Wet hair at work

[FutTheShuckUp]

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?

I wouldnt think a person couldn't do their job any less because of it but it would seem a bit unprofessional.Iv worked in retail and a business environment but it would have been deemed unprofessional. I think it would seem a bit unprofessional to turn up with really wet hair, if a bit damp not so much. I would have this view whether it was a male or female.

Is it mentioned in your company's dress code Fut? And was this your colleague's first "offence" or had she been spoken to about coming to work with wet hair before?

I think having a disciplinary over it is silly though! I can understand if its a customer facing role they may not think it was a acceptable but really could they not just have spoken to her first??
Plus i think retail is a profession. I would never work in retail again though you have to have the patience of a saint.

A formal warning for having wet hair!!! Thats literally Insane! Would the boss have done the same to a man? Id be really pissed off with such unprofessional questioning of my professionalism!!

I have no clue about employment law but is it possible to dispute/contest a formal warning and have it removed from your record?

A formal warning for wet hair! Bloody hell. Bet they wouldn't give a bloke with wet look gel in his hair a second glance!

I'd prefer people coming into my home to be clean and smell nice tbh, as long as it wasn't dripping and was tied back if long.

I am not sure it is really a mixed response, the majority I think think its a non-issue. might be worth mentioning to your poor colleague.

LOL she should stop washing her hair from Sunday night to Friday night - see what he has to say then

There are some mighty pretentious people on MN - funny which threads bring them out

OMG if this is how people are judged at work, I'm glad I don't.
My hair takes several hours to dry naturally and at least 30 mins with a hair dryer, which I wouldn't use under any condition as it looks awful then. I'm afraid my hair is washed every morning, fingers and curl cream run through and left, not even combed. If I have an appointment or going somewhere smart, I tie it up.
I don't care how other people have their hair as long as they have washed it and made a bit of an effort.

Can't believe how many people are saying its not ok!

I think 'towel dry' so wet not dripping is totally fine. As long as its neat who cares if its wet or dry? My hair looks very nice when done into a plait - and that only works when it's wet or greasy so I think wet is a better look!

I work on a hospital ward and some of my nursing colleagues come in with tied up wet hair. It doesn't effect their ability to do their job so who cares?

To be honest they do better than me washing their hair at silly o'clock in the morning.

This is the sort of thread which castigates women who don't wear makeup to work

You mean we have to wear make-up to be professonal? Gosh, why didn't someone tell me that before? I could have saved the 4 years I spent on my PhD, by, oh, I don't know, learning advanced mascara techniques for looking "professional" as I operated the cash till.

To all the people saying that they would think that someone who hadn't bothered to blow-dry their hair might not bother to finish off a project properly, have you ever considered that it might work the other way? If someone always has perfectly blow-dried hair, impeccable make-up or whatever then perhaps the conclusion that people will come to is that they are obsessed with appearances and unable to focus on anything in-depth??
Or maybe any truly professioanal person wouldn't actually give a crap about appearances and would judge a person on how they did their job?

It never even occurred to me that wet hair might be a problem. When I worked in the city (summer only though), I would wash hair, tie back in a French plait and go to work. I have incredibly thick hair that can easily take me an hour to blow dry properly - I have better things to do with my time. Plus even if I did blow dry it, it would usually have frizzed up like crazy after being on the tube!

I can see why in professions where image matters it might be a problem, but for city professionals, I honestly don't think anyone cares.

I'm a professional
I'm not client facing
i never wear makeup and often have tied up wet hair
I wear smart clothes but not always a suit

hasn't hurt my job prospects yet, seeing as I'm judged on my job not how I look

Once again mumsnet has opened my eyes. Who gives a shiny shit if someone's hair is slightly damp in the morning?! I'm gobsmacked. I start each and every day with wet hair (curly; so washed, sprayed with curl booster and scrunched). By the time work properly starts it's mainly dry but.... People will be judging me if it's not dry? Really?! And.... DIRTY hair being preferable over clean, wet hair? REALLY?!

It would make me think they had overslept or couldn't be bothered!

I wonder how many men get talked about for arriving at work with wet hair. as per usual- women slating other women for their (clean) appearance rather than whether they do the job well or not. FFS!

This. We have a person at work that looks like she's just stepped out of a salon. You'd be very impressed when you met her (she's Events/sales) However youd be less impressed when you realised she is crap at her job and couldn't organise her way out of a bag.

Id rather deal with an efficient person that had water flowing off their hair

Wouldn't be a problem for me and it makes me think some people don't get out enough not least because it will generally dry off inside an hour anyway.

My hair has to be tied up ever day, either in a bun or French plait. I wash it every morning and put it up wet. It is far neater in the mornings still wet than the afternoons when it has dried and the split ends are sticking up!

Tuppence - no, not childish, just think people who make a big fuss about minor details that don't matter aren't likely to be in charge of anything. People who are in charge generally focus on performance and stuff that does matter IME. (Although there are always some little Hitlers who someone get towards the top.)

My views may be coloured, however, by having thick, curly hair. Blow drying is Not Good. Washing it the night before and sleeping on it would not be good. I have a long journey to work, so leave home with towel dried hair, by the time I get to work it is almost dry and I just run my fingers through it and shake it out. Far better than arriving with a big bush of frizzy hair.

FFS. Its 2013. Clean hair and body, appropriate clean clothing, good work ethic. Why are we still judging people as lazy for not wanting to waste their time with a hair dryer?

I often have wet hair, neatly tied back, because it's summer and I can't be doing with a hot hair dryer. Burgh.

I always think what we are actually saying is that a woman has to be attractive in order to look professional. And that is a sad and scary thought.

dont your heads get really cold?
i wash and always blow dry my hair ( have afro texture hair) if i go out on the same day my heads gets really cold and i start sneezing and get a runny nose.

ilove - in very cold winter weather, yes. But still prefer to avoid the frizzy bush look!

I turn up to work with wet hair. I come to work to use my brain, not to look pretty.