Post by Frances Cole Jones, contributing Women On Business writer
For those of you scratching your heads (Sorry, I’m in a punning kind of mood) at the title—and the topic—of this piece, here’s a newsflash: many, many people spend as much (or more) time thinking about how they’re going to wear their hair at their presentation as they do thinking about what they’re going to say at their presentation.
(And while I will admit the preponderance of these conversations tend to be with women, I have had in-depth hair conversations with my male clients, too.)
My trouble is that I can think of few people in the world less qualified to talk about hair than myself. Mine mystifies me, which is why I outsourced the whole project to my wonderful stylist, Dickey, and why I sat down with him recently to get the answers to some of your most pressing questions:
Straight or Curly?
Dickey’s specialty is textured hair, which is how I ended up in his chair. What we’ve both observed from our work with hundreds of clients is that there are certain professions that prefer straight hair— for example, finance, telecommunications, business/strategic consulting. For whatever reason wearing your hair straight makes them feel you are more in control of your information.
Up or Down?
Those with long hair struggle with the “Up or down?” question. In this realm we have one hard and fast rule, and a few recommendations:
- Rule: I don’t care which you choose—and I’m sorry if I sound like your mother– but GET IT OUT OF YOUR FACE. Nothing is more distracting than having your bangs in your eyes, wisps trailing near your mouth, etc.
- General recommendations: Again, more ‘controlled’ professions are going to prefer a more ‘controlled’ look. If you’re worried you look young for your age, putting it up will give you far more authority than wearing it down.
Long or Short?
This often comes down to face shape, hair texture, etc. (For example, if your face is small, big hair isn’t going to serve you.) The most important thing, however, is that you look like you chose your style—rather than having it look like something you defaulted to in College and never gave another thought. After all, you don’t want to it to look like you could—with a quick outfit change—be serving chicken wings and beer in Any College Town, Anywhere USA.
Anthony Dickey is the founder of HairRules. He believes many women struggle with the one-sized fits all approach to hair care, but if there was more focus on an individually prescribed, texture-specific approach women could execute whatever style they wish more confidently. Hair Rules is a unique, texture-specific approach to hair care- giving women options to wear their hair any way they choose, via healthy, responsible methods. For more go to www.hairrules.com.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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