Nightmare Hair Scenarios

The best-selling Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook may have taught you how to fend off a shark and escape from quicksand, but what about the real catastrophes in a chick's life — like having a heinous hair moment before a big date or botching an at-home dye job? Fear not...Cosmo comes to the rescue with our own EMT (Emergency Mane Treatment) advice.

Disentangle Your Hair from a Round Brush
Resist the urge to grab the nearest steak knife and slice off that entire section of strands. The better approach:

• Don't panic and tug. "That will only make the knots tighter," says Guy Romeo, a stylist at the Privé salon in Los Angeles.
• Pin up loose strands. Gently remove as much hair as you can with your fingers, and clip up the freed strands as you go.
• Pick the locks. Take a rattail comb, knitting needle, or similar skinny stick and use the pointed tip to dislodge the remaining hair bit by bit from the bristles.

How to avoid barrel-brush entanglements:

• Never work with a section of hair that's wider than the brush you're using.
• Lift each section up and away from your head before you start rolling the brush underneath it. (Tangles often occur when you inadvertently involve hair that's below the section you're working on.)