Face it, bad haircuts are a fact of life. We could have the most perfect new hairstyle in mind and give the stylist an extremely clear explanation on how we'd like our hair to look, but we could still end up with a totally unmanageable mop or a cut that's worlds different from the one we had in mind. This is particularly troubling if we're not just going in for a regular trim, but actually trying to establish a whole new look or imitate a celebrity's fabulous hairstyle.

The moment you see your horrid haircut, you're probably going to want to hide from the world for a while until your hair grows back. You're definitely not planning on facing criticisms or even jokes about the look you didn't want to have in the first place. Maybe you might even get a terrible urge to slam the stylist with a lawsuit for butchering your hair and ruining your life.

Dealing with a less-than-ideal haircut need not be so drastic. You don’t have to let it make you miserable. Here are some things you can try to get through the ordeal.

1. Go back to the salon and tell them you're unhappy with the result of your haircut. Some salons would offer to undo the damage. You might want to consider getting another stylist though, because if your previous stylist already made a mistake, there's no guarantee that she can actually fix your hair.

2. If your hair's still long enough, pull it back into a ponytail. You probably wouldn't want to see your new haircut, so a ponytail's the easiest style to get it out of your face. But don't just yank it back carelessly. Even if your haircut is bad, you can still tie your hair back in cute, stylish ways.

3. Try to find if there are any people around you or even celebrities who sport a nearly-identical style as yours. See how they wear their hair and make the most out of your new look. Who knows? With a little work and attitude, it might end up looking fabulous after all.

4. Take care of your hair. Just because it doesn’t look like your dream hairstyle doesn’t mean you should neglect it. Give it a boost of shine with regular conditioning treatments.

5. Avoid chopping off your hair again, no matter how tempting it is to get rid of it! It just might end up looking worse.

So the next time you get a haircut, it would be a good idea to bring along a picture of the style you want, because there might be some stylists who won't be able to clearly visualize the look you want. During your haircut, speak up if it looks like your stylist is veering away from your instructions so she knows how you like it.