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selderon
March 17th, 2011, 07:58 PM
One of the big objections I've heard to long hair is that it is difficult or impossible to keep long hair looking professional. People often comment that long hair looks juvenile or "fine for rolling around in the bedroom, but not appropriate for the boardroom".

What do you think constitutes "professional-looking" hair?
In what industry do you work?
What styles do you like for professional settings?

Finnenna
March 17th, 2011, 08:10 PM
I think any sleek, simple, and neat hair do is professional. A couple pretty things in the hair is nice, too - nothing excessive. Up or down, it doesn't matter - just nothing that looks haphazard.

I'm a student so anything goes around campus. ><

Personally, I like things that are swept elegantly away from my face and pinned/clipped back. Since my hair is short, I can let it hang down, but when it gets longer, up into a bun it will go. Or braids.

Maelyssa
March 17th, 2011, 08:29 PM
What do you think constitutes "professional-looking" hair?
Smooth & sleek whether the hair is wavy, curly or straight it seems all of the 'professionals' I've seen taken seriously have not had one single stray hair or frizzy halo amongst them. :D

In what industry do you work?
While I'm no longer in the industry I've spent the past 10 years or so working in customer service call centers for a range of companies. I've done travel, retirement assets, banking, healthcare.

What styles do you like for professional settings?
I personally love long hair & always will but not everyone in the professional world agrees. That said I've seen lots of shoulder length or above styles which are always down & frizz free in some modern haircut.
I have seen more than a few long hairs as well. Out of all of them only one girl who was my trainer wore her hair always down. She became my long hair idol in real life actually. It was hip length, straight with tapered sides, blunt hemline & sideswept bangs.
I've seen men in suits wearing low pony tails including one with waist length dreads pulled back in a low pony tail.
The other ladies I can think of liked a variety of single braids, buns, low pony tails & hair down but no matter what the style there was never a single stray strand of hair. All very sleeked & polished looking.

Hope this helps!

P.S. My own hair is NONE of that. It takes a curling iron to make my hair curly or a hot iron to make it straight. I did that for work daily for a few years & ended up having to chop my hip length hair to above the shoulders to get rid of the very damaged hair I had from burning it daily.
I have that somewhat wavy, kinky, bedroom type of hair as I once heard it being referred to. The kind you mentioned that is good between the sheets but not the boardroom. So at this point I'm following my artistic, creative side & avoiding the boardroom LOL

frizzinator
March 17th, 2011, 08:33 PM
An updo looks professional, so I guess you are talking about long hair hanging down.

I think profesional hair means more than just attractive hair. "Professional" hair would not distract anyone. An example of a distraction is the necessity of moving one's hair out of the way, which is likely to happen while growing it out.

So a great advantage of having long hair is the ease with which it can be put up, and it stays securely up all day so that the wearer can completely forget about it.

ElusiveMuse
March 17th, 2011, 08:35 PM
I laugh when people say long hair can't look professional. I think buns and updos are very elegant and can be incredibly professional. Much more classic than some short, trendy style!

I'm in academia, where there is more eccentricity in dress and personal habits, but a bun looks professional anywhere.

littlenvy
March 17th, 2011, 08:36 PM
I work in an office and the only two things that look unprofessional to me are:

- Extentions. Leave those for your night out.
- High ponytails. You are no longer in highschool.

I don't believe in women having to straighten their hair to look professional. As long as its clean and not looking like you just got out of bed, your fine. Leave it down or put it up, either is good. :)

ellen732
March 17th, 2011, 08:43 PM
I would agree that a bun, braid or low ponytail looks professional. When I wear my hair down at work I pull half of it back or tuck it behind my ears. I can't stand my hair in my face anyway.

Tigermama
March 17th, 2011, 08:53 PM
I agree. neatness is the key and nothing to far from "mainstream" , unless the workplace is extra cool! For long hair with no bangs, a headband and ponytail works well, as does some type of twist or updo. A bun is alway classy and in style. The low messy bun and side low messy are popular I noticed. Many ladies here seem to have sculpted front and sides to their long professional hair. I have seen a few with one length and long at business meetings, usually up. I think long hair in the boardroom is an asset. It gets peolpe's attention for some reason!
I work in a health care so mine is up and away. I have to make sure it looks super duper conformist. All one color (feasably natural), no frizz, and lasts all day. I use a little aloe vera, headband, and claw clip or french braid tucked under, and bobbypins on the sides.

dmitri
March 17th, 2011, 09:18 PM
What do you think constitutes "professional-looking" hair?
Neat, not too elaborate or distracting. I tend to think of hair up and beingmore professional looking.

In what industry do you work?
None at the moment, unless you count our slowly budding business. At the moment we're selling hand-made candles by word of month, but we plan to get more organized with online and brick-and-mortar sales with more products. I consider myself the "fragrance designer" and co-owner. Anyway... technically I'm unemployed since business hasn't really gotten off the ground yet. I would also like to teach yoga, and I plan on taking a certification class in the Fall.

What styles do you like for professional settings?
Well, at my last real job (which doesn't quite qualify, since I didn't get paid half the time!), my hair was only long enough for me to pony, so... yeah. But I think a french braid or maybe certain buns would look professional on me.

I think that the "general public" would probably only consider a man with quite short hair and a "clean shave" to be "professional looking" though...

Roseate
March 17th, 2011, 09:27 PM
I think that the "general public" would probably only consider a man with quite short hair and a "clean shave" to be "professional looking" though...

I think males definitely get more pressure to have short hair in "professional" settings. I've never heard anyone call a tidy updo unprofessional for a woman, but men get the side-eye in certain offices even if their long hair is always neatly contained.

Rivanariko
March 17th, 2011, 09:51 PM
I think anything sleekly done and non-distracting will look professional. I always picture a low chignon when I think of professional hair, personally.

In a lot of ways, I'd say that long hair can be MORE professional looking than a shorter do. Chin-length hair is going to fall in your face from time to time and you'll have to be brushing it back. When I put my hair in a bun in the morning, it stays until I get home in the evening and take it down and I don't give it a second thought.

I work in retail right now as a cake decorator, so having my hair up rather than just back is important since i don't want my braid to fall in someone's cake! But I also train horses and teach riding lessons, and in that case a french braid works best as it holds the wispies in better and fits neatly under my helmet. I'm still working on the best and most professional look for shows, so far I've got a french braid rolled up into a sort of very low chignon at the nape of my neck, but I'm still not entirely happy with how it sits.

selderon
March 17th, 2011, 09:53 PM
I think males definitely get more pressure to have short hair in "professional" settings. I've never heard anyone call a tidy updo unprofessional for a woman, but men get the side-eye in certain offices even if their long hair is always neatly contained.

That tends to be more intense for very conservative industries, such as banking, law enforcement and the like. Although DH once had long, beautiful hair he would never consider wearing it that way now. Because of his chosen career, he keeps it military short. I'm not sure how to feel about that. He's gorgeous now, but I'm curious what he'd look like with long flowing waves.

I wonder whether the women writing hair advice articles for the professional woman simply lack good long hair models. Six weeks ago I would not have imagined it possible to do such a variety of updos as I've discovered... and now I think I've just seen the tip of the iceberg!

Rivanariko
March 17th, 2011, 10:01 PM
That tends to be more intense for very conservative industries, such as banking, law enforcement and the like. Although DH once had long, beautiful hair he would never consider wearing it that way now. Because of his chosen career, he keeps it military short. I'm not sure how to feel about that. He's gorgeous now, but I'm curious what he'd look like with long flowing waves.


DF considers his hair to be one of the negatives about his career with the Air Force. He had such lovely long hair when we were in high school, but has to keep it short now. *sigh* I miss running my fingers through it...

elbow chic
March 17th, 2011, 10:03 PM
Definitely a low bun is always a safe choice, I think. I agree, that strikes me as being even more conservative than a short cut.

It probably IS hard to have professional-looking long hair if your definition of "long" is an APLish layered style.

eezepeeze
March 17th, 2011, 11:20 PM
What do you think constitutes "professional-looking" hair?

I think one of the most important things is that the hair be clean. I also think that hair that is pulled off the face is more appropriate than lanks of hair covering the face. Also, there should be no danger of the hair "attacking" your co-workers by getting caught on their clothing, in their food, etc. When choosing to wear my hair down, I make sure that it is well-groomed, combed free of tangles, pushed away from my face and lays behind my shoulders. A headband or barrette keeps it from looking wild and unkempt.
In what industry do you work?

Right now, I am in school to change careers, but I have worked in education for the last 10 years. I was actually employed by a private company whose main clientele is foreign professionals. It is a very conservative environment. Most of the clients are males coming from a patriarchal society, so any display of sensuality is strongly discouraged. Free-flowing hair, while not forbidden, is not really appropriate. Hair tends to be midback and shorter, although we do have one teacher who has waist length hair. It is always off the face, usually straightened, of a natural color and with few accessories.

What styles do you like for professional settings?

I like buns and twists with a poof or braided headband at the front to add interest and make them less severe. French and Dutch braids are good, too. Sometimes I will do Elizabethan Hair Taping, but use pins to secure the hair rather than ribbon. In my career area, it is important not to appear too casual, so it's sometimes hard to show individuality. However, you can do that with a hair accessory, as long as it's not too outlandish.

That's been my experience in "career" hair. I know other industries are less conservative, so it depends on your line of work.

One of my favorite styles is a simple rope braid bun. It's interesting and different, but still professional. Some other favorites are a half-French braid going into a braided bun, a peacock twist, a low English braid, a sock bun, half up in a barrette and then pulled back into a low or high pony. I often do a poof because it is a trendy look that keeps the styles modern. Same with the braided headband in the front.

Phexlyn
March 18th, 2011, 03:20 AM
I think one of the most important things is that the hair be clean. I also think that hair that is pulled off the face is more appropriate than lanks of hair covering the face. Also, there should be no danger of the hair "attacking" your co-workers by getting caught on their clothing, in their food, etc. When choosing to wear my hair down, I make sure that it is well-groomed, combed free of tangles, pushed away from my face and lays behind my shoulders. A headband or barrette keeps it from looking wild and unkempt.
I think eezepeeze has mentioned some very important things here. Professional hair needs to be clean, non-distracting and must never get "all over the place".
I disagree with professional hair being sleek - a friend of mine has really curly hair which will never look sleek the way straight hair does. But she looks very professional if she pins it back into a simple bun.
Sadly, the more professional it gets, the less feminine you get to be, which rules out flowing long hair (which is kind of distracting as well). I wonder why you usually can get away with shoulder to APL-length loose hair but not with waist length or longer, even if you have it in a half-up. It's just not fair, as is expecting men to cut off their hair and keep it short for so many jobs.

I'm in a university/student/teaching situation, so we don't have to look too professional. I do take care not to have really messy buns though, because that's what the students wear.

Panth
March 18th, 2011, 07:28 AM
Depending on the conservatism of the job, I would say the most "professional" looking hair for women is a low or medium-height bun with no fancy hairtoys - for the most professional, a plain, non-plaited bun with invisible stuff keeping it up (bobby pins, hair pins, spin pins - stuff that is hidden in the hair). Personally, I think that's more professional-looking and smarter-looking than short hair. The only short style I would say is on par with that would be a severe chin-length bob on a 1a/b.

For men, personally, I would say a sleek low ponytail is the most professional. I suppose for 'BSL' + some sort of low bun would be needed. But I love me long haired men. Many people would say professional men's hair would have to be cut short and off the collar.

For me, the main thing is it's clean, sleek, totally off the face (minus a fringe, in the case of women - but no face-framing layers - nothing loose in the front that's longer than eyebrows) and up off the collar. In no way should it get in your way or other people's way. *shrug* But then that's talking v. v. "professional" and conservative professions - lawyer, banker, etc.

When I went to interviews (for PhD in science), I had clean hair in a sleeked-back log roll with my flexi-8 (which has no danglies) for all of them except Cambridge. For Cambridge, I did a plaited cinnabun with invisible pinning. I felt my flexi was too informal for that institution and my non-plaited cinnabuns always fall down or I would have done one of those.

turtlelover
March 18th, 2011, 07:43 AM
I think long hair can look very professional, but in my personal opinion, the ends need to be neatly trimmed for it to appear that way. Thin, lanky, fairytale ends just will never look professional or well kept to me. But, hair is all a matter of opinions!

brunetka
March 18th, 2011, 11:06 AM
I'm in biological research. Industry labs tend to be a little "neater" as far as dress codes go than academic labs, but both are quite casual. Most people dress somewhere between casual and business-casual. The main requirements are to be appropriately covered clothing-wise, clean, and neat (no holes, or stains), and to not wear anything that poses a danger when working around chemicals, bunsen burners, etc. The major safety rules are about open-toe shoes, exposed skin, high heels, and loose clothing and hair. Long hair is fine if it's tied back. Among research staff at universities, any length, style or color goes as long as you are safe. In industry and government labs, they might be a bit more conservative about color and things like dreadlocks. Generally people are pretty relaxed about personal style, but if you want to advance in your career, you still have to consider how your appearance may be judged by those making such decisions.

I think "professional" is any style that looks like you are generally clean, organized, serious, and put-together. The overall appearance should be of a person who can be trusted with whatever tasks you are hired to do. It's obviously going to be more flexible for people working in artsy industries and less flexible for those in client-oriented positions in industries like law, finance, or medicine. I think a neat updo with simple non-distracting hair clips is perfectly professional. I think the bigger issue is some people viewing long hair as old-fashioned or overly "earthy" and how that might affect someone in an industry that values being "modern", "progressive", and "tough"

spidermom
March 18th, 2011, 11:19 AM
I think professional hair is neatly put away so the bearer cannot play with it. Even the most modern short hair cut is unprofessional to me if it's constantly twirled, raked through with fingers, etc.

akka naeda
March 18th, 2011, 01:06 PM
I've mentioned this before on a similar thread.
I know a woman with knee-length/calf-length hair which she wears up when she is working. She's a JP and she also has some high-powered job in the City. And, she also has S&P hair, for anyone thinking that two-tone silver hair looks unprofessional. It's also about the clothing you wear to go with your hairstyle.

Today, I saw an assistant in a clothing shop with bleached hair and matching TB extensions; you could see on the back of her head where they were fixed in. It didn't actually look too bad at a distance in terms of "professionality", but then the thickness was perhaps half that of my hair and it was stick straight. I think if it had been thicker, or curly so it gave the impression of more being "all over the place" then it would have looked wrong. And she would very definitely have looked wrong in an office, a school, a restaurant, MacDonalds, in fact pretty well anywhere else. Except perhaps a night club. Her makeup and excessive use of spray-on tan also pretty well excluded her from anything else. Oh, and she cetainly wouldn't have got a job in an upmarket clothing shop, only a clothing chain.

Jovana
November 14th, 2022, 10:18 AM
A great blow dry and treatment, with silky wavy hair as result, is absolutely professional.

angel-baby
November 14th, 2022, 12:20 PM
I'm a wine educator at a tasting room, and part of my job includes tableside service.
There are no official guidelines for our hair -it can be any color, any style, as long as it's clean- but I usually wear mine down and curled or in double Dutch pigtails if I'm on the service floor. If I'm hosting a class or a private tasting, it depends on the guests. Recently I held a private tasting for a group of women lawyers, so I went for something a little more polished and classic -single French braid.

Overall, our vibe is really laid back, though. As long as you do your job and get along well with the guests, you can do whatever. One of my coworkers who is a server did knee-length neon green and black box braids for a couple weeks and our customers loved it!! She regularly switches up her braids or wigs with different lengths and fun colors, and it's always fun seeing what she does next.

illicitlizard
November 14th, 2022, 07:52 PM
Bun - or any updo where the hair can't drop into anything - I work in a lab so the only professional requirement is that it's up and out of the way if long enough to be put up :p

mermaid lullaby
November 15th, 2022, 09:23 AM
So interesting to read these.

I live in a rural community and there's no professional look here.

Ashtaroth
November 15th, 2022, 06:04 PM
Bun - or any updo where the hair can't drop into anything - I work in a lab so the only professional requirement is that it's up and out of the way if long enough to be put up :p

Same here. I work in manufacturing so long enough for a bun is actually more safe than shorter hair in a ponytail. I’ve had to play with different bun styles to fit it all comfortably under a hardhat.

maborosi
November 15th, 2022, 10:37 PM
I personally believe buns to be professional- but this is especially coming from my experience in the restaurant industry with knee+ length hair. Anything less than a properly secured bun was very problematic.

lapushka
November 16th, 2022, 04:03 AM
Anything that fits with the appropriate dress-code. I mean I doubt one would go to extremes by dressing one way then doing your hair the complete "opposite". I think a suit (both for men & women) comes with either the bun or the shoulder (or slightly longer) cut.

embee
November 17th, 2022, 06:55 AM
So much depends on the job. For many office jobs, anything flirty or sexy could be questionable. For food or machinery jobs, a bun with no dangling bits would be a *must* just for safety. I've not worked in a professional position for many decades, and when I did it was the miniskirt era, so..... most of the girls were wearing those, and the dresscodes were in freak-out mode! :D The women in management (esp. upper level, the few that were) wore knee length skirt-suits and pumps and as I recall all had short hair.

neko_kawaii
November 17th, 2022, 07:58 AM
In my first profession, braids were common. Single, double, hanging or tucked under a hat.

In my second profession anything goes now but buns are traditional.



Just as general fashion changes, workplace fashions also change.

spirals
November 17th, 2022, 11:07 PM
I work in an office and the only two things that look unprofessional to me are:

- Extentions. Leave those for your night out.
- High ponytails. You are no longer in highschool.

I don't believe in women having to straighten their hair to look professional. As long as its clean and not looking like you just got out of bed, your fine. Leave it down or put it up, either is good. :)

That's the problem with curly/wurly hair: sometimes through no fault of your own it does look like you just got out of bed. :laugh:

Glitch
November 18th, 2022, 01:49 AM
Fascinating throwback thread! Lool, I’m glad Ariana Grande really popularized the high ponytail look! I love it! Chic and pro. If only my scalp could handle it, sigh.

Otherwise, as a natural wavy, I know that sometimes frizz is impossible to avoid if you really leave it out in its true state. Let alone curly and kinky hair! In conclusion, any look passes as professional in my book as long as it’s neat-looking. This includes fun colors, extensions, and haircuts on the more interesting side. I work in the legal field and have still seen it all. As long as the hair or hairstyles haven’t looked jarring, it’s been okay. Around a decade ago/time of this thread though, I personally (and maaany many companies) definitely wouldn’t have been fine with most looks deviating from the typical plain styles. I’m honestly shocked at how much things have changed! I also don’t have to worry anymore about frying my hair with a straightener on the daily just to appear presentable. Good riddance!

lapushka
November 18th, 2022, 04:49 AM
That's the problem with curly/wurly hair: sometimes through no fault of your own it does look like you just got out of bed. :laugh:

In the 80s, my how things can change, that was a "thing". LOL!

-Aithne-
November 18th, 2022, 12:39 PM
Same here. I work in manufacturing so long enough for a bun is actually more safe than shorter hair in a ponytail. I’ve had to play with different bun styles to fit it all comfortably under a hardhat.
Please tell me what styles you like best under a hardhat :) I would really like to try them since I like hats. Right now I have a sun hat that is divided/split in the back and I slide the root? base? of my bun in that, but then I have to wear my hair really low on my nape and I prefer it to be up higher.

I think buns look professional :) If I had to go on a job interview, I'd probably pull it back in a severe bun...but leave my bangs down but put away my side wispies. I read somewhere else on the forum that Ficcares are professional looking hair toys, so I guess I'd go with a Ficcare and a cinnabun, maybe? I think my chameleon makes my hair look too big...? My job is probably considered "office job/professional services" but I work from home.

It's been interesting reading this thread :) Thank you!

Ashtaroth
November 18th, 2022, 05:15 PM
-Ainthe- My current favourite is 2 braids threaded criss cross like in the Amish style thread. A braided bun fits as well, but only because I can place the adjustment band of the hardhat under the bun and the bun itself tucks into the space between the hardhat shell and the head hammock.

Todd
November 19th, 2022, 07:29 PM
Please tell me what styles you like best under a hardhat :) I would really like to try them since I like hats.

Hardhats are kind of different from most hats in that they have a space between the plastic shell of the hat and the "webbing" underneath it which is the actual part that contacts your head. If you can position your bun past the spaces in the webbing (typically, there are four spaces) there is plenty of room for even a very large bun. You just have to remember to be very careful when you remove the hat.... The webbing can pull on the bun.

Simsy
November 19th, 2022, 11:17 PM
Please tell me what styles you like best under a hardhat :) I would really like to try them since I like hats. Right now I have a sun hat that is divided/split in the back and I slide the root? base? of my bun in that, but then I have to wear my hair really low on my nape and I prefer it to be up higher.

It's been interesting reading this thread :) Thank you!

One trick I use when I know I need a hardhat at some point, is to go with a wide, flat bun and sit it really high; basically right on top. I also keep the back strap of my hardhat undone entirely. That way, I can just perch the hardhat on top and it sits basically right where it needs to without disturbing anything else. This works mostly because my hardhat can be left at the doors of the trailer while I unload inside and reapplied when I need to get back on the ground, so might not be practical for non-truckies.

Back when I was in and out of hardhat all day, I used a series of small braids wrapped around each other to form either a headband on my head, or a bun similar to a vortex bun; depending on where they were all positioned and how many flyaways I was dealing with that week. Add a scarf over the top so nothing gets involved with the hardhat webbing, and I was good to go for at least a couple of days.

Simsy
November 19th, 2022, 11:25 PM
Actually had to ask this only a couple of days ago. I found brightly coloured braiding extensions, and really wanted to try them. Having never really needed to check the “permitted hair” section of a dress code (I have worn buns or ponytails since I started working), and never thinking I would need to; I rang and asked the safety manager…who had also never needed to check that section, wasn’t even sure they had a section for hair, and never been asked to clarify exactly what was allowed or not.

10 mins and a quick read-through later; basically neat, tidy, and safe (I.e. long hair must be tied back in some way). As far as we can tell, as long as I don’t show up with a swastika or similar braided onto my head, colourful braids will be just fine. Since I wasn’t planning on going full AH for fun hair colours, I have ordered braiding hair and plan on having fun with it.

Glitch
November 20th, 2022, 01:52 AM
Actually had to ask this only a couple of days ago. I found brightly coloured braiding extensions, and really wanted to try them. Having never really needed to check the “permitted hair” section of a dress code (I have worn buns or ponytails since I started working), and never thinking I would need to; I rang and asked the safety manager…who had also never needed to check that section, wasn’t even sure they had a section for hair, and never been asked to clarify exactly what was allowed or not.

10 mins and a quick read-through later; basically neat, tidy, and safe (I.e. long hair must be tied back in some way). As far as we can tell, as long as I don’t show up with a swastika or similar braided onto my head, colourful braids will be just fine. Since I wasn’t planning on going full AH for fun hair colours, I have ordered braiding hair and plan on having fun with it.

Hahaha! I love this so much. I'm glad you went for it!