May 15, 2020

 Comments

SHARE:

The Rachel? Yawn. Been there, done that.

It's high time we took a look at the equally iconic and tragically underrepresented hair queen Monica Geller. Did she make mistakes in her hair choices during this series? Yes, absolutely (let's be clear; this was the 90's/early 2000's. We all regret at least one haircut from those days). But when she got it right, she got it so, so right.

Buckle in, and prepare for a full ranking of every single one of Monica's haircuts throughout the series. Which season will reign as her very best, and which will be her very worst? Keep reading, and find out.

10: Season one, AKA the season of wiggy hair and copy-catting.

Monica's season 1 hair was very 90's, especially during the show's first few episodes. Her hair during the pilot? Holy moly, there was a lot of volume going on there. Hello, puffy bangs, how are ya?

Let's be honest; between the bangs and the volume, the whole effect was a little too much — her hair looks a smidge like a wig.

Our girl did get bonus points later in the season when she ditched the bangs for a more chilled-out, wavey look. Still, we'd like to point out that she more or less just ended up adopting Rachel's initial Season 1 haircut. Girl, ya totally stole your roommates look. We all know it.

9. Season ten, AKA the season of regrettable layers.

Monica's season 10 hair initially suffered from the classic early 2000's trap of too-many-layers. Obviously this was an intentional styling choice buuuut its effects were still less than ideal. Monica's ends looked straggly, like she was experiencing some major breakage. Her hair was spiky, and not in a good way. Honey, baby girl, what happened? Why were your ends so thin?

Thankfully, the final season wasn't all bad. Occasionally, Monica's hair was lightly curled to create shiny S-waves that disguised her spiky ends, a look that seriously saved Monica's style reputation. This look was cute, sweet, and simple; perfect for the mom to be with a busy schedule. (but please do something about those ends, girl.)

8. Season eight, AKA the season of highlights.

Monica started really highlighting and layering her hair this season, and we wish that she hadn't. Lady, you had such a great thing going with the dark and mysterious hair vibes, whyyyy did you switch away from them?

The lighter hair color and thinner layers made Monica look a little haggard, and generally more tired. This wasn't her best look by a long shot.

That being said, maybe it wasn't that bad of a thing that Monica started to look a little older. At least we were getting rid of some of the unrealistic beauty standards behind this show? Plus, her occasionally curly hair in this season was v cute. We wish it made an appearance more often.

7: Season two, AKA the season of semi-questionable bangs.

The onset of season two meant bye bye to waves, in favor of a return to a banged bob. Fortunately, this was a much improved banged bob — three cheers for a lack of wigginess!

The success of Monica's bangs varied a decent bit from episode to episode. They were sometimes styled, uh, questionably, especially at the beginning of this season. Really, why even get bangs if you're going to mash them off to the side of your face entirely?

Monica also suffered from the tragically common overly-piecey-bangs-syndrome. What's the appeal of having several little wisps of hair in front of your eyes? Why was everyone doing this in the 90's?

Despite her occasional harrowing bang misadventures throughout season two, our girl ended strong with this fab and more thickly banged look. 10/10 effortless glam.

6. Season nine, AKA the season of feathers and more copycatting.

Season 9's hair was basically season 8's hair, with some very minor improvements. Some of the super thin ends were cut off, but there wasn't a whole lot to discuss other than that.

During half the season, Monica was more or less styling her hair the same as Rachel (aka long and with face-framing layers) and we don't stan a copy-cat.

Still, her Farrah Fawcette-y feathers were super cute, and we wish that they'd popped up more in this show. Alas, we only saw this style intermittently, and exclusively in season 9.

5. Season four, AKA the season of the super short bob.

In season 4, Monica started rocking this cute short bob, and overall we dig it. We can mostly even overlook the random strip of short baby bangs in the middle of her forehead. (Thankfully, she hid them with barrettes for the majority of the season, a wise move.)

Monica was an especially busy lady this season (hello, new catering business and then a fancy new job!) so this haircut made sense for her. It was tight, easier to manage than long hair, and had an appropriately fun level of wispiness.

Besides the baby bangs (which thankfully you can't see in this gif) there's a lot to like about this look. Monica was still able to rock cute hair pins while working a busy schedule. You do you, girl!

4. Season seven, AKA basically season 6

Monica's season 7 hair was basically just season 6's hair, but with a few more layers and a smidge lighter.

Overall, season 6's hair was superior, but the two styles were pretty darn similar. Monica's darker hair was more striking in comparison to her lighter hair, so season 6 is ranked higher. Moving on!

3. Season 6, AKA the season of princess hair

Monica's season 6 hair was certainly very, very good, but not quite at the level of majesty that was season 5's hair. It was still beautiful, shiny, luscious, and all that other good stuff, but just didn't have that certain oomph that drove us wild the year before.

This was perhaps Monica's most princess-y hair — long hair isn't her very, very best look, but she still pulled it off really well during this season. We wish she'd kept her hair to its magical, perfect length in season 5, but you do you, girl, you do you.

We've also got to give our girl some serious props; she completely pulled off the ambitious middle part, a notoriously tough look for long-haired gals. Well done, Monica, well done. A solid hair-season overall.

2. Season three, AKA the season that Monica was the girl next door

Monica's season 3 hair was heavy on the girl next door vibes. The mid-length cut contained an admirable amount of volume and shine, and did a fantastic job of rounding out her very angular face. She looked youthful, but not too youthful this season; overall, a huge improvement from season 2.

...and let's take a moment to appreciate those bangs! They did a perfect job of adding a little bit of mystery and intrigue to her haircut, without going overboard. Sugar, spice, and everything nice, this look had it all.

And SPEAKING of spice, we saw some surprisingly spicy-sporty looks from Monica this season, especially when her hair was pulled back to reveal a more angular, feathered look. Hey, girls next door can play on the wild side, too!

1. Season five, AKA the season of hair perfection

Season 5 was the magical season when Monica transcended the hair trends of the late 90's to achieve literal hair perfection.

Our gal adopted a gorgeous and classic look that was perfect for her angular face shape, something that layers could never achieve. Her hair was just long enough to create a tasteful casual updo (because we know how Monica loves her updos), but didn't drag her face down when set loose around her shoulders.

This hairstyle was effortlessly chic & sleek — we're convinced that she really did just wake up like this, even though logically we know this look didn't just happen without constant aid from an on-set stylist. This, right here, was Monica Geller's peak Friends hairstyle. We have nothing to critique.

Craving more rankings/general hair silliness? Here's what we recommend next:

Rachel Green Hair: The Definitive Ranking by Season

Harry Potter Hair: The Definitive Ranking

Disney Princess Hair: The Definitive Ranking

20 Nostalgic TV Hairstyles That Will Totally Make You Either Laugh Or Cringe (Or Both)

17 Times Hair in Superhero Movies Was Unrealistic as Heck