Sooo i was told at work that my hair looks unkempt amd i need a line

[PrissiSippi]

Lol... I find it funny how people give you advice when it is not solicited. Anyway what are some good twa regimens to make hair look more "kempt". I'm assuming this means more uniform?

I BCed at the beginning of January so I have roughly 2.5-3 inches of new growth. Any ideas of styles or am I stuck with the twa for another year or so?

 

[HairPleezeGrow]

Hello yeah that is not the nicest thing to say. Who on earth said that? Anyway you can try different headbands and accent pieces like the clip in flowers or anything like that. You could do some flat twist or cornrows on the front portion of your hair and leave the rest out and us your accent piece. You could do wigs if you like them or weaves. You could do a light blow dry and then do a braid out or twist out. Shea moisture line is good and smells nice. It attracts bees though lol.

 

[Mjon912]

Co-sign hairpleezegrow...flat twits or braids in the front looks cute

 

[NaiyaAi]

Maybe a pretty headband?

 

[Seamonster]

Having been in the corporate world for 10 years. A twa is inherently neat, kept and uniform by virtue of its short length. All the black men at the office wear a twa, and it is considered professional. Braids, flat twist, wild weaves, and headbands on the other hand are considered very unprofessional. Perhaps you should find out if your job is offended by afro textured hair on a woman, and were they telling you to straighten your hair for work.

 

[SelahOco]

I'd probably use some gel and a deman brush to make the curls more uniform. Hopefully, it was just a coworker who said it, But if it bothers you, they are probably saying it doesn't look kept if the curls don't look uniform and lay in a similar pattern.

I don't tend to wear my hair curly without some sort of styling product. I use Kinky Curly or EcoStyler Gel. But I didn't have a twa, so I don't know exactly how to work it thru on shorter hair.

Here's a couple of examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfe-q33mR3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqxv8NHE4uE

The hair is very even in length and that little bit of product really gives a professional feel.

 

[Channy31]

If someone said that to me I'd be so annoyed!
You seem to have taken it so well...

 

[LaToya28]

When I had a twa, my husband would edge me up in the back and on the sides to give it a more polished look. Finger coils, twists/twistouts, and shingling with gel would look nice. I think that at your length those are.probably the best options. Headbands on hair that short look kind of funny and so does the braids/twists in front with the back out. This is all just my opinion of course, but I cringe when I look back at pics of me wearing those styles.

 

[tamm]

Have you tried the TightlyCurly method: www.tightlycurly.com

 

[JustifiablyMe]

Headbands are your friend. It also gives it a bit of a feminine touch.

 

[almond eyes]

When I was natural, I had that same problem. My hair texture is fine, cottony, wavy and curly and frizzy. I found that the best hair styles were ones where my hair were twist outs and braid outs (but that would lead to SSKs) because that 'disguised' the frizz and fly away hairs. But whenever, I put my hair into ponytails, buns, twists or braids, the frizz from my fly ways would stick up no matter what gel or brush I used. And people including my own mother would always tell me that my hair looked like it needed to be brushed or gelled because it looked like a school grader who had been playing in the sandbox for too long.

I think the best hairstyles to combat the 'unkempt' look unless you use a bit of heat are ones where you don't allow your hair to be conformed into a style where the fly aways will stand out too much. For women like my mother who don't have fly away hairs they just don't get this and for years I wasted so much money on gels and hair products to get that laid down look with my natural hair. Just let your hair be.

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[faithVA]

Headbands do help. But unless you are going to cover it up with a wig or wear extensions, it may look like that for a while. If all they did was make a statement I would try to ride it out. I find that it is better/easier to train people to accept my hair than to try to train my hair to be acceptable to others. If it is a real issue at work than yes you need to do something about it.

I have been natural for a long time, and I just don't have neat hair. My hair doesn't lay, doesn't cooperate and isn't a neat little lady. Today she is a 3" to 4" mass of soft afro frizz and curls. That is what she decided to do today.

Until she gets to be about 6", she is just a wild carefree girl.

If you are growing the avg rate of 1/2" a month, you should be able to do a decent puff in another 2 to 3 months. By the fall you should have enough hair to do various styles. Each month will get easier.

Is this a work requirement? or a suggestion?

 

[MzSwift]

Lots of great suggestions!

And I find it odd because, for a while, the only natural ladies that I came across in a professional setting who were high ranking all had TWA. In fact, I used to joke that that was the way I was gonna work up the ladder was by rocking my TWA.

Nowadays, so many of us are going natural that there's more variety.

I would definitely consider the source. Who told you that you look unkempt? Was it a coworker, a superior or HR? I would ask for clarification from a supervisor or HR about what they deemed as maintained hair. GL!

 

[Seamonster]

MzSwift I was alluding to that fact. The TWA has been the go to hair style for Black women executives for decades. It was hard for me to find a black female executive without one when I began my career. I am thinking they were all mesmerized by Maya Angelou or something. Wow, things have changed.

 

[Nonie]

Lots of great suggestions!

And I find it odd because, for a while, the only natural ladies that I came across in a professional setting who were high ranking all had TWA. In fact, I used to joke that that was the way I was gonna work up the ladder was by rocking my TWA.

Nowadays, so many of us are going natural that there's more variety.

I would definitely consider the source. Who told you that you look unkempt? Was it a coworker, a superior or HR? I would ask for clarification from a supervisor or HR about what they deemed as maintained hair. GL!

@MzSwift, w/r/t your first paragraph, I bet my bottom dollar that the TWAs were not chunky fro's or twist-outs or braid-outs but rather very neatly combed out TWAs.

I have been pretty outspoken about finding WNGs on 4B hair to look ugly and ungroomed. I only did it once under the direction of a friend and when I took a photo and saw it later (It was a puff) I was mortified that I'd been walking around with what looked to me like unkempt hair. I think if you do twist-outs in a way that the pattern is so uniform and no gaping holes are left so it looks as if that's your natural pattern combed out (you know 4B looking like 3C combed out), then it may look neat. But I have seen some -outs that look as if someone had worn Celie braids for the night of all sizes, undid them in the AM, and forgot to comb her hair. And if *I*, someone who loves 4B hair, finds that untidy, I can only imagine what outsiders who don't care one way or another about 4B hair (or who hate it) would think.

Now I do believe that people are fashion followers and if someone wore a rag today and called it haute couture or chic, you'd have a few folks jumping off the bridge with that "fashionista" and swearing they look like a million bucks. I believe that's coz some things have a way of growing on people. So perhaps if the people at your jobs encountered more of the chunky afros, they might start to appreciate them the way some hair fanatics on hair forums seem to.

When I think of the TWAs I've seen on high professionals, the images that come to mind are Bernie Mac-like perfect hair that has been groomed very nicely with a comb. I'm talking about people like Ursula Burns, Chairman & CEO of Xerox. She has 4B hair and it looks impeccable:

Another person who comes to mind is Dr Helene Gayle, President & CEO of CARE, USA. She has type 3 hair which is also very much combed out and she too looks very neat:

I know some may argue that a chunky afro on 4B could look like Dr Gayle's hair and that is true. Which would be the type of -out I was talmbout that is very well done, with no gaping holes and the pattern appears uniform all through.

Chunky fros, twist-outs, braid-outs, are more what I'd I expect to see in the world of entertainment, so I'm never surprised when the corporate world calls a do many here find cute, unkempt.

I think my upbringing has a lot to do with this. There isn't a single school I went to in Kenya that would have allowed anyone to come to class with hair that had not had a comb run through it. Heck, I once went to class with what I thought was a cut do. My hair was a combed out TWA with a small cornrow on the side to give the illusion of hair pulled back with a side-comb. I was sent back to the dorms by the first teacher to spy my do to comb my hair. So yeah, I get it.

Now if someone has an issue with texture, that's a-whole-nother ball game.

 

[greenandchic]

Nonie - Given the examples you listed, I always thought the neat, perfect combed out afros were mainly for women who are going to keep their hair that way (constantly cut it). If you're growing it out, and hair grows uneven by its very nature, how are you going to keep it "perfect" while in transition?

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie - Given the examples you listed, I always thought the neat, perfect combed out afros were mainly for women who are going to keep their hair that way (constantly cut it). If you're growing it out, and hair grows uneven by its very nature, how are you going to keep it "perfect" while in transition?

@greenandchic, pulled back puffs that get further back as your hair grows...then pony puff.

I only talked about TWA because that was what I was addressing. My hair isn't under 3 inches anymore but during my journey to BSB, I could've worn a combed out TWA without any problem. My hair shrinks so sporting a TWA is a breeze. All I'd need do is pat it down. In fact you'll see in one of my links how short my CBL hair could get.

I'm a bit annoyed that Fotki doesn't have my pics back so I can't show you all I'd like but this was my hair under 3 inches (It is not combed here. I had just untwirled it from some ugly mess some woman calling herself a stylist did to it and was in shock at seeing how short my CBL hair now was, thanks to what she called a trim. But I post this to show the length I was working with. Here's it's slightly stretched because of being twirled with a hold spray in it):

I would comb it out and pat it and sport a Bernie Mac afro that looked like my mom's does here:

Only my hair wasn't as long as hers but I'd get the same perfect afro. And for shape, I'd pat the sides down more so I'd look as if I had Ursula Burn's cut with sides and back shorter. I wanted my strands all the same length, but it didn't mean I couldn't fake a cut style.

Refer to attachments for the numbered paragraphs.

1) For a change, I'd use a black elastic and sport a pushed back puff even when my hair was still under 3 inches (first attachment below).

2) Then when I braided it for the night and it stretched some, I would sport a bigger puff (second attachment).

3) Then I even cornrowed the front and created a look similar to the third attachment (a few folks might remember that image coz I posted it a lot) the one you see in the third attachment is a puff I made and no my own puff.

When my hair was SL, I was still sporting combed out puffs that looked like the TWA one. Another even more shrunken puff. You can tell my hair was longer than the puff showed because of how far back I'm wearing that puff. And when I had my hair stretched, I wore a bigger puff. In every case, my hair was combed out.

4) Incidentally, I just found a copy of that chunky puff I got from my one and only WNG that was so ugly to me. It's the fourth attachment. My hair was full SL as in the images in the last paragraph but I found that puff so gross looking. Yuck!

And puffs aren't the only styles. Flat twists have been suggested, even smoothing hair back and wearing phony puffs or just a tucked under braid in place of a pony can work. Two French braids on either side of the head can look cute, so can this style done on hair instead of twists.

Every time this topic of workplace natural styles have come up, to me it's a no-brainer that neat looking hair not wild looking hair is what will not raise eyebrows. Even when I did my tarantula style that hubby hated with a passion, I had no qualms about rocking my suit and going to work walking tall because it had a uniformity and order to it. Exhibit A, Exhibit B.

5) You can't have hair looking like many things going on on one head and not expect people to raise eyebrows. When my friend tried to tell me the poop do that stylist who chopped my hair did was cute (see attachment 5), I broke it down to her what was so wrong with it. WTF were those worm looking things in the front, then other parts look like old dog poop dried up; some parts look like round balls, others look long pieces of fuzz, some parts curve the way Dr Oz said good poop is supposed to look like... Like WTF??? And this is what a hair stylist considered a good style to charge me for? GTFOOH No wonder our hair gets a bad rap.

IMO, order = neatness. So if the style you are sporting is compact and orderly (think of how neat ballerinas are and try to aim for such neatness and order), then I doubt you'll have people fussing too much about it.

 

[PrissiSippi]

I wasn't really bothered by it...just a complete side eye. I don't really take anything seriously said in Mississippi because I understand that we are still a state that for the majority is very closed minded. I just continue to do me. But being that I am a young professional, I am concerned about my overall appearance especially because I'm still looking for better job opportunities.

 

[Froreal3]

Having been in the corporate world for 10 years. A twa is inherently neat, kept and uniform by virtue of its short length. All the black men at the office wear a twa, and it is considered professional. Braids, flat twist, wild weaves, and headbands on the other hand are considered very unprofessional. Perhaps you should find out if your job is offended by afro textured hair on a woman, and were they telling you to straighten your hair for work.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. What is unprofessional about a TWA unless it is various different lengths sticking up looking crazy? If it is picked out neatly or a gelled wash and go, it is still professional. On the other hand headbands, flowers and all that is not corporate.

 

[Angelinhell]

Nonie

"I have been pretty outspoken about finding WNGs on 4B hair to look ugly and ungroomed."

I felt some kind of way about telling my mom this a few weeks ago. But I had to tell her without being pc. My mom is one of those people who "go natural so it can grow", then want to relax to see length.

 

[DarkJoy]

What is unprofessional about a TWA unless it is various different lengths sticking up looking crazy? If it is picked out neatly or a gelled wash and go, it is still professional. On the other hand headbands, flowers and all that is not corporate.

I agree with this. Either get a wig or weave, esp since you're in a corporate environment. The headbands and twists in the front are not professional looks, unfortunately.

 

[Nonie]

I agree with this. Either get a wig or weave, esp since you're in a corporate environment. The headbands and twists in the front are not professional looks, unfortunately.

DarkJoy, really? I disagree on the suggestion that flat twists in front with puff in the back are not professional. IMO any style that would give the same silhouette as a bun so that most of the hair is "lying down" and one part forms a round shape at the back or top of the head, is professional.

Par exemple:

The only thing I may see being a problem is if they have a problem with the scalp showing. Or if texture is an issue. Otherwise to me even cornrows done in a bun style give a guaranteed cleaner tidier look on just about anyone than loose hair. And if you tie up the head every night, or Saran wrap it, it can look as fresh as Day 1 for the two or so weeks you wear the do. I am talmbout a cornrow do like this:

 

[DarkJoy]

Nonie those are beautiful styles. I was thinking more along the lines of like 50 tiny twists with a half combed puff in the back which I generally see the youngins wear here.

I just think it depends on the work environment and how high corporate they are and how tolerant they are of anything that looks 'ethnic'. Unfortunately, I was speaking from experience with my current job. They are extremely intolerant.

 

[lux10023]

honestly we had a sistah start at our corp office two weeks ago and i pulled her to the side like listen xyz

the thing is she has a highly visible position and ppl were already talking like she needs to be more polished in appearance an di too agreed--the position she filled had been vacant for awhile so it being filled is a big deal...its a big time senior exec position so...
she has tons of meetings to attend and etc etc

she has a twa i get it--i have a twa--but it did look unkept--not her fault perse but i think a better style would suit her for her role at this company
she came in this week with some nice two strand twist--and she looks great

 

[Nonie]

Nonie those are beautiful styles. I was thinking more along the lines of like 50 tiny twists with a half combed puff in the back which I generally see the youngins wear here.

I just think it depends on the work environment and how high corporate they are and how tolerant they are of anything that looks 'ethnic'. Unfortunately, I was speaking from experience with my current job. They are extremely intolerant.

Gotcha! We are >>here<< on that. I agree in the headbands too; not every company will approve of them. I think going back to what was OK when I was in school really helps me keep things simple. Black clips that became inconspicuous thus conservative rather than colorful loud hair accessories are the way to go.

 

[Natty_Virgo]

Okay so headbands are not professional? What about the all black ones you can barely see? I'm headed back to corporate next week so this thread is right on time.

Sent from my S3 using LHCF

 

[faithVA]

I think we need to define corporate and it really depends on your area. It also depends on how far up the corporate ladder you are. There is a lot of leeway. I wouldn't rule out any of the styles mentioned unless we know how formal the environment is. Just using the word corporate doesn't convey how formal it is.

I wear headbands whenever and I work in corporate. They are conservative and keep the hair back. Even when I worked in banking a head band would work. It may not fly in legal but there are many areas they work.

Now if the person is an executive or in a position to shoot for an executive position that is different.

 

[DarkJoy]

Thanks Nonie.

I would say to others new in the corporate world or returning, look at the ww in your offices and how their hair is adorned. My job? There is ZERO hair candy except goody bands for pony tails. And even those are rare.

Funny thing, I started a trend. Started wearing a phony bun with Marley hair last week and two ww vice presidents are sporting them this week with their own stringy hair and getting compliments. Not mine tho cuz they are like that

 

[Nonie]

Okay so headbands are not professional? What about the all black ones you can barely see? I'm headed back to corporate next week so this thread is right on time.

Sent from my S3 using LHCF

I think it depends on the work place. As a bank teller at a First Union Bank branch in Alexandria back in the day, nothing was allowed on your head: no headbands, hats or headwraps. Plus you have to sort of be realistic and look at how you look. You may look cute in the face with a headband so want to wear it, but you may take it off and find your entire look appears more polished and that the band was cheapening the look and making it more casual. Of course if casual smart is the dress code, then you can probably pull it off, esp if it is not of a screaming color. But don't "catch an attitude" if it is not approved, coz standards vary from place to place.

No one in my job wore hats and headdresses before I showed up but I was slick about testing the waters and kinda warmed folks up to it by being conservative and making the additions hardly noticeable. When I finally rocked a headwrap, it was welcomed with compliments and appreciation. But as I stated, none of this would fly at the bank. In fact, the day I walked into my job at the bank with a headwrap to hide half braided hair, I had to try to make do with a messy head and no comb--work some magic to make it presentable--because they were not playing when they ordered me to take that thing off. Yes, I was pissed. But I never did it again, coz when in Rome...

 

[Natty_Virgo]

I think it depends on the work place. As a bank teller at a First Union Bank branch in Alexandria back in the day, nothing was allowed on your head: no headbands, hats or headwraps. Plus you have to sort of be realistic and look at how you look. You may look cute in the face with a headband so want to wear it, but you may take it off and find your entire look appears more polished and that the band was cheapening the look and making it more casual. Of course if casual smart is the dress code, then you can probably pull it off, esp if it is not of a screaming color. But don't "catch an attitude" if it not approve coz standards vary.

No one in my job wore hats and headdresses before I showed up but I was slick about testing the waters and kinda warmed folks up to it by being conservative and making the additions hardly noticeable. When I finally rocked a headwrap, it was welcomed with compliments and appreciation. But as I stated, none of this would fly at the bank. In fact, the day I walked in with a headwrap to hide half braided hair, I had to try to make do with a messy head and no comb--work some magic to make it presentable--because they were not playing. Yes, I was pissed. But I never did it again.

I understand what you're saying. I'm thinking the super skinny ones and it's black so it's hardly noticeable. I'm going to check my the place out and see what is acceptable. I don't think they are too strict.

Sent from my S3 using LHCF