Wet hair at work

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When working in a professional role which involves working with people do you think it looks unprofessional to turn up to work with tied up but obviously wet hair?

Too lazy - I am in work within half an hour of getting up. My hair dries before anyone else gets in. Fail to see how that is lazy!

Depends on the job.

When I worked in an office I would go to the gym in the morning and only take the worst off my hair so it wasn't dripping. BUT I would always in early and would have an hour at least in the office myself before any meetings. I'd also eat my breakfast at my desk (with wet hair) but obviously wouldn't take my breakfast into a presentation or important meeting.. nor would I have done the wet hair and breakfast thing if I was a receptionist or similar.

wouldn't bother me in the slightest and I think if it really did bother someone they would be clutching at straws a bit to find something to criticise

I think in an office or retail environment it looks awful and unprofessional, sorry.

It sends off the message that the person didn't allow enough time to get ready. That in itself presents as a reflection on time keeping and image.

i wouldnt think someone having wet hair made them look unprofessional , i would think they got caught in the rain or just washed it , is it really a problem , do some people really judge people on wet or dry hair .

"It sends off the message that the person didn't allow enough time to get ready. That in itself presents as a reflection on time keeping and image."

See in my field of work, the assumption would more likely be that the person has run or cycled in to work or come straight from the pool or gym and that would reflect WELL on them.

If I run to work and take the longer route, I sometimes have my shower when I get into work, so have wet hair for a white, but this is 90 minutes before the pupils arrive.

Sometimes I rely on my cycle to work to dry my hair and again I may arrive with slightly damp hair, again this is 90 minutes before pupils arrive.

Most days I do arrive well groomed!

I tie my hair up in a bun for work, sometimes it's wet but it's so hot on the ward that it dries quickly.

I asked the clinical leader and she said she thinks my hair looks the tidiest. It's naturally curly so ties back better when wet. And once it's hometime I have nice long waves when I let it down.

Patients are always saying how smart I look too.

Almost cross post with bad guider.

if someone is arriving at work prepared and on time, having showered, put on clean, ironed clothes (and possibly make-up if that's their thing) with their hair combed back into a pony or a bun/twist then I think it's pretty safe to say they aren't lazy when it comes to their appearance (or their work)- i'd say it's more to do with the fact that they know wet hair has fuck all to do with how well you do your job!

I wouldn't for any job, but I am vain picky with my appearance.

Wouldn't be bothered at all if someone else's was, be they my solicitor or person scanning my crisps at Tesco, as long as it wasn't dripping everywhere!

Argh. I think I'm possibly the most unprofessional person ever. I frequently go to work with wet hair, sometimes it was loose too (I had a perm. If I showered before bed, it was frizzy in the morning. If I blow dried, it was frizzy. If I showered at 6:30, and left loose, it'd be dry by 9, I just happened to start work at 8!!)
I occasionally wear (knee length) skirts with no hose at all, and wear open sandals or flip flops with trousers.
And yet I still manage to have people complement me on my appearance and I can still do my job. (Which has in the past, involved me wearing a pretty blouse, pencil skirt and steel toe capped boots, lying on a roller board inspecting the underside of a trailer.)

Add message | Report | Message poster lifesgreatquestions Sat 17-Aug-13 12:15:16
It will look like the person was unprepared, hadn't left themselves enough time to finish getting themselves together for the day. And that gives off a negative message to the customer, are they going to be like that with my project?

Every weekday I am up by 5am, that is almost four hours before the school days starts - it is not a matter of time!

This is pretty mad, I cant believe some attititutes towards hair, is it for real?! Maybe its the difference of working environments perhaps? Definitely all the most keen bean people Ive worked with are the ones who cycle in/run during the lunch break etc, wet hair doesnt mean laziness certainly.

And Ive certainly never measured a collegues professionalism by their appearance/wet hair - this is madness! It must be down to different professions - In many I would say that theres no time at all to bother drying your hair - this isnt laziness its because youre on a 96 hour week and any time wasted drying hair is a massive waste of time.

Yes, my boss used to come to work with wet hair every morning, like she had jumped from shower into car into work.

It depends, you can tie up wet hair so it looks like you've made effort, or you can throw it up. Messy wet hair looks unprofessional, neat wet hair looks like you're efficient enough to fit a gym session in before work/in your lunch break.

I think in an office or retail environment it looks awful and unprofessional, sorry

Sorry, but working in retail is rarely "professional". A professional has a profession they practice, and image is less important than expertise, probity, experience, and knowledge.

I have worked in retail and considered it a professional environment, I actually found that expectations about personal appearance were much higher than in my teaching job. I was also paid twice as much!

If I cycle on wearing a helmet I wash my hair in the showers. A brief rub dry, no hairdrier, comb through and start work. If I was to cycle without the helmet could prob get away without washing but not safe in traffic, have been knocked off this year and I chose to wear helmet and start with damp hair, never thought anyone could have an issue with that...

Chimney I think you are being needlessly nitpicky about the use of "unprofessional" as relating to working in retail.

One does not have to work in " a profession" for "unprofessional" to be relevant.

I agree with badguider. Nowadays it implies youve got up earlier to go to the gym and/or cycle in which implies that you take things like healh, exercise, the environment etc eriously and that reflects well on you.

In the finance industry it is almost de riguer now for the top guys to cycle in and they are always in a state of undress, just out of the shower etc first thing in the morning, noone bats an eyelid (sadly, they are mainly still blokes though)

Certainly in office environments, I think that groomed to the eyeballs look for women is starting to die out a bit and looks a bit "noughties.

I've always been pretty career minded, and part of that involved looking as if I was ready for the next step up at work all the time.

Bloody hell. That sounds incredibly tiring.

But I am old and cynical and realised long ago that most 'careers' are all pointless crap

In the finance industry it is almost de riguer now for the top guys to cycle in

Exactly. To me, wet hair first thing says that person has just cycled in, or been swimming or to the gym.

Not spent 40 minutes spraying herself with Elnett like some tragic wannabe.

I am very career minded, I still sometimes arrive with damp hair and often arrive in my cycling/ running gear.

i do it, but that's because my hair is thick and makes it easier to put up for work, as my hair has to be up.

usually it's nearly dried by the time i'm there and 1 day of the week it's under a hat so you can't see it.