What job do you do that is hair friendly?

[buddhabunnee]

I'm a tattoo artist and piercer so I'm able to get away with anything, however business is dead slow these days and I need another more steady job and I'm really not able to get anything with the way I look. It's pretty depressing. Hopefully business will pick up and I won't have to discard my personality to blend into the masses of capitalist zombies. ;_;

[Yuddith]

Teacher or other professional.

I'm a traindispatcher during the day. It's a job at the dutch railways (NS, Nederlandse Spoorwegen), were I'm the one who takes decisions on how and what happens with the trains. I also solve accidents and other problems that occur on the tracks.

My work is rather hair-friendly. I've had colourful dreads already once to my job, and everyone liked it more of less . Not negative, that's a good thing! Still, I'm carefull with what I do with my hair and clothes, it's still a bit of a fancy job . Don't want to wake sleeping dogs.

[Pixie_Kitty]

i work at Clares it a an accessories store they love them and the kids like them too

I love Claires i wish i could get a job there or get a job at Lush {if i wish hard enough it might just happen}

*sigh

[saramurphy]

i sell gig tickets over the phone so i can wear whatever i want =]

[mrs. mole]

currently i have pink dreads and work in grounds maintenance, so my hair is always covered by a hat in winter and a scarf wrapped round them in summer. i used to have blonde dreads and work in a veterinary surgery where i kept them neatly tied up and out of the way.

[pixychick]

i sell gig tickets over the phone so i can wear whatever i want =]

I want that job. well actually I want anyjob right now.

[twinkletoes]

My old job in a shoe menders was tattoo friendly, and they were cool with my dreads, but they wanted me to take out all my piercings. Which was funny cause in one of the shops this chavvy girl had loads of hoops in her ears and that was ok.

I work for myself these days so I can have what I like in.

[heartofdarkness]

I've been unemployed for nearly 18 months now, and before that spent 5 years as a carer to my now ex partner. So have had braided wool extensions, piercings and multicoloured hair, and the only negativity I faced was when my ex laughed at my disastrous attempt at bleaching my hair!

I am about to dye my hair a vibrant red, and don't plan on wearing any extensions if I get work, but am reluctant to get any more ear and facial piercings done right now, as I would hate to have this done, only to have to take them out, wasting the money spent and losing something cool, just because some boss didn't approve

And I agree with what others have said about the alternative appearance/work ethic thing. Having 'extreme' hair and visible body art does not make someone incompetent (no, wait, the chemicals from the dye have addled our brains ), and besides, who would make a better employee? Someone alternative with plenty of common sense, courtesy, politeness etc., or a very neat, tidy, conservative type who can't be bothered?

[Bomber]

I now work in fashion retail at New Look, so no dreads for me I might ask if I can have a light pink streak in my fringe though, as I miss it a lot.

[[Phexxie]]

as of last week, im now back in retail, working on the games and software department of a toy shop

theyre ok with my hair colour and piercings, but ive not worn dreads yet.... might leave it until ive been there longer lol

[trashykisses]

Im a high school Art teacher and I have yet to wear dreads. I will let you guys know when I take one for the team haha!

[MistressH]

Oh i have a new job! For Monster Energy promoting the brand in the midlands, we drive round in a monster truck and can look however we want so long as its smart and on brand, this is the best job i have ever had!

[starlotus]

I work in staffing for a home healthcare company....it's a very small company (5 of us in the office, including the 2 owners) and the HR Manager knows I make dreads and once asked me why I don't wear them to work, but I'm not sure how it would fly with my bosses. They're very laid back, young guys in their early 30's, and they don't care about my nose stud, tongue ring, stretched ears or industrial piercing. And I showed up my 3rd week there (I've been there nearly 3 years now) with a tattoo on the inside of my right wrist and they just laughed and nicknamed me "tatt" for a week. I don't have direct contact with our customers/clients (elderly people in need of homecare) but I do have direct contact with our home health aide employees because I do the interviewing. A lot of them have tattoos and some have facial piercings and I have seen a few of the black girls with unnatural extensions (one girl I interviewed a year ago had lovely bright red and burgundy braids!) but I know we've had complaints from some of the clients about some of those things (mostly facial piercings) so I feel like I would be hypocritical telling our aides they had to have "normal" hair or take out piercings if I've got a head full of dreads. I know I've got piercings and such myself but I do keep my jewelry small (my plugs are only 00; I think I'd start to push it if I stretched further and my nose stud is tiny and my tongue ring so far back it's hard to see) and I wear my hair down most of the time anyway.

I'm going to be moving to Philadelphia this summer and so looking for a new job, it would be awesome to find one where I could finally wear dreads but I don't see it happening....I need to make a certain salary to afford living there and I think it'll be difficult finding a job that pays well where I can look "alternative."

I am, however, planning on taking a yoga teacher certification course once I'm living in the city, and if I can make enough money teaching after that's done so I don't have to have another job on top of it, I imagine I'll be able to have dreads....I think having massive hair might make yoga difficult (especially headstands!), but I think squishy natural-style dreads that could be tied back easily might work

[forever-here]

I'm a hairdresser so I'm allowed to wear anything I want and have crazy hair. Currently I have rainbow hair woo. Piercings and tattoos and anything else too Lol. I actually got hired at a place for my hair and other stores wanted to hire me because of it... Kinda opposite of normal.

[candytoxin13]

I'm currently unemployed but I plan on getting a job sometime this summer. I'll be sure to ask what their policy is on hair. I'm fine dying my hair black if I have to. Maybe they'll let me wear natural colored dreads. ^^

[rivetlicker_]

I recently got a job that doesn't fit into a category above.

They hired me with my teal fringe and septum ring, I think they want me for my skill, not my hair colour haha xD I just want to know if I can wear dreads if I tie them up neatly so they don't get in the way of working, I won't push my luck just yet!

I can understand why piercings would have to go, or at least be changed to a non-conductive material, static can blow up electronic components, but if I wear my steel cap shoes? Hmm?


EDIT... Officially found out I have to get rid of my metal jewelry. I'm going to ask if I can have acrylic jewelry for my septum and industrial.

[Baybee-Bat]

I'm kind of lucky really where I work in some ways. I work in the Trade side of Retail (Builders, Electricians etc, and the odd DIYer), and I can have ANY hairstyle I like, so long as its not an un-natural colour. Tattoo's they are fine with so long as they arent offensive, and we're supposed to only have 1 facial piercing. I have 4, and wear retainers in 2 of them, and noone seems to say anything about the others! I also have 16mm lobes, and again, they don't seem too bothered!

[Letty]

I work in an 'alternative' pub, piercings, coloured hair (in my interview I had blue hair and half my head shaved) and tattoos are fine! I think dreads would be fine too, but my hair hasn't been long enough recently!
I think they actually hired me because of the way I looked, but hardly any of the other staff are modded.

[rivetlicker_]

I just asked my boss and he said dreads are ok!
Well, they don't make me any less productive, so he's all cool with it!
Can't wait to get some roving in!

[Kajablomst.]

I work at a homeless shelter for cats. The cats don't care about my hair, and my boss is just happy that I want to help nursing the kitties back to health, and get them new homes...

[tr1angl3]

I'm an apprentice engineer and they don't really care about the hair at all (as long as i dont get b*tchy about coworkers gentle teasing ^^) because I don't have to deal with clients at all except over the phone. No facial piercings or facial tattoos though, so I had to take out my snake bites and I have to wear my septum ring flipped up. It's pretty awesome though considering engineering is not often thought of as a particularly tolerant line of work.

[starlotus]

I'm being laid off in a few weeks - I AM actively looking for a job, but if it takes me a while and I'm not getting calls for interviews I'm going to do an install, which I almost never get to do. Hey, gotta find that silver lining, right?

[cherrygloom]

I work for an illustration agency, and I DJ. Both very hair/tattoo friendly, especially the latter!

[Librarynerd]

I work at the Library circulation desk at The Evergreen State College. It's a funky liberal arts school and very friendly to all kinds of free expression. The college motto is "Omnia Extares" =Let it all hang out.

[darcitananda]

I'm a visual artist, primarily making my living as a henna artist, and have an online body-art supply shop, so most of my customers I either don't see in person or are totally cool. I actually dress very conservatively and have no tattoos or major piercings (just my nose, which I had done over 15 years ago), so even with my colorful hair in, I can still be "appropriate" in most situations.