[[[ Hair Color Controversy ]]]

Should crazy hair colors be permitted within schools and careers?

Heck YES!	62.3%	[ 33 ]
No Way...	3.8%	[ 2 ]
Hair?....What hair?	1.9%	[ 1 ]
It depends...	32.1%	[ 17 ]
Total Votes:			[ 53 ]

[oEUZ]

So, I'm doing my own personal project that deals with hair color and the controversy it brings within careers and schools. I've been doing cosmetology since about 2007 and I've dyed my hair numerous times. I like to use bright and crazy colors. I've had every color in the book aside from green, pink, and orange.

What I want from you guys is your opinions on whether those "crazy" (unnatural) hair colors should be permitted in the workplace or in schools and why you think they should/should not be allowed.

My main goal with my project is to prove that no matter a person's hair color, they can still be good, hard-working, professional people. Of course, one with unnatural colored hair should be able to dress, act, and "clean up" to further prove this theory. But, at the same time, I believe that would apply to anyone trying to prove their professionalism, crazy hair colors or not.

Feel free to put in your opinions whether they are against or agreeing with mine. I want to see what people honestly feel about this subject.
Also, if you'd like to share any stories about any kind of discrimination against YOUR hair color(s), please feel free. Pictures and such are also neat to check out. (:

If any of you post pictures of your hair colors and have a story with them or talk to me about the topic in general, I MAY ask your permission to use you in my project! (:

[Jagger-Wolf]

Schools should allow it if they want to. If they don't, then oh well. They are each individual, private institutions and can make their own rules as they see fit. Same with any employer or other establishment.

Kids should be focusing on their education, not their clothes and hair. So I would let my child get some highlights or a peekaboo stripe in their hair, but that's it. They don't need anything more, and focusing too much on their appearance could mean they focus less on important things, like their education.

Adults should be able to have a bit more leeway, since they are adults. I don't think hair color should have any impact on how hire-able a person is, because it is not necessarily a reflection of who they are. So long as the hair itself is well-colored (not splotchy, evenly colored, etc.) and the hair is healthy, that's all that should matter. Because otherwise it can make a person look unkempt and less professional.

Hair color is another form of body modification. If we protect choices like religion in the workplace, why aren't other choices, like body modification, accepted?

Having any sort of body modification doesn't mean you'll work worse, or that you're lazy. It does not negate any schooling or education you may have, it has no reflection on your professional life whatsoever. It's a personal aesthetic choice, something no one should have the right to tell people they can't do. They can choose to not hire you for it, and that is their right as an employer. I won't argue that. In our current economy, employers are being incredibly picky about the looks of the people they hire.

I like Google's dress code: "Employees must wear clothes." Apparently that's the entirety of the dress code policy. They've learned that if they only hired "traditionally professional" looking people, they wouldn't have nearly as many people as they need, and most of them probably aren't as qualified as they could be.

[oEUZ]

Jagger-Wolf

Well said, and I do agree about kids in schools needing to focus on education moreso than their appearance, but a lot of schools that I know of that DO NOT allow unnatural hair colors make it a rule, not because of that factor, but because it will make their school "look bad". But I do agree with you.

[Jagger-Wolf]

oEUZ

Jagger-Wolf

Well said, and I do agree about kids in schools needing to focus on education moreso than their appearance, but a lot of schools that I know of that DO NOT allow unnatural hair colors make it a rule, not because of that factor, but because it will make their school "look bad". But I do agree with you.

All of my schools were the same way. They were "a distraction", and they could very well be. Kids get made fun of for the most asinine things now, so make yourself stick out in ANY sort of capacity, and you could make yourself a target. It sounds terrible, but if you make yourself a target you have to be willing to accept the things that will be thrown at you, verbal as well as physical. And that is a distraction, to you as well as others.

I got lucky in my school years, though. I was always so under the radar I could do pretty much whatever I wanted. I bleached Rogue stripes into my hair and no one ever said a thing about it. Not sure if that fell under the same category as bright pink mohawk or something, but no one ever said anything. I watch as other kids with blue stripes or pink bits were told to go home and color it back, while looking right through me. That was kinda cool, but kinda horrible in other instances. Sometimes I was SO under the radar teachers would look right at me and not even see me.

But really, kids should be kids. Focus on your studies, get out of school as soon as you can with the best marks you can. That is your job as a kid. Once you're an adult, you can do whatever you want, since you're an adult. That doesn't mean certain institutions will hire you, but that's their right as employers. Then you search again until you find a job you love, who lets you look how you want.

I'm going into hematology lab work, so no one will care what I look like there.

[oEUZ]

Jagger-Wolf

Agreed, so you aren't against workplaces that don't allow unnatural hair colors, but you're not against unnatural hair colors in general, correct?
And if that's the case, I'm curious as to why you are okay with workplaces enforcing that factor when hiring. Pure curiosity, I'm not saying that its wrong or right. Just want to know your full opinion. You seem pretty familiar with this discussion already. (:

[GentleHerbivore]

I think unnatural colors should be permitted everywhere. There's nothing wrong with it. Aside from causing a possible distraction for others, it's not hurting anyone.

I've never had any kind of discrimination for my hair colors.

Me with blue hair:



Unnatural hair colors are artistic. I don't see anything wrong with it at all. And you can't judge someone's working ability by their hair color.

[Jagger-Wolf]

oEUZ

Jagger-Wolf

Agreed, so you aren't against workplaces that don't allow unnatural hair colors, but you're not against unnatural hair colors in general, correct?
And if that's the case, I'm curious as to why you are okay with workplaces enforcing that factor when hiring. Pure curiosity, I'm not saying that its wrong or right. Just want to know your full opinion. You seem pretty familiar with this discussion already. (:

My bottom line, as far as the current status of the world is concerned: Business establishments can choose to hire whoever they want, either based on qualifications or looks, or both. If they choose not to hire someone based on their pink hair, that is their right to do so. If two people are standing side by side, and they're identical in looks and qualifications, but one has pink hair and one is natural, they're probably going to hire the natural-haired one over the pink one.

Not all business or industries are this way. There are PLENTY of good paying, "respectable" jobs that accept alternative people. I've worked in several of them. And the whole bullshit line that "you can only work in fast food looking like that!" is garbage. Fast food is one of the most strict when it comes to no hair colors and no modifications whatsoever.

If people want unnaturally colored hair, they have to accept the fact that their job hunting is harder, if they want to keep that color. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the sake of your employment. Invest in good wigs if you want pink hair for your off days, but work doesn't allow it.

This is coming from someone who's had purple hair for going on 3 years, is fairly heavily modified, and has been in the workplace looking this way to one degree or another since my work life began. It is not impossible to find a good job with unnatural hair, you just have to work harder for it, both in the interview and while searching.

[br0wneyed-babe]

I don't see why not. It's not like it's offensive or hurting anyone. Same goes for piercings and tattoos. Unless you have an offensive tattoo (like a naked lady or a curse word), it should be fine.

[Miss Esa]

Back when I was teaching preschool I had a mishap with some pink hair dye, and ended up with hot pink hair. I had already been teaching for over three years, so my boss was ok with it. It took the parents a little getting used to, but in the end they accepted it because I was still the same teacher, I just had obnoxious hair. And honestly, the kids loved it.

This was my hair after about 3 weeks:


The pink stayed in my hair for close to 26 months, but slowly began to fade after about 3 weeks.

[oEUZ]

GentleHerbivore

Exactly, I feel the way you color and style your hair expresses your imagination and creativity. As well as the way you dress, decorate your room/house, ect. I think it's wrong for people to discriminate against originality and individuality. Love the shade of blue you have, it is all blue or is it partially black too? hard to tell from the pictures. Looks great though.

[oEUZ]

Jagger-Wolf

Very well. I understand that completely. (:

[oEUZ]

Miss Esa

You know, it's funny that you reply to this, during my research online about this whole topic, I've seen a lot of teachers and such explaining about their hair colors and how it was never really looked down upon. To me, that's pretty amazing, when I was in school I've never seen a teacher with an unnatural hair color. So to me, I've always thought, "Well, maybe that's one of those jobs where you have to be "natural" and professional looking." But as I've looked around through different forums and sites, I've noticed that that isn't the case at all. (Of course, depending on the school you're referring to.)

[oEUZ]

My most recent dye-job. Not full head, but still "unnatural" coloring. Just sharing with you guys! (:

[Jagger-Wolf]

oEUZ

Jagger-Wolf

Very well. I understand that completely. (:

Hair color/style hypocrisy in the work place does bother me though. Seeing as this is considered more "natural" and an accepted hair color in the work place:



I think if someone wants all over color it should be fine. If that garbage above is considered okay and "natural" enough for the workplace, then I don't see why this isn't allowed:



They are both as unnatural as each other. So I don't see why one is okay while the other isn't.

But that's in an ideal world. In an ideal world, anyone could get any job they wanted so long as they were qualified enough, no one would care what you looked like, you could do whatever you wanted and no one would care so long as you got your work done.

But it's not an ideal world. So, we have to work in and with our current world.

[oEUZ]

Jagger-Wolf

*Applauds* I couldn't have said it any better.
I agree 100% !