Perhaps you've gone too long between haircuts. Perhaps you're recovering from a bad haircut. Perhaps you've decided to take the old scissors for a spin and trim those bangs yourself.

Not that it matters. Your hair looks bad, and few people are going to bother you for a dissertation on how it got that way. They're just going to judge you and move on.

Pull your goatlike tresses down out of that ponytail. Assuming you don't plan on wearing a wig at all times (à la Dolly Parton, who single-handedly proved the value of faking as a career plan), you'll need a few go-to strategies. While you're waiting for your hair to transform itself into a fresh, swingy style, we offer these tips for faking one -- gleaned from Baze Mpinja, beauty writer and editor at Glamour magazine.

Twist and pin. "Anybody can do it," Mpinja says. "Whether you have a shoulder-grazing bob or super-long hair." Part your hair on the side, grab the front section, twist and roll it away from your face and lock it down with a bobby pin or two. "It's really trendy to have them be visible," Mpinja assures us. "I see people on the street as well as celebrities putting in multiple ones as a statement. One will work, but they'll put in an extra two because it looks cute."

Switch it up. It's easy to accessorize your way to a better hairstyle: Twist and pin can easily become twist and vintage barrette, twist and jeweled comb, or twist and glass stone clip. "It looks unfussy and casual, but it still looks like you did something," Mpinja says.

Buy some headbands. "There are so many great ones -- satiny, thick, thin," Mpinja says. "You can really do a headband a couple times a week and even make them look dressier if you need to. The key is putting a pretty piece on top of your head, which keeps people's eyes up there" -- and not on your split, uneven ends.

Take care of your hair. "Don't get so focused on coming up with a style that you neglect to take care of your hair," she says. "Healthy hair will always look good. Stay on top of conditioning. Don't use too much heat. Don't curl every day. Don't flat-iron every day."

Embrace the chaos. This is the classic "I meant to do that" fake. "Just work with whatever's happening," Mpinja says. "If you were styling one way every day, stop doing that and try something else. If you had longish bangs and now they're really long, try a ponytail and take those pieces and curl them a little bit. Don't work against it; work with it. Make imperfection part of your style.

"Looking like you didn't put a ton of effort in is trendy right now," Mpinja says. "Take advantage. It's good news."