Locks still grow during lockdown, so home haircuts are becoming a rite of passage during quarantine.
Some celebrities, like soap queen Susan Lucci, take the scissors into their own hands. Others, like Gwen Stefani, pick up the clippers to help out a mullet-loving partner.
And, as Ellen DeGeneres’ mother, Elizabeth, just learned, the results of such cuts can be surprising — and awfully short.
On Thursday, the talk show host decided to celebrate her mother’s 90th birthday with the gift of a brand-new hairstyle, and it didn’t take long before her mom realized this was one present she wouldn’t be able to return.
A video DeGeneres shared to Instagram showed her eagerly buzzing away at the birthday girl’s white curls with electric clippers in hand.
“Ooh! Oh! That’s not … oh!” Elizabeth DeGeneres could be heard sputtering as the cut began.
“It’s not that short, mother!” her daughter shot back. “It’s just taking the edges off.”
But as the clip continued, it became clear there were a lot more edges than the comedian's mother bargained for.
“Why am I letting her do this?” she asked, looking into the camera and shaking her head.
The 62-year-old reminded her mom it was a birthday treat, and when questioned about why she wasn’t using scissors, she simply responded, “Believe me, you don’t want me using scissors.”
But, in retrospect, Mom might have preferred it if Ellen didn’t use clippers, either.
When the newly nonagenarian checked out her close-cropped do in the mirror, the younger DeGeneres asked, “You like it?”
“No, not yet,” DeGeneres' mom said as she ran her fingers over what was left of her hair. “But when I wash it … ooh, you really cut it short!”