Career woman hair

[clover]

I am going to a job where I have to where suits everyday and look very professional. I have some bangs, and I want to stop blowdrying, so I think that an updo would probably work the best. How do you guys do your hair when you go to work?

[mugglemomof3]

Originally Posted by clover

I am going to a job where I have to where suits everyday and look very professional. I have some bangs, and I want to stop blowdrying, so I think that an updo would probably work the best. How do you guys do your hair when you go to work?

Most of the time, even when I'm wearing my dresses and heels, I wear my hair down. The only part I blowdry are my bangs. Sometimes I wear my hair up in a sort of french twist, but I have to use so many clippies to hold the layers up, I don't think it looks very good. Then sometimes I french braid it and tuck under the ends. But then again, my hair is short and fairly wavy/curly.

I personally think a low ponytail (you know- at the nape), a french twist, a frenchbraid, or just down and natural all look professional. Who says you have to look like a man?

Good luck with your new job

[LilyMunster]

French twist or cinnabun w aloe gel for wispy's. A ficcare makes any updo look classy. It is my grown-up jaw clip.

LM

[clover]

i just looked at the ficcare website. which ones do you like? i have no idea what to do w/ them. i wish that their tutorials worked!

[Lois]

You can put the back up in a bun, and if you want to put up your bangs, twist them neatly on top of your head and secure with a comb or clip. I'm wearing this style right now.

[moon_maiden006]

I think a bun is usually pretty easy and classy...my friend Tara, who has bangs, usually sweeps them to the side with bobby pins or pins them back if she has a classic bun.

Half-up, half-down is a good staple. (like the mullet, but classy--business in front, party in back...lol)

[Madam Librarian]

I work in a law firm, but am officially considered 'support staff' so my dress code is business casual. I go full throttle business for meetings with vendors and such, but mostly I am pretty business casual.
I too have bangs, and try to shun the blowdryer whenever possible. I still blowdry my bangs, and have been known to hit them with the curling iron on occasion. The only updo that stays with any reliability for me (right now) is a french twist. I have plenty of hair toys to dress it up, or down, or whatever. I am also a big fan of the low ponytail. Very business like.
If you have more hair than me, I would imagine that any style of bun would be cool in the business environment. Lots of the longer haired paralegals (and the one lonely longhair attorney we have) allow their hair to be loose quite often.
I think neatness is the key. If your hair looks neat, whether up or down, I don't see it causing any problems in the workplace.
Good luck with the new job, career woman!

[Laoise]

A tucked French braid always looks amazing, in my opinion. I can't pull it off, though. My French braids are always sloppy.

A good fake is Dianyla's English braid, and tuck that up. It also handily makes my braid look a million times thicker than it actually is, since you can only see the thick and not the skinny-tiny ends.

[clover]

I feel you! I am going to be an attorney, and I feel like there are no long haired attorneys out there! boo!

[teela1978]

Maybe you should watch some ally mcbeal re-runs. 2 of those attorneys had very long hair. I remember it often being down too. i wonder if that show is on dvd yet...

[lookingglass]

1/2 up with the sides in twists and a fancy barette. It stays out of my face but the length can still be admired. I think I look too severe with a full up do.

[HairColoredHair]

Single braids, buns with pretty hairsticks, Figure-8 buns... all kinds of options.

[lyrl]

If hair is much past shoulder length, I think it looks too sexy to wear it down. If it gets much past bsl, I don't think it looks professional in a low ponytail, either. At your length, though, I imagine either style would work well in a business environment.

For longer hair, french twists are very good. Hair does get too long for a french twist, though; I haven't tried recently (I don't have any combs or clips), but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't work for me anymore.

I currently alternate between an inside-out bun, cinnamon bun, knot bun, single braid down the back, and french braid. My everyday work is very casual (I wear the updos because I work around heavy machinery and it would be dangerous to have long loose hair), but I wear the same styles to meetings with customers.

I have seen both a woman and a man with waist+ length hair wear a low ponytail with more elastics at intervals down the length. That looked professional to me, also.

[Ursula]

Updos of all sorts are good for a professional look, as long as they are smooth and tidy.

What works for you will depend on the length and thickness of your hair. My hair is at hip length, and quite thick, and I wear either a cinnamon roll bun or a figure-8 when I want to look my most professional. I generally fasten with either Amish pins when I want the most professional look, since they are both secure and invisible.

The main thing is smooth and tidy, and also secure and comfortable, so you don't have to redo it or have it come undone unexpectedly. I would suggest looking in the journals of people with similar hair length, thickness and type as you, for ideas. Nothing flashy, to draw attention to the fact that your hair is unusual.

It is also reasonably professional to wear hair down, with the front combed back and held with a barrette. Probably not for the most professional situations, such as an interview, but if you are having a day in the office, something that is professional but not uber-professional, that should be okay. You definitely need something holding it back out of your way though, so that you don't have to keep pushing it back or fussing with it.

[lorig713]

I usually keep my hair in a braid or what we call a high multi pony (scrunchy to secure at the top and banded about every five or six inches along the length of my ponytail). I know it's not terribly professional but it's the do's we've mastered and keeps my hair safe and relatively tangle-free. It always looks neat at least. I imagine my boss doesn't mind too much as she's kept me around almost 16 years now.