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

Nostalgic TV=the best kind of TV. But also the worst kind of TV if you're trying to avoid disastrous hair trends of the past. Here are our favorites from the show's we've loved in the past 30 years - try not to cringe too much, they were all once V E R Y stylish!

1. Lizzie McGuire's ~bad girl~ hair, Lizzie McGuire

Lizzie was always an early 2000's middle school hairstyle QUEEN, but this episode really takes it to new heights. In this look, we're blessed with partially crimped hair, ~edgy~ black butterfly clips, teased hair, and Lizzie's signature fluffy bangs. Truly, there has never been a badder girl than Lizzie.

2. Uncle Jesse's Terrible Mullet, Full House

The mullet is NOT CUTE. It has never been cute. Stephanie did her uncle an enormous favor when she gave cut off the back of it and forced him to get a haircut that's actually attractive. He then embarked on a hair journey that peaked in season 6 with some seriously luscious locks, but that's a whole other story entirely.

3. Markie Post's Also Terrible Mullet, Night Court

How is it humanly possible that this hairstyle was considered flattering for both men and women? It was flattering on NO ONE. Markie, you set that fire with the power of your terrible hair. You know you did.

4. Christian Siriano's Fierce Bangs, Project Runway

We all had youthful haircuts that we regretted. Christian Siriano's just happened to be when he was 21 and winning Project Runway. Alas, it became apart of his personal brand for the next several years. Proud of u for all the success bb, and even more so for since leveling up to a more grownup haircut.

Formulate Pro Tip - Jealous of Siriano's shiny, shiny hair? The cut may have been a mistake but the boy's still got some healthy hair! Be sure to include Glossy Hair as one of your Formulate hair goals when taking the hair quiz and we can get you there, too!

5. Bob Ross's Signature Perm, The Joy of Painting

Yeah, you read that correctly. When Bob Ross first got out of the Air Force, he had the idea that he could save money on haircuts by perming it and just letting it grow. He then got famous and was trapped in a trademark look that he reportedly despised. Lesson learned: never get a perm to save money on haircuts, because you might get famous and stuck with it.

6. The Rachel, Friends

The Rachel was EVERYTHING in the 90's but today we'll have to take a pass. Even Jennifer Aniston wasn't a fan of the look - it was high maintenance as heck, and she had no idea what to do with it without a stylist.

7. Felicity's Pixie That Tanked Ratings, Felicity

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY BOB ROSS STUCK WITH THE PERM. Season 1 of Felicity had gone off flawlessly, with the show becoming a surprise hit. Fans were very, very into Felicity's long mane - her curls were the envy of teen girls everywhere. Needless to say, audiences were not pleased when that mane was chopped off at the beginning of season 2. Ratings spiraled, and although the hair grew back, the initial audience never quite did.

8. Buffy's Super Short Mid Season 3 Bangs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

So short, so... sparse. For such a hair queen, Buffy seriously messed up with this style. Thankfully, they were pinned back for the rest of the season.

(here's another still image to better express the horror of the super short bangs. yeek)

*Formulate Pro-Tip: Recovering from a disastrous haircut or experiencing a ton of fly aways that resemble these baby bangs? Select growth as one of your Formulate hair goals!

9. All of Willow's Terrible Hat Days, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

How did she even amass such an extensive collection of bucket hats??? And why?? Thankfully, once the 2000's rolled around, Willow stopped wearing such atrocious headgear. We're really hoping it's because someone treated them like the unholy abominations they are and just staked them.

10. Veronica's Spikey Pilot Hair, Veronica Mars

This hair shows up in the SAME episode that has her falling asleep in class from staying up too late working as a private investigator. Veronica, why are you wasting so much time creating the spikey waves when you could be SLEEPING? We get it that this look was basically short hand for "I'm a strong female character with a taser, don't mess with me" during the early 2000's and that it was important to cement VMars as a scary chick during the pilot buuuuuut we're not sad that the spikes never came back again.

*Formulate Pro-Tip - wanna spend the extra time sleeping instead of poofing up your hair? Select volumize as one of your Formulate hair goals and let your products do the work for you while you just snooze away!

11. Sam Malone's Enormous Toupee, Cheers

It's not really a secret these days that Ted Danson wore a big ole' toupee to play Sam Malone. We just want to know how no one figured it out sooner. Was a wig really that hard to spot in the pre-HD days? Because, DANG, does anyone grow hair that poufy?

Seriously. Just LOOK at it.

12. Jenny's Almost Mullet, Gossip Girl

This isn't even the 80's. This is the late 2000's. This was only 10 years ago. Jenny, you have no excuses. Stop pretending to be punk-rock Carole Brady.

13. Kelly's Extremely Voluminous Bangs, Saved By the Bell

Kelly must spend at least an hour every morning styling her bangs. How much hair gel does she go through??? We totally want to know.

*Formulate Pro-Tip: Are you a product fanatic as well? Include the styling products you use in the Formulate hair quiz so we can create the perfect build-up fighting shampoo for you!

Love, 

The Formulate Team