in many more hours spent getting ready for filming. "I was like, 'This is the worst decision! What was I thinking?!'" she added. Ultimately, the star said her pixie cut really "bit [her] in the a**."

From her early country looks to the black and white "The Tortured Poets Department" era, Taylor Swift has had a gorgeous style transformation. Fans have long followed her ever-changing looks, and while it's easy to say that most hit the mark, there were a few the singer could've done without. For example, the ultra-blonde hairstyle she debuted on the May 2016 cover of Vogue and rocked on the red carpet of the Met Gala.

In March 2019, ahead of her 30th birthday, Swift shared some of the life lessons she's learned so far in an Elle article. "Fashion is all about playful experimentation," she said. "If you don't look back at pictures of some of your old looks and cringe, you're doing it wrong. See: Bleachella." The "Shake It Off" singer's reference to her platinum bob was humble, as she acknowledged it certainly wasn't her strongest look. However, despite Swift's regret over this hairstyle, it's become a divisive topic among many of her fans. Just one month later, she returned to her more natural-looking, warm blonde color, much to the satisfaction of countless Swifties.