The JFMSU subreddit grew from 751k to 795k members in slightly less than the span of a single year. Having been founded back in 2014, the community will be celebrating its 7th birthday in mid-December.

The inspiration behind the subreddit’s jaw-dropping name is a widely known meme that goes by many other names, including ‘Just Eff Me Up,’ ‘Just,’ and ‘The Barber.’ Know Your Meme points to American actor and beloved comedian Zach Galifianakis as the person who might have started the entire meme in the first place.

According to Know Your Meme, the earliest known example of the ‘Just Eff Me Up’ joke belongs to comedian Zach. He dropped the joke in 2006 during his comedy special, ‘Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Ocean.'

“When you look like I do, it's hard to get a table for one at Chuck E Cheese. I went to my stylist today and she said, ‘What are you looking for?' and I told her, ‘Just give me the Amber Alert,' Zach said.

From there, the meme evolved and one of the biggest ‘victims’ of the joke was American singer-songwriter, Miley Cyrus. In 2012, rapper Tyler poked fun of her new haircut on Twitter by wondering if she’d asked her hairdresser to ‘eff her up real quick.’ In turn, Miley told Tyler to ‘shut up,’ insulted his face, but complimented his music.

It was in 2014 that the meme finally solidified into the form that we know and love today and inspired the creation of the subreddit. The core foundation of the subreddit itself is comedy: there’s no room for hate or harassment. 

What’s more, the moderators warn that people shouldn’t post photos of people’s hair if they’re ill or have been in an accident. “We're here to laugh at people's poor hairstyle choices, not their medical conditions which they have no control over,” they note. For a subreddit that pokes fun at people, it’s surprisingly wholesome, mature, and polite.

A while back, I reached out to barber and hairdresser Giuliano Dore, the co-founder of ‘Get Groomed,’ mobile barbering specialists in London and the West Midlands, in the UK. Giuliano told Bored Panda all about how to recognize whether a haircut is truly bad and a mistake or if it’s something fashionable, experimental, and brave.

“The main difference between avant-garde and plain bad for a haircut is the focus on details and the whole idea behind the haircut,” he said.

“You would think that haircuts like the bowl cut are never gonna be trendy. Wrong. It’s happening and thanks to extremely talented hairstylists, we see a lot of hipsters rocking a very fashionable bowl,” Giuliano from ‘Get Groomed’ told Bored Panda that we shouldn’t say ‘never’ when it comes to slightly peculiar haircuts that look ‘out there.’

According to barber Giuliano, the most important things for a hairdresser to keep in mind when working on a client are symmetry and order (even when working on more artsy, even chaotic styles). “ It’s all about pattern, symmetry, and (sometimes) controlled asymmetry. If I see patchy haircuts, holes, or broken hairlines, I am gonna assume the worst," he told Bored Panda.

"If you want to cut your own hair at home, go with a safe option. Same-level buzz cuts are a safe choice. Home is not the place for challenging haircuts. For example, attempting a 0 to 2 high skin fade by yourself is not gonna work. Even professional barbers don’t do it themselves. I know this because they book each other on our app," the hairdressing expert told Bored Panda that it’s always best to opt for simplicity if you’re working on your hair by yourself.

"Being able to cut just based on the reflection of a mirror takes a whole new level of 4D chess and not everyone is ready for the challenge. I would also avoid sharp tools like razor blades. It’s absolutely possible to rock a very decent hairline without using razor blades at home. Clippers are your friends."

It’s interesting to see how much things have changed over the course of the pandemic. Giuliano told Bored Panda what the situation was like at the start of the Covid-19 lockdowns, in March 2020. Giuliano said that ‘Get Groomed’ had stopped all of their office-based barbering events at the time and still hadn’t restarted them yet by November of that year. However, there were other upsides.

"We saw a surge in home-based bookings since the first UK lockdown. I believe people don’t want to go to a crowded barbershop at the moment and it’s very visible in our data. People are also more concerned about hygiene and frequently ask questions about our methodology, if the barber is coming with PPE, etc. We are making sure that our barbers are fully PPE equipped and that they clean their tools between bookings,” Giuliano told Bored Panda what the situation was like last year.

So, dear Pandas, which of these truly awful haircuts do you think are a cut above (or is that below?) the rest? What’s the very worst haircut you’ve ever had and how did it make you feel? Got any advice about helping our hair grow faster after a tragedy at the barber? Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments.