Head scarf to work. Yay or Nay?

[secular89]

Hello all!

I suffer from traction alopecia and I have a few patches on some areas on my scalp. Due to this, I have either put my hair in braids, weaves, twists, crochet etc. I treat my hair, condition etc etc but my hair was just taking its time to grow. So lockdown comes, I was furloughed, and I thought- fuck it, I'm just going to take a break from all these hairstyles and let my hair be, and only wore a scarf when out and about. I still carried on treating my hair.. conditioning etc.

Since then, my hair is grown back, the patches have nearly grown in and it's finally coming back to life. But now I've start work and resorted to putting weaves in my hair- I really want to take it out and wear a scarf to work, but my friend tells me that this is unprofessional and I should just rock my hair how it is. Well it's easy for her to say as she's got glorious hair (believe me!).

What should I do? Scarf or no scarf to work?

I think yay, wear the scarf . But you can also have days where you rock the hair as is. Your hair has improved, you should minimise traction style and weight via attachments. My aunt once permed my hair and my hair started breaking very badly (my hair is quite thin). So I had a good two years in scarves after just cutting most of it off and allowing it to regrow. There are very elegant styles with scarves out there.

My hair has grown significantly during lockdown, and that's likely due to less combing and manipulation, and also it's staying moisturised under a scarf at home. Post covidness, I will now go into work some days with a scarf. I particularly like the ankara fabric options but maybe that's less 'professional'... too much colour for the masses🤪

Would you wear your natural hair out as it is now?

I'm not qualified to comment other than that I think black women in headscarves look very polished. I don't see why it's unprofessional, unless there's some cultural reason it's seen that way.

Wear a scarf or a wig if you want the do something different.

(Either way make sure you take care of your hair underneath. )

It is not what you wear but how you wear it.

@C130

Would you wear your natural hair out as it is now?

Unfortunately, no. Although the patches have improved, it's still very noticeable. My hair is not long enough to hide it.

My friend thinks that wearing a headscarf is saying that your not bothered to do your hair-- it screams laziness to her.

There is absolutely nothing unprofessional about a headscarf!
If that is what you are most comfortable wearing then wear it.

OP I suspect your friend is black and likely from a Christian background.

You are aware that there are women who cover their hair for religious reasons who have professional jobs?

I've learnt such women don't always cover their hair as you expect.

If you feel uncomfortable with your hair at the moment, a headscarf is a good alternative. It matters not what your friend thinks, about laziness or such like. Just be confident in whatever choice you make.

When I had problems with hair loss at the front of my head in 2011 due to epilepsy meds I wore bandanas to work (nhs).
One man did comment a bit rudely but I put him straight & he apologised.

More recently a friend lost all her hair to stress alopecia last year & wore a headscarf at work. It can look smart.
Her hair is very dark & has now regrown well & im so envious as it's taken my hair literally nearly 9 years to get almost as thick at the front of my head as hers is now in just 1 year!!

People who dont know my hair history have commented negatively on how fine it is which can be upsetting.

I'm white with very fine curly fair hair so can't wear extensions.

I hope that your hair regrows well to a length you are happy with.
Definitely wear a scarf if it makes you feel better & ignore your friends comments.
Are you taking supplements for your hair? I'm now taking a vitamin & mineral supplement specifically targeting hair growth which is helping.

I have a natural short Afro which I previously wore out to work in the office. Now with working from home, I wear headscarves occasionally, and I think the thing to do is treat them as if they are ordinary workwear.

By that, I mean I tend to wear scarves of one colour block for work, rather than the multi-coloured Ankara ones I have for going out. Same as I have work clothes and going out clothes, my work clothes tend to be less colourful and muted (I work in finance).

Wear the scarf to work, and think about how good it will be for your hair to be so free under there

Depends on where you work and your profession. If you work public sector or in a more customer facing role then fine. Not so much if you're in a professional role. If however you have a good set of employers you can just say you're wearing the scarf due to alopecia. Otherwise I'd say wear a wig rather than a weave to save your edges and time in the salon.

If you were a Muslim female this question wouldn't bother you at all.

I would 100% wear a scarf and have done when I couldnt be bothered to do my hair - in person and in virtual meetings. So long as the scarf is not tatty and you've wrapped it nicely (or even as basic as a pirate as I did!) I dont see what the issue is. It would take a very brazen and stupid person to pull you up on it in this 2020

I wouldn’t wear a headscarf to work! My colleagues would be asking me endless questions and that’s the only reason. I do like ones like this. I agree it depends where you work and what your job role is.

@secular89 what did you decide in the end?

Hello!

I have decided to wear a headscarf to work. I should not worry about the opinion of others to stop me from taking care of my hair.

Good decision

I realise I'm a bit late chiming in here, but very few people have commented saying they wear a head scarf to work so wanted to offer my experience. I'm a teacher at a school with predominantly white staff and I regularly wear my hair in a head scarf style similar to the one in the photo above. At first some people asked questions, but only in a curious way. Mostly I just get compliments on it. Sometimes I wear a block colour, sometimes patterned. Sometimes I choose to wear it out of laziness, I also don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Anyway! I'm glad to hear you've decided to prioritise looking after your hair and not caring about the opinions of others. Always the best decision if you can manage it!

I took my headscarf to be work... no one batted an eyelid. I think I was overthinking this.

Oh there are some beautiful styles out there! I’ve seen some gorgeous women tie it in such a way that the front shows? Maybe consider a darker coloured scarf although I love the Ankara/Kente prints. And the way some of the ladies do their makeup too!

Oh and absolutely go for it! I think the more it becomes mainstream the more it becomes normalised