It's the perm and the shag cut that, just like when you're in the midst of a major life decision you wonder whether you should get a fringe, pose a real danger.

Buzzfeed writer Katie Notopoulos perhaps put it best when she tweeted: “Tech platforms are cracking down on anti-vaxx content, and yet I see Instagram taking NO ACTION on the hair stylist in San Francisco who only gives people shaggy bang cuts, which is extremely dangerous [to] long-haired people across the country, thinking they can pull off that look.”

Meanwhile, the updated perm (different to the frizzy one you sported at your sister's wedding circa 1989 underneath a crown of baby's breath, which is incidentally also, somewhat inexplicably, making a comeback) feels attainable.

We all saw the pics of Emma Stone's last year, right?

As Mara Roszak, the stylist, who gave it to her (and who also permed Jaime King's hair) told W magazine, of the decision to bring back the '80s, "It really feels like this is super fun, it’s bold. What really was true in the 80’s was that it was the working woman, everything was so big and bold and like, I am here, I’m not invisible. I mean, you literally could not hide from the eye shadow and lipstick color. I really do think that some of that sentiment is represented in this time with women and very much is, We are here. This bigger hair granted is not what it was, but it has movement, body, it’s super sexy and totally individual and unique. I think that is what’s made it modern."

Writing of the return of the perm in The Guardian last month, Leah Harper said this time the set style is softer, but still mostly achieved with the same techniques (though now the chemical sodium thioglycolate is generally used rather than ammonium thiolycolate). As creative director Luke Hersheson told Harper, it's about choosing a more flattering hair cut for a perm; more Julia Roberts and less stuck a fork in the toaster.

It's also something you can do at home, sans chemicals, as Schultz notes, "I personally don’t know many salons that still perm, however you can certainly reincarnate the look with a small curling tong which will achieve a more flattering look."

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Which goes to the heart of making the mullet, the perm, the shag, the crimp look modern, even indeed flattering: it's about not trying too hard, keeping things lived-in and tousled, and working with the hair you have and not the hair in the reference picture you've ripped out of a magazine.

To truly pull off a perm, shag or otherwise you need a solid sense of self.

But say you went against your gut instinct. Maybe an overexcited hairdresser really leaned into your vision. Maybe it was an emotional decision rather than a reasoned one. Maybe ... you just got a really a bad hair cut. Don't worry. Truly.

As Schultz puts it, there's help on hand. Plus just like as it does for many things, time is a healer of many wounds (and mullets).

"If you’ve had a bad haircut, my advice is to book in a consult with a couple top salons and get a feel on how the stylist can help you. Definitely listen to them and get a feel for the one you think can best help you. Sometimes a bad cut just needs a tweak and then a few months of growth to get fixed."