Top 20 Worst America's Next Top Model Makeovers

From a bright, charismatic personality to the glums, this model’s haircut shifted her energy for the worse. In the 24th season of ANTM, Ivana Thomas’ personality was defined by her independence and intellect. When it was time for makeovers, Tyra decided a short look would work best for Ivana. Sitting in the stylist chair, she was unable to hold back the tears, bracing herself for the change. Unable to own it, it cost her her place in the competition. Panelist Drew Elliott told her after the elimination that embracing full confidence in herself was the best way for her to up her modeling game.

You know it’s a little bit worrying when Jay Manuel’s comforting you by letting you know that your natural hair is still accessible… under the new weave, that is. Starting the show with lustrous dark locks, Cycle 11’s Elina Ivanova was not happy about her makeover. She hated the thought of losing control and felt like the red curls as prescribed by Tyra didn’t represent her in the way she wanted. While it didn’t hold her back from placing fifth in the competition, you gotta wonder what Tyra was thinking. With such a beautiful, versatile model, they could have gone anywhere… and they went to the circus.

In Cycle 21, Kari Calhoun was a gorgeous brunette who arguably didn’t need a big change. But when Tyra gets excited, there’s no pulling back. She prescribed a starkly blonde weave, and bleached eyebrows. AKA… a lot. As one of her fellow contestants remarked, it was like she was a totally different person, and Kari herself thought she looked cheap. Her tears told us that something more fundamental was affected. Who wouldn’t feel lost when their visual identity changes that much? Kari managed to put her poker face on and give a fierce photo shoot. While we all know this is an expected part of the show, this just didn’t feel okay, making it one of the most uncomfortable makeovers yet.

Stacy-Ann Fequiere bounced into Cycle 10, lighting up the judges with effortless positivity. When it came time for her makeover, Tyra dropped the news in a condescending high voice, mocking Stacy-Ann’s natural octave. Which in and of itself was already awful. But… the hair was coming off to shape a mohawk-esque-faux-hawk! While she longed for Naomi Campbell’s long locks, to Stacy-Ann’s credit, she embraced the look for bringing out her features. She did pull off a killer photo, but as you can hear in her tone of voice, overall, she wasn’t exactly in love with her new look.

Notable for a much more sedate makeover round, Cycle 6 still had one dissatisfied customer. Scouted by a producer while working as a Marketing Assistant, modelling was not Sara’s Plan A, and the judges took to questioning her passion early on. But she proved them wrong, steadily upping her game, and placing fourth. The makeover episode saw her blonde locks shorn short with a heavier front. She just did not love her new look, which was definitely out of her comfort zone. Her foray into modeling segued into a very impressive law career; she now works for the U.S. Department of Justice. We won’t be going near her with scissors anytime soon!

#15: Amanda’s Ice Blonde Hair

Also in:

Amanda Bynes: Child Stardom, Leaving Hollywood & Where She Is Now

We all know that styling for models can be more strange than glorious. And as you can tell from this list, a good chunk of that trophy can be claimed by this very competition. When Cycle 3’s Amanda Swafford came sashaying into Top Model town, Tyra just couldn’t resist. Her darker locks went full blown Scandanavian. The results were definitely striking, and even though her ice-cold blues popped, responses were split. While she did go on to place as second runner-up, we’re still scratching our heads wondering if this fantasy makeover was more glamorous or Gandalf.

Less “wow” and more “what”, Christina Anderson-McDonald’s highlighter-do left us all wondering just...what...happened. Coming into the competition as the oldest contestant in her cycle, Christina instantly found life at the shared house with the other models… tricky, to say the least. She had beef with Brendi K, and when Tyra told her that she should wear make-up, she took it more to heart than mind. Her makeover, what effectively looked like a dip in green goo, ended up personified in the glower she gave the camera for that week’s shoot. Compensation? Not so much. The best photo sadly speaks less “top model” and more green-eyed, ahem, haired monster.

Sometimes, you need to make a mistake twice. Flashback to Brenda Arens, a lusciously long redhead from Cycle 14. Originally, she seemed game to embrace her makeover moment. But smiles turned to tears as her hairdresser just kept cutting. The result? An ‘80s style mohawk that just didn’t suit her. Stylist Sally appeared to come to the rescue at a second session, only to…cut shorter, of course! Meanwhile, Brenda’s castmates watched in unsupportive silence. Following her elimination from the show, Brenda played it real, saying even her first haircut was better than the second. But what was ultimately soul-destroying is Jay Manuel saying he thought she would have gotten further in the competition had she not been so emotionally attached to her hair!

#12: Ann’s Chunky Highlights

Also in:

Top 10 Worst America’s Next Top Model Makeovers

“This picture for me looks like nothing.” Ouch. Harsh words from judge Nigel Barker in Cycle 3. But let’s rewind a little. What exactly was going on with Ann Markley’s highlights? Coming into the show as a sweet brunette, the judges thought she had one of the best faces, but not enough oomph. So someone had the bright idea to switch it up a little. Unfortunately, the results were grossly colored blonde streaks that did nothing for Ann. Or probably not anyone else. Ever. Let’s be honest: if it happened at our salon, we’d be leaving a dangerous Yelp review. Ann went on to finish fourth in her cycle.

“You can cut my hair off, I don’t care.” Famous last words of a beautiful model about to lose her locks...and her cool. Cycle 7’s Jaeda seemed game to dive into whatever change was coming her way. That is, until the Halle Berry-inspired pixie cut envisioned for her was revealed, bringing on the waterworks. While we think Jaeda looked amazing with her new do, she wasn’t convinced that her strong jawline could take it. The trauma of the process itself made it one of the worst makeover moments to behold. However, we can confirm that Jaeda’s long hair has since returned. She’s still modelling, and has a gorgeous family to boot. Iconic breakdown aside, it seems like a very happy ending.

One of the most iconic haircuts in cinema has to be Mia Farrow’s pixie cut from “Rosemary’s Baby.” In theory, it was great style to replicate on a model with such a strong bone structure like cycle 5 contestant Cassandra Jean, but the Southern beauty pageant queen was devastated over losing her long locks. She went along with the cut and the dye job initially, but when they wanted to cut another inch off, she absolutely refused, saying that she didn’t want them to change her too much. It seemed like a weird hill to die on considering most of her hair was gone anyway, but she stuck to her guns and was sent home.

It’s probably not the best idea to make someone look like a terrifying cartoon villain. But that’s exactly what Tyra did with Shei Phan, a cycle 21 contestant, who was given two-toned hair: half black and half blonde. Looking like Cruella de Vil herself, Shei’s hair seemed like something that would look cool in an Instagram picture, but way too out there in real life. It didn’t help that the hairstylist even dyed her eyebrows to match her hair so it looked as if she only had the black one, since the blonde hairs blended into her skin. Shei was a good sport about it though, and seemed to embrace it.

Nothing is ever subtle on reality TV, and many times, people take things too literally. At least, that’s what we assume happened with the Cycle 18: British Invasion. In that season, Americans were pitted against the British to see who would reign supreme. To turn up the patriotism, Laura was given red and blue streaks on bleached blonde hair to mimic the American flag. The thought process behind it might have made the tiniest bit of sense, but the chunky streaks looked weird, amateurish, and definitely didn’t scream top model.

Poor Marvita didn’t deserve this. During the cycle 10 makeovers, Tyra kept the girls in the dark about what makeover they were getting. When Marvita sat down in the hairdresser’s chair, she was surprised to see hair extensions nearby. Only then did Tyra reveal in a pre-taped segment that she would be getting a “horse mane hair weave,” a style Tyra admitted to making up. Tyra even neighed when she gleefully revealed Marvita’s makeover inspiration. The result was less of a horse mane and more of an ‘80s hair band mullet. It looked ridiculous and not even Marvita’s strong features could pull it off.

#6: Phil's Jesus Extensions

Also in:

Top 10 Dr. Phil Moments That Did NOT Age Well

When ANTM let men into the contest, it was exciting to see what makeovers they’d give the guys. But then Phil happened and proved they could make a man look just as awful as they do for some of the women. Tyra wanted to see longer hair on Phil, so he was given very cheap-looking extensions that had people comparing him to Jesus. The straggly hair was distracting and took away from his good looks. Phil looked more like a Coachella punch-line than a model, so we’re glad he later took out the extensions and grew his natural hair out.

Cycle 9 contestant, Saleisha Stowers is already one of the most controversial ANTM winners out there because of her previous connection to Tyra before the season started, but the real question is: how did someone with Dora the Explorer hair make it that far? Saleisha’s mushroom bob and glorified bowl cut was meant to give the commercial model an edgier look, but instead it made her appear younger, as if her mom gave her that haircut in the kitchen. Many compared her look to the Beatles gone wrong, and any way you cut it, it was bad. Just bad.

There have been some pretty harrowing weave experiences on ANTM but few, if any, compare to Molly’s unbelievably bad hairdo. After assigning big blonde curls to Molly, a weave specialist was brought in to sew it onto her fine hair. The process of getting her hair done was tangle of braids, thread, and extensions that looked more akin to a bird’s nest than a high fashion look, and the finished product wasn’t any better. The added hair had to weigh as much as Molly herself. The salon owner tried to trim it down, but it was no use. Molly was understandably upset, and the hair led to a lot of drama until it was re-done.

Of all the crazy makeovers the ANTM team has given over the years, this one takes the cake. For the most part, the male contestants get pretty tame looks compared to the female contestants, but Denzel’s fake beard made every other makeover pale in comparison. They put a lace front weave on this man’s face. A lace front weave. Just let that sink in. The weave was a completely different texture from his natural hair, and the contrast showed. It looked wholly unnatural, ridiculous, and like it would fall off at any moment. The makeover was roasted on social media and still lives on in Internet infamy.

Unfair or not, big red hair often brings up associations with clown hair. Clearly, Tyra wasn’t trying to channel Bozo the Clown for Brittany Hatch’s makeover, but that’s exactly what she got. Brittany’s original hairdo of short curls looked way more modelesque than the pile of red straw they attached to her head. The hair was brittle looking, frizzy, and puffy. And it clearly looked like a weave, which defeats the whole purpose of getting the hairstyle professionally done.

For the most part, the makeovers they give contestants aren’t permanent—hair grows back, a weave can be taken out, and eyebrows can be dyed back. But the makeover team crossed that line when Tyra decided that the gap between Chelsey’s two front teeth needed to be made bigger so that she had more of a Lauren Hutton look. To emulate the legendary model, Chelsey was taken to a dentist where they actually shaved around a millimeter off each front tooth. While we like the idea of accentuating someone’s unique trait, this was a bridge too far.