Movies Gallery America's Next Top Model: Best/worst makeovers Creative director Jay Manuel weighs in on our picks of the bobs and weaves that worked—and the ones that created a hairy situation. By Archana Ram Updated on June 27, 2022 11:26AM EDT Trending Videos Close this video player 01 of 18 Best: Brittani (Cycle 16) Troy Jensen/The CW; Jaimie Trueblood/The CW The Central Pennsylvania native looked like she came straight off the Paris runways in her fresh bob. ''You could tell she was thinking, 'Oh this works for me,' and I like that,'' says Manuel. ''I loved how it completely transformed her. And I loved how she embraced it.'' 02 of 18 Worst: Amanda (Cycle 3) UPN/Landov (2) The inspiration was German model-actress Nadjah Auermann, but the combination of Amanda's icy blue eyes and platinum blond hair looked a little too Lord of the Rings for our taste. 03 of 18 Best: Whitney (Cycle 10) The CW/Jim De Yonker/Landov (2) The first plus-size model to win ANTM, Whitney had the confidence to earn the title—but a color switch really helped her bring the title home. ''The idea was to bring in some of that Gisele [Bündchen] coloring,'' Manuel explains. ''That dark brunet hair and her size pigeonholed her to a specific look. We tried to broaden her appeal, and it worked.'' 04 of 18 Worst: Brittany (Cycle 8) The CW/Jim De Yonker/Landov; Kareem Black/The CW Everyone, including Manuel, agrees that this weave plus coloring belongs in the pantheon of Model's worsts. Remembers Manuel: ''I was against the weave. I wasn't against the color. We had so many problems with it. We eventually cut the weave down and let it be short and red. In a perfect world, Brittany should grow out her hair, and we can keep it colored red, and that look would work for her.'' 05 of 18 Best: Fatima (Cycle 10) The CW/Landov (2) The jarring orange hue of Fatima's locks wasn't the only problem. The frizzy, short style only accentuated her slight height. ''[The long hair] helped cheat her proportions and make her look a little taller,'' Manuel says. ''People say, 'How thin do you have to be?' Fashion is about proportions.'' 06 of 18 Worst: Molly (Cycle 16) Troy Jensen/The CW We have to give Molly credit for not crying, complaining, or stomping her way out of this totally disastrous weave. ''As you could obviously tell, we were all thinking, 'What is this? What is going on?''' Manuel admits. ''We brought in a special weave person [and even they] couldn't do the type of weave that Tyra was looking for because of [Molly's] scalp and bone-straight hair. Tyra said, 'Let them finish it, and we'll address it.''' They addressed it the following episode by redoing her weave, but it still looked like a hot model mess. 07 of 18 Best: Naima (Cycle 4) UPN/Landov (2) The soft-spoken Naima—who ended up winning her cycle—kicked her delicate side to the curb with an edgy mohawk. ''We were trying to find a way to make her a lot more editorial-looking,'' Manuel says. ''The contestants are responsible for presenting themselves at judging, and she worked that mohawk. 08 of 18 Worst: Brenda (Cycle 14) The CW/Barbara Nitke/Landov (2) We don't condone her snoozy long hair, but an '80s pop cut wasn't the best antidote. ''I think she would've gone further in the competition if she had gotten over the emotional attachment to her hair,'' Manuel admits. 09 of 18 Best: Joanie (Cycle 6) UPN/Jim De Yonker/Landov; UPN/Bill Inoshita/Landov Who could forget ANTM's snaggletooth incident? Joanie not only got a lighter blond look, but her distracting snaggletooth removed too. Says Manuel: ''I have to credit Tyra for that one. She said, 'I really think we do need to address her teeth. Joanie has this classic beauty, like a cosmetic model. The beauty business could be a great moneymaker for her, and we really need to perfect everything.' I was like, 'Yeah!' I didn't even know we were doing that on our show!'' 10 of 18 Worst: Chelsey (Cycle 15) Jessica Brooks/Pottle Productions; The CW/Ivano Grasso/Landov Fixing a snaggletooth is one thing, but having a procedure to widen the gap between Chelsey's two front teeth—to go for ''the Lauren Hutton look,'' Manuel says—seemed downright brutal. 11 of 18 Best: Yoanna (Cycle 2) UPN/Landov; John P. Filo/UPN Goodbye, ho-hum shoulder-length hair; hello, high fashion! Yoanna, who went on to win her cycle, got the Linda Evangelista treatment with a cropped, jawline-accentuating cut. ''Her hair at that mid-length and layered—you lost all that beauty,'' Manuel says. ''I said that to Tyra right off the bat: 'Her hair has to go short because she has the most exquisite bone structure.''' 12 of 18 Worst: Jaeda (Cycle 7) Jim De Yonker/The CW; Michael Yarish/The CW Jaeda's long mane was flattering, but after a short, Halle Berry-inspired cut, she looked just about ready to hit the American Gladiators arena. But—it turns out—the chop wasn't meant to be so short. Manuel explains: ''I was in a giddy mood that day. It was a little too much black tea. I was just cutting chunks [of her hair] out. I was totally just going on the fly. No one told me to do that. I probably exacerbated the situation. She definitely was crying the whole time I was doing it. But, she and I have talked about it since. We're totally good.'' 13 of 18 Best: Samantha (Cycle 11) The CW/Jim De Yonker/Landov; The CW/James Wade/Landov Forget smizing—a pair of scissors proved to be the most powerful tool during Samantha's stint on the show. ''Samantha looked so much like the really cute girl at the mall,'' Manuel says. ''She needed something more drastic. She became far more editorial-looking, and a lot less commercial-looking.'' 14 of 18 Worst: Cassandra (Cycle 5) UPN/Landov (2) Tyra envisioned a Mia Farrow-style haircut for the former beauty-pageant contestant, but she never got her wish. Traumatized by the first chop, Cassandra wouldn't let the makeover team go the full distance. ''It was ridiculous,'' says Manuel. ''We had already cut off 13 inches! What was 1 more inch? She could've been the next Twiggy if she wanted.'' 15 of 18 Best: Eva (Cycle 3) UPN/Landov; UPN/Hyungwon Ryoo/Landov Eva came into the competition boasting one of the most flawless complexions in ANTM history, but her dark hair didn't do it any favors. A short cut and highlights helped set the stage for her Cycle 3 win. ''She wasn't a fan of it at that time, but of course, she loves it now,'' says Manuel. ''She's kept it to this day.'' 16 of 18 Worst: Sara (Cycle 6) UPN/Jim De Yonker/Landov; UPN/Brian Lynn/Landov Manuel says the team gave Sara a short style with a heavy front layer because ''she needed something extreme to work with that jawline.'' Unfortunately, a cut that was meant to be edgy looked just plain awkward. 17 of 18 Best: Norelle (Cycle 3) UPN/Landov (2) Like Joanie, Norelle got more than a mane makeover when the team had her braces removed. But Jay & Co. also gave the quirky contestant a more flattering hairstyle. Says Manuel, ''She's so tall that the long hair dragged her down. It really fought her proportions.'' 18 of 18 Worst: Stacy Ann (Cycle 10) THE CW/Landov (2) Manuel explains, ''Most women don't like having to take out a weave because they paid a lot of money for it.'' In this case, what Stacy Ann got in exchange was a faux-hawk that not even Tyra could rock.