How To Style Your Hair For Work

In this day and age, the definition of professionalism varies from job to job, and it includes how you wear your hair.

Did you know that on average women spends about five hours a month on hairstyling?

That proves how vital your hairdo is when it comes to your work appearance.

At first, you may want to play it safe when it comes to what’s acceptable across the board regarding professional hairstyles.

Maybe you want to switch it up, but you want to avoid going from expert to beginner in the hair category.

Here are a few tips to get you started as you navigate the world of hairstyles in your workplace:

Keep Hair out of Your Face

This tip should be kept in mind for any time you are dealing with someone face to face.

Whether it’s your boss, colleague, or a client, keeping stray hairs tucked away serves a dual purpose.

Your attention won’t be drawn to continually brushing your hair aside, and neither will the care of the person sitting opposite of you.

Keep Frizz to a Minimum

Just like hairs that fall into our face, frizzy and wild hair can be equally distracting.

Use a product to smooth flyaways, like argan oil or a good hairspray.

Take Care of Your Scalp

One step to having a professional hairstyle is a healthy scalp.

Does someone who’s continually scratching their head sound like the picture of professionalism to you?

Argan oil is good for scalp health as well as helping tame those stray hairs.

Stay in Line with Company Policy

Some companies may have a policy on how your hair is worn and what colors are allowed.

Before making any significant changes to your hairstyle, be sure to check your company’s regulations.

4 Classic Styles

Now that you’ve got some tips to keep in mind when styling your hair, below are some classic workplace styles. As the efficiency and quality of hair styling products increases, there’s no reason you can’t produce your own professional hairstyle at home.

Ponytail

Whether it’s high, low, or right in the middle, a simple classic ponytail is a good go-to when doing your hair for work.

Hair is usually kept away from your face with this style, and it’s versatile when it comes to what texture you want your ponytail to have. You can choose to have a ponytail that is pin straight, wavy, or playing with different types of curls.

Also, your ponytail doesn’t need to be super tight to look professional. You can wear it a little looser if you wish and still maintain that professional appearance.

To add a little fun, wrap a small section of hair around your hair tie, then secure it in place with a bobby pin.

A great tool to help create the perfect ponytail is a Brilliance New York Diamond flat iron.

Flat irons are not only great for straightening your locks — they’re great for curling your hair too. Use it all over before putting your hair up, or just on the ends that hang from your ponytail.

Buns

Just like a ponytail, buns are another elegant way to keep hair away from your face.

Other similarities are the flexibility of where they are placed on your head, how you wrap the base, and how they look in general.

Before you start rocking the messy bun to work, observe whether other female colleagues are wearing this quick, easy updo.

Instead, consider a ballerina bun, chignon bun, or French twist if you’re feeling extra classy.

Braid

Again, another adaptable yet professional hairstyle can be found in a braid.

You can choose to have one that uses all your hair or a small portion of it.

A small braid along your hairline is a great way to get bangs, and other small hairs, out of your eyes, and away from your face.

Braids are a great way to add some fancy handiwork to pretty much any hairstyle.

Jazz up a half-up, half down hairstyle with a braid, or wrap it around itself to give your bun a bohemian vibe.

Make sure you’re taking care of split ends, so the bottom portion of your braid doesn’t stand out from the rest of your beautiful braid in a bad way.

Down

Perhaps you’re more comfortable wearing your hair down.

You’re in luck! This is just as professional as the previous three styles and just as versatile.

Remember Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada? She had plenty of hairstyles that didn’t require any hair ties or bobby pins. She probably used a good flat iron though.

Choosing to wear your hair down is an excellent choice whether you have hair to your mid-back, a cute bob, or a pixie cut.

If you’re choosing to go stick straight, sport beachy waves, or full on curls, that flat iron is your best friend.

Not sure how to curl your hair with a flat iron? Check out some videos that can help you.

Regardless of the style, you’re going for, the rule for what plate width to choose is based on your hair length. The longer your hair, the wider the plate.

Remember, if you choose to curl your hair, turn your iron in the direction away from your face, so hair stays out of your line of vision and doesn’t tempt you to play with it.

Now that you have the necessary tips to any professional look and some examples of classic styles — start trying them out yourself.

You might find a new style you love to add to your collection when you’re looking to switch up your appearance at work without compromising your professionalism.

Originally published at www.fashionambitions.com on March 21, 2018.