Friends: The 5 Best Hairstyles Of The Main Characters (& 5 That Are Just Terrible)

Although the six friends were characterized by their cadence and wardrobe, hairstyles helped in bringing out their distinctive features. The show’s fashionista, Rachel popularized the voluminous shoulder-length hairstyle, Ross, on the other hand, took a lot of flak for his over gelled hair.

Fans could tell a lot about their favorite character from their respective hairstyles. Phoebe liked her hair long, and Monica dared to experiment with it as often as she could. Since the characters were always changing up their hair, it’s worthwhile to recall the greatest and the unimpressive hair moments on Friends.

10 Best: Chandler’s Cut From Kathy

Besides being a terrific actress, Kathy was a good hairdresser as well. When Chandler’s hair appointment was canceled, she unhesitatingly offered to cut it for him. Funnily enough, Kathy claimed to have learned haircutting at her aunt’s dog-grooming shop.

During the haircut process, Kathy gently pulled Chandler’s hair from his sides to check if it was even, and they shared a look of love. In the end, she realized she too had feelings for him. Thanks to Kathy, Chandler’s hair went from looking a little flat to chic in Season 4. The hairstyle was simple and at the same time effortlessly perfect.

9 Terrible: Ross’s Over Gelled Hair

In Season 3, Ross’s over gelled hair prompted Dr. Green to remark, “Nice hair. What’d ya do? Swim here?” Even though Ross was slightly offended and almost walked out on the brunch, the man had a point.

Ross’s hair was often a target of jokes on Friends and everyone at one point or at another reprimanded him for wearing too much hair gel. Rachel once called him “gel boy” and Monica commented his hair hadn’t moved since the year 1989. While hair gel can be used in moderation to achieve a wet look, Ross’s would go overboard with it.

8 Best: Rachel’s Lob

Rachel Green’s character is known for looking impeccably stylish and her fashion sense is still relevant today. Her hair is part of what makes her a timeless fashion icon. Rachel’s hair was her biggest accessory and she took great care of it.

In Season 8, Rachel sported a lob that framed her face very well. She’d let her short bob from season 7 grow out and rocked its slightly longer version. In “The One with the Rumor,” she wore her short hair in tousled curls for Thanksgiving. It goes without saying that Rachel’s experiment with the bob cut was a successful one.

7 Terrible: Chandler’s ’80s Flashback Hair

Chandler looked absolutely terrible wearing the ’80s A Flock Of Seagulls hairstyle in Season 5’s “The One with All The Thanksgivings.” As the name suggests, the episode was a collection of events from previous Thanksgivings and in the year 1987 Ross had invited Chandler over to share a meal with the Geller family.

The thing is, Chandler had copied Mike Score’s hairdo and was blissfully unaware of how unflattering it looked on him. While A Flock Of Seagulls frontman, Mike Score, looked cool, Chandler looked like he was trying too hard, which didn’t do him any good.

6 Best: Chandler & Joey’s Cuts From Phoebe

A woman of many talents, Phoebe Buffay could also give people haircuts. In Season 2, not only did she give Chandler and Joey new hairstyles, but she also mimicked the legendary hairstylist Vidal Sassoon’s voice.

“If you don’t look good, we don’t look good,” said Phoebe as she stood between the guys. Phoebe had done a great job and there’s no denying her friends looked neat and charming. Joey in particular had an impressive transformation. He went from sporting longers locks to a shorter mane in season 2.

5 Terrible: Monica’s Cut From Phoebe

After seeing the guys sport new hairstyles, Monica insists “Vidal Buffay” give her a haircut too. Phoebe initially tries to get out of it, but Monica persists and so the two walk into Monica’s room to get the process started. There’s a slight mishap and things don’t go very well.

Monica had asked for Demi Moore’s hair, whereas, Phoebe had confused her name the actor Dudley Moore and cut way more than she was supposed to. In the end, she had to clip one side to stop the curling. Poor Monica was overwrought and her friends just couldn’t stop joking at her expense.

4 Best: Phoebe’s Curly Hair

The main characters on Friends debuted with stellar hairstyles. Joey sported a deep side part with loose strands at the front, Rachel’s bouncy layers of hair became a phenomenon. Other characters on the show did not disappoint either.

Phoebe, for instance, rocked her long blond curly tresses in Season 1. She gave her fans major hair goals while alternating between straight and curly hair. Sometimes her hair looked a little wavy, but never frizzy nonetheless. Phoebe’s curly hair and her relaxed, radiant sense of style went very well together.

3 Terrible: Ross’s Perm

In another flashback episode, this time from season 2, Ross disappointed fans once again with his unkempt hair. As it’s seen, the gang gathered in Monica’s living room to watch her and Rachel’s prom video that Jack Geller had recorded.

Monica’s older brother, Ross, looked disheveled in the prom video thanks to his bad perm. The tricky part about setting the hair in a perm is that it requires a lot of maintenance, something Ross clearly hadn’t done. Funnily, the whole thing would have gone unnoticed had it not been for overenthusiastic Jack Geller and his camera.

2 Best: The Rachel

Jennifer Aniston’s ‘The Rachel’ hairstyle created quite a stir back when she wore in on the first two seasons of Friends. The voluminous shoulder-length cut with long layers had become a favorite request at hair salons during the ’90s.

Rachel’s iconic cut was highlighted to perfection thereby accentuating her best features. Though she kept experimenting with her hair throughout the show’s 10-season run, nothing could compare to this one. Quite interestingly, the haircut went with every single item in the fashionista’s wardrobe.

1 Terrible: Monica’s Cornrows

Monica’s hairstyle in “The One After Joey And Rachel Kiss” reeks of outright cultural appropriation. In order to fight Barbados’ humidity, she decides to “fix” her hair by adorning it in cornrows with beads and shells. The whole situation is outrageous, and insensitively played for laughs on the show and it’s particularly vexing to see Chandler’s offensive reaction to the hairstyle.

While Monica wearing the cornrows is cultural appropriation in itself, her friends worsen the situation by making distasteful jokes about it.

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