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11 of the worst grooming mistakes we were guilty of as teenagers

Why didn’t anyone SAY anything?!

THERE ARE SO many horrific grooming mistakes that teenagers can fall victim to.

Between the various ways to remove, colour and style hair and the desire to change as much of your face as possible, is it any wonder we lost our way sometimes?

It’s no one’s fault; we have to learn these things gradually. But still when you look back over old photos you want to cry out to your teenage self: “STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. RIGHT NOW.”

Over plucking eyebrows

A decade ago, Cara Delevinge would have been ostracised for her big caterpillar brows.

Every teenage girl couldn’t wait to get rid of her eyebrows, with the desired shape being pencil-thin and reminiscent of sperm.

THE 14th ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS IN HOLLYWOOD AFF / EMPICS Entertainment AFF / EMPICS Entertainment / EMPICS Entertainment

Minus even more points to anyone who attempted to shave them with a razor. That’s just a whole other world of bad.

Cutting your own hair

Feathered fringes were in. But you didn’t have the money for a haircut. Hey, there IS a pair of scissors in the house…

Same goes for DIY perms. Nothing good ever came of this.

cuttinghair Shutterstock Shutterstock

Artistically shaved hair

As a final touch to your short back’n'sides cut, you may have asked the hairdresser to shave two horizontal lines on your scalp.

6025262229_638377f711_b Flickr / shin momo Flickr / shin momo / shin momo

If you were REALLY cool, you might get one or two lines shaved into your eyebrows as well. Slick.

Misadventures with hair bleach

For a time in the 90s, big blocks of yellow-blonde ‘highlights’ striped haphazardly through the hair was the in thing. Nicole Appleton could barely pull them off, what made you think you could?

stripyhighlights Peter Kramer / StarMax/allaction.co.uk /EMPICS Entertainment Peter Kramer / StarMax/allaction.co.uk /EMPICS Entertainment / StarMax/allaction.co.uk /EMPICS Entertainment

Guys were guilty of this one too – bleaching the tips of the hair only for that ‘frosted’ look. No, no and no.

frosted tips Flickr / Paul Stumpr Flickr / Paul Stumpr / Paul Stumpr

Foundation lips

Many girls just starting to wear foundation used a big block of pan stick or some other greasy concoction to cover up as much of their natural skin tone as was possible.

pan stick Najevtino Najevtino

Inexplicably some didn’t stop when they got to their lips, but filled them in to give a ghostly, near-freezing look. COOL.

Overpowering smells

You were trying to cultivate a signature scent which would be associated with you forever.

As you would later discover, loading on the Charlie/Exclamation/Lynx/Joop! was not the way to go about it.

cologne Shutterstock Shutterstock

Bum fluff

The first appearance of facial hair can be an exciting time for most males. While some feel pride getting to shave for the first time, others want to see how far they can take it.

bumfluff Flickr / Jim Handcock Flickr / Jim Handcock / Jim Handcock

But it takes some time to grow manly beard. A feathery bum fluff ‘tache was the sole result of weeks of growing. Hello, ladies.

tumblr_inline_n145nrPmDR1qdsfhf Tumblr Tumblr

Cornrows/braids

If you weren’t going to get full or half cornrows or a braid while you were on holidays, there was no point in even going.

You had the head pulled off you for an hour or so, but the result was SO worth it. Except for now, when you look back at all your childhood holiday snaps and weep.

braids Flickr / Michael Korcuska/James Russo Flickr / Michael Korcuska/James Russo / Michael Korcuska/James Russo

We will not speak of that tuft of hair that resulted from cutting off a braid once it started to get ratty.

Overusing hair gel

It’s 2002. Gareth Gates has just won the hearts of every girl in the country. What was the key to his look? What would make the girls fall for you as they had for Gareth?

garethgates Doug Peters / EMPICS Entertainment Doug Peters / EMPICS Entertainment / EMPICS Entertainment

The hair. Oh that hair.

Ironing your hair

There was a time when poker straight hair was extremely desirable, and every girl in the world was clamouring for a GHD so they could burn their locks into shape.

Didn’t have a hair straightener? No problem! You just asked a trusted sibling to iron it for you.

hair iron Flickr / Lietmotiv Flickr / Lietmotiv / Lietmotiv

Raccoon eyes

Teens who identified with the goth/emo subculture, male and female, were highly susceptible to this one.

It was important to make your eyes as black and dark as your soul felt, and rings and rings of inch-thick black kohl was the only way to do it. Ghastly.

avril lavigne LuMarPhoto / AFF/EMPICS Entertainment LuMarPhoto / AFF/EMPICS Entertainment / AFF/EMPICS Entertainment

How many of these were you guilty of? Go on, you can tell us.

11 reasons to be glad you’re not a teenager any more>

6 pieces of useful life advice we all learned from teen movies>

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