bad hair day

American  

noun

1. a disagreeable or unpleasant day, especially one during which one feels unattractive.

---

bad hair day British  

noun

1. a day on which one's hair is untidy and unmanageable

2. a day of mishaps and general irritation

---

bad hair day Idioms  

1. A day when one's appearance, especially one's hair, does not look attractive. For example, What have I done to upset Martha? Nothing, she's just having a bad hair day. Originating as a humorous statement, this term was soon broadened to mean simply having a bad day, that is, a day when everything seems to go wrong. [Late 1980s] Also see not one's day.

---

Etymology

Origin of bad hair day

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bad hair day

Paul wanted his audience to think of “anxiety” as the mild sense of dread you might experience when contemplating going to work on a bad hair day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

Hair is a kind of armor we wear into daily battle; a bad hair day tells the world we’re not at the top of our game.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2020

One reveller had a very creative solution to their bad hair day.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2017

We miss the note, we have the bad hair day.

From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2015

Now Vital Theater Company is bringing their adventures to the stage in this new musical by Sammy Buck and Daniel S. Acquisto, which centers on a wad of gum and a really bad hair day.

From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2012