All 16 Queer Eye makeovers ranked (so yes, get the tissues)
Queer Eye season 1 episode 2 production still. Image: Courtesy of Netflix
6. Neal, “Saving Sasquatch” (S1, E2)
Let’s get one thing straight: if Queer Eye taught us anything, it’s that a drastic haircut and a well-needed shave can completely change someone’s entire demeanor. Neal’s makeover is one of the episodes that proved this statement without a doubt.
Neal is a 36-year-old app developer and self-proclaimed dork who has trouble opening up to people. It’s apparent the second the Fab Five meet him, and you can see just how rigid and withholding he is to the guys. He’s lost in a mess of hair, and it’s kind of a security blanket for him.
His house is as much a mess as he is. There’s dog hair (and probably human hair) everywhere, rolling around the floor in tumbleweeds, but the space itself is really great. He hasn’t had people over to his apartment in years and he’s okay with that. He compartmentalizes everything, from his work to his family and friends, and he doesn’t feel comfortable mixing those aspects of his life. But the Fab Five came in to change that.
He loved cooking and entertaining, and just stopped. With a big launch party for his app coming up, the Fab Five wanted to help Neal let that wall down and come into himself as a successful adult. To absolutely no one’s surprise, once they groom the yeti, the confidence is already boosted. They even get the dog groomed! Awwwww!
Once they got his confidence boosted, they gave Neal the perfect space to entertain guests again. They finished the deck that he neglected, and gave him an apartment fit for a successful, young bachelor. They also got him a new roommate: a robotic vacuum, so no more dog hair!
Neal, the man who flinched at the thought of hugs at the beginning of the episode, pours his heart out to the boys after his makeover to thank them for getting him out of a dark place and giving him genuine joy for the first time in a long time. It’s an emotional moment and a perfect example of the heart that the new Queer Eye has. He even gives the guys real hugs before they leave!
If that “Yaaaaas Queen!” he says to himself while putting on cologne doesn’t show how much of an impact this makeover had, I don’t know what to tell you!