Polished and professional hair?

lyn67

Angie adviced to start a new thread for it so here it is.

What a "hair that looks polished and professional" means actually.

Angie mentioned this in her post about blending style and personality and am always curious to know how others are thinking in this regard. We all want "polished and professional" hair, but how to achieve it daily?

Or what do you consider the main or detailed characteristics if it? (if short hair and long hair have different charateristics please say so)

Thanx for all the comments!:-)

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4 years ago

General

29 replies

Latest reply was from nuancedream

Helena

Veteran

Hmm, to me, this means clean and well-cared-for-looking ... Which is a little vague, but I feel like so much of what has traditionally been called 'professional' has excluded different hair types and textures that specifics are perhaps best avoided, and I don't know your hair well enough Lyn to comment on your style?

4 years ago

Synne

Veteran

The bare minimum is to look like one has taken a look in the mirror, including the back view. I am a main offender when it comes to hair, but am working on it. Pic for illustration

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4 years ago

Bijou

Veteran

I think it is a style that you can do yourself each and every day and makes you feel fab wearing. Now that may be a tall ask (because we all have 'bad hair days') but you don't want a style that requires a hairstylist to do unless you have the resources to visit the hairstylist as often as needed.

For me, this means being practical and having a style that (1) I can tie up for exercise and when those dreaded bad hair days strike (2) only requires visits to my hairdresser every 8 weeks and (3) I can style myself on a daily basis without it being particularly onerous.

4 years ago

Roxanna

Veteran

For me, it meant developing a signature style and cut that looks great most days, goes with the texture of my hair, and requires minimal maintenance. My style words are luxe and polished, so my hair had to reflect this, but it also had to reflect a little of my rebel/unique streak in that it had to flaunt convention. I think my hair reflects this now.

4 years ago

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I think that in order to look polished in the coiffure department hair must be clean and look intentionally styled ie not unbrushed and random.Professional is a slightly harder term to define as it depends what profession you are talking about and where.For example I remember a thread way back that was talking about the hairstyles that were suitable in a hospital environment and different parts of the world varied widely in what seemed to be acceptable.

4 years ago

taylor

Veteran

Ditto Cardiff girl

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Professional hair, office hair, is smooth and stays down! Lol. But neat and not full of fly-aways. Easier to achieve with short hair than with long.

By smooth, I don’t mean straight. It can be curly. But the curls have to be formed, if you know what I mean. Tangled Bed-head is not professional for offices.

My hair is not office professional

4 years ago

slim cat

Veteran

Me and my hair always struggle with "smooth", "neat" and "professional" because of fine texture, uneven growing and a cowlick on a back .
I go with "natural", freshly cut/trimmed and slightly wispy look in my pixie cut that I can style myself. I think it actually more becoming than perfectly done hair that will require everything to be on the same level of perfection ( pretty nails with polish, shaped brows, complicated make up..). Of course if you are able to do all of them - more power to you!
It's more of a personal choice and it mostly works for me ( until it doesn't and I call my hairdresser: "Help!" ).

4 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Professional hair to me is about POLISH:

HEALTHY hair, a good cut, a deliberate style that is fixed to look neat, tidy and maintained throughout the day, flattering for your features, nothing blurring your vision, and nothing too edgy.

I think curly hair and fine hair can look VERY professional! Hair does NOT need to be smooth and flat to look professional. Some of the most polished people I know have VERY curly hair.

What is too edgy for some and not to others is very subjective. You have to take it case by case, and industry by industry. CONTEXT is key.

As a fashion stylist I can sport edgy short hair. But not too edgy in fear of putting off clients and losing my credibility. It's important that I gain their trust, and keep it that way. So I keep things fashionable, but soft and pretty too. And polished in the extreme.

4 years ago

Sal

Veteran

I think it needs to look cared for
- brushed or styled
- clean and healthy
- not in your eyes
- maintained colour......I feel my most unpolished when my dark roots start to show.

4 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

To me “polished and professional” means hair which has been intentionally styled to look neat and well-maintained while I suppose its opposite number would be hair which is unruly and uncontrolled.

I do think the extremes can be problematic for most people—at one end you could have a heavily lacquered, “helmet head” look while the other end might be a wildly messy, “bed head” look. I suspect most of us try for place on the spectrum which melds our own style preferences with the demands of our situation and hair texture.

In my case, as a member of the curly brigade, I rely on a very defined, precise shape to add a polished look to my curls. If I don’t get a trim every 5-6 weeks, my curls start moving towards a more “natural” shape which makes me feel less polished. It’s the intentional sharpness of my cut which keeps my curls at the polished and professional end of the spectrum for me. Another woman might find my 8-week, “natural” shape just right, but, because I adore straight-hair worn in a geometric cut, my precisely cut curls are my way of blending style preference and hair reality.

4 years ago

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I think I would feel my hair was polished if I didn’t have frizz. I would love to be in control of the frizz but without having to wash out the product every day because it made my hair worse the second day.

4 years ago

nemosmom

Veteran

Ditto Sal. I have stopped trying to achieve polished hair and have relaxed more into my natural texture which is coarse and wavy. For me, as long as it is clean and it looks like I made some kind of effort, I am good.

4 years ago

kkards

Veteran

For me I also think you need to ask Does your hair style compliment and relate to your personal style, so that you present a total picture. Part of looking professional is looking like the whole package goes together

4 years ago

nuancedream

Veteran

I echo much of what Angie already stated. I learned many years ago through the hairstyle school of hard knocks to embrace my natural curly hair texture because it takes more time and energy to fight it than to work with it. Frankly, my time and energy are better spent elsewhere on more meaningful endeavors. If curly hair or hair of any other texture is frizzy, messy, dry with a bad haircut of course it's going to look unprofessional. Learning from a professional hairstylist about the right products and techniques for styling has made a huge difference in how my hair looks day to day.

4 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Actually I don't want my hair to look polished and professional, and anyway these goals are very context driven - meaning both profession and population specific. I don't see lots of super straight hair and I do see plenty of super curly hair. I do get random compliments on my hair, and I actually think it is an asset when I meet new people in a work context, particularly younger people.

4 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

For me, "polished" and "professional" hair means clean, almost no frizz, and having a well-defined, intentional shape. For curls, the curls have to be nicely formed and pretty close to frizz free.

If I had to work in a professional, polished environment (such as law), I would in all likelihood have to use the flat iron every day or else get a pixie. I have fine hair that is wavy (not curly, just wavy), and to get volume, I require my hair to have a bit of frizz. My overall hairstyle is one of intentional messiness, which is OK in business casual environments but not in formal ones.

4 years ago

lyn67

Veteran

Wow, a lot of wisdom here, thank y'all.

Cleaneliness/tidiness and a shape that flatters your features and hair texture is probable a must.

Thanx for the pictie Synne as I deliberately choose a back view for illustration myself, too- and wondered how many of you care about it as much (or even more) than the front view? Think probably the front view is easier to appreciate. So, how often do you scrutinize the back view for your own cut?

(It is kind of the same thing as we discussed about the back views of your jeans/outfits here-and some care, some not so much.

Think I am biased a bit, as a shorter hair has that extra view of a bare neck. Do you feel a short cut should always have a clean neck for enough polish or you make it do with some frizz there, too?

(I for myself am struggling with deciding between a clean cut or rather a piecey one on my back of the neck-both can be polished of course, just curious how do you percieve?)

Gigi- you said it for me. I have very fine and now thinning hair, too- wich feels like I cannot achieve volume without some frizz let in. Too smooth and will look overall lifeless:-(.

4 years ago

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I agree with others who have said that "polished and professional" hair would be maintained (clean, cut regularly, without split ends) and smooth (untangled, not flyaway or frizzy). I'm also with shevia on pushing back on the idea that "polished and professional" is something we all strive for. I mean, I don't want to look like I have a greasy nest on my head, but I'm perfectly satisfied with hair that looks like I recently rolled out of bed or just came from the beach.

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Back to say, I have fine dry hair that looks like I’ve been rubbing balloons on it. That’s what it does. If I want it long, like I do, clipping it back/putting it up is the best I can do. I feel that has to be good enough, but on the other hand I do always do it... so I’ll add ‘tamed’ in some manner as the low bar

4 years ago

Jules

Veteran

I’m not going for ‘polished and professional’ either... even though I work in an office. I’d say the expected ‘polished’ look for someone my demographic and hair type would probably be something blow dried straight and short to medium length, and that’s probably what I’d do if I was trying for a more professional look day to day. In reality I’ve never had the patience for daily blow drying. If I were a super busy professional who needed to look a certain way I’d probably be going to a dry bar and using a lot of dry shampoo to extend the look.
I currently have my hair well past my shoulders and I follow curly girl method (gel cast) for wearing it down, which for me results in wavy hair that’s something a little messier and less predictable than ‘polished’. I’m going for slightly boho and romantic so that’s fine. There was some thought and experimentation that went into choosing a romantic/boho look that takes advantage of my natural hair type and lazy proclivities.

4 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I’m a professional whatever my hair looks like...
Back view I see only when I have a haircut every 5-6 weeks, when they hold the mirror up. If it looks OK then, it will be OK until next cut. I prefer a straight back-of-the-neck cut.

4 years ago

slim cat

Veteran

@lyn67 - I always check back view and run my fingers through the hair to see if I can deal with it easily. I do my "shaggy dog" test to see if my hair go naturally to preferred shape. I like my neck with a bit wispy/soft hair not all clean/shaved. My fine greying hair is often goes flat and my haircut is always some variation of pixie cut.

4 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

I feel that I need to add that “professional” hair has been used as a weapon against African Americans for wearing their hair in its natural texture. I am working to check my cultural assumptions at the door so figure if hair is neat and clean and doesn’t present a health or safety risk it is fine.

4 years ago

Gretchen

Veteran

I was in a sales meeting today. There were 4 women presenting, and all had different versions of what I would consider polished and professional hair:
1. Midlength hair, blown straight.
2. Braids, pulled into a braided bun at the top of her head
3. Short bob, with flatironed curls all around.
4. Low bun, with a few wisps pulled to frame the face.

My take away: all had spent time to style their hair. Their hair didn’t draw attention to their look, but showed that they cared about their appearance. To me, that’s polished and professional.

4 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Gretchen, that's a good way to put it: they had spent time to style their hair. I have to laugh at the same time, though, because people with curly hair often spend lots and lots of time styling their hair too, but it doesn't look "polished and professional" when they are done! I have spent a lot of time styling my hair in its natural texture, and after I am done, it would not be what I would consider polished enough to wear in a business formal environment.

4 years ago

Anonymous

I like what Angie and Gretchen said! Intentionality is the most important thing, and level of formality of the worksite.

4 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Donna, I had the same thought. This topic can be a bit fraught.

Too many women have been made to feel that they must subject themselves to chemical processes in order to conform to a very white-centric notion of "polished and professional." Even girls in grade school have been pressured or punished because of their natural texture of hair.

4 years ago

nuancedream

Veteran

Hair is a very personal point of view with a public expression. Even though a dress code should not discriminate under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it's unfortunate that many enforceable dress codes include provisions that mainly adversely affect minorities. California recently passed legislation that bans discrimination based on natural hairstyles like dreadlocks or cornrows. I'm certain similar legislation will be proposed in other states too.

4 years ago

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