Hair for nurses?

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Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.

Hi all, I put this in this forum b/c I am a first year nurse (only been a nurse for 2 weeks now LOL!) and I start work soon. I'm wanting to know what you do with your hair if you have shoulder length or longer hair?

I'm going to be probably putting it up in a pony tail every day, I bought scrunchies to match my scrubs LOL...but it seems to damage my hair a little to pull it back all the time.

I will be in a NICU so I can't really have it around my face.

So what do you do if you have longer hair?

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I used to alternate between a ponytail, a French twist, a braid and pigtails. I would often put it back with a barrette instead of a scrunchie or elastic. Then I cut it all off. Now it's about... lemme see... 2 inches long all over with a purple streak in the front. It's very liberating.

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Specializes in RN- Med/surg.

I pull mine back in a clip. (also a new nurse) It's not as trendy as a pony with a band...but if I wear pony's too long I get severe headaches. This way, I let it down when I sit to chart. I'm seriously contemplating cutting it...but my husband hates short hair.

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I usually have mine in a french braid. I take an extra barette with me so that I can twist the braid up when needed. ( I have hip length hair) Other times I use a headband or I pull back the front into a braid & then twist it all up on top of my head with a big barette when I'm going to be working with my residents. I like to have a little "poof" to soften the severity of having it all pulled up. I buy colored elastic bands to match my scrubs. They are cheap, disposable & I can match nearly any outfit.

I hope this gives you some ideas.

KrisMis

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When I was in nursing school, my stylist threatened to throw all my ponytail elastics away. Even though I used the one that were supposed to not damage hair, they do cause breakage when you use them every day.

I ended up using clips for the longest time. Now I use elastics as well, but I try to change where my ponytail is on different days. You know, high on the head, right in the back, at the nape of the neck. . . .I also braid my hair once in awhile.

Now I'm considering cutting it all off. . ...

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I and another nurse had the longest hair on one unit where we worked--and I mean long, down to our butts. We used to talk about the different ways we wrapped it up and piled it up on our head. You really cannot work with your hair flying around your face. She used to take her hair and literally tie it into these elaborate slip knots and then held it down with one or two long bobby pins. I put mine up in a pony tail (I bend forward and brush my hair forward to get it all bound up. Don't use rubber bands if you can avoid it or they will sever your hair--use something softer to bind your pony tail. I used to use a styling lotion and comb to plaster down any short ends that tend to happen if any hair got severed by those doggone rubber bands. I would then roll the hair of the pony tails around a large roller and pin it down so that it looked like a big fancy curl on the top on my head. There was so much hair on the roller that it would fall over the sides of the roller and hide it so no one knew that there was a roller in there. You can pin two rollers together and roll your hair around them to make the curl even larger. Sometimes I put an elasticized piece of material (scrunchy) around the thing. I also braided thick pieces of colored yarn to put across the front of the pony tail to hide the fact that it was actually a pony tail. Another thing I did was get these things called fox tails (synthetic hair on wires) from wig stores for $30 that I wrapped around this big curl to make it look like I had more hair (like I didn't have enough already!). Great thing about this is that I could always stick my pens in this pile of hair! Docs would come up and help themselves to my pen so I always had one or two extra in my pocket in case one of these thieves got me without my knowing. I worked for many years and found that it was best to make everything I wear become functional. The less steps you have to take during your shift, the better.

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Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.
I pull mine back in a clip. (also a new nurse) It's not as trendy as a pony with a band...but if I wear pony's too long I get severe headaches. This way, I let it down when I sit to chart. I'm seriously contemplating cutting it...but my husband hates short hair.

Yes I have cut it short in the past and I don't like it that way LOL so I won't do it anymore LOL it took me almost 2 years to grow it back LOL ROFL! And yes my Hubby hates short hair too.

I hear ya about the headaches so I will try to alternate between clips and ponys.

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Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.
I usually have mine in a french braid. I take an extra barette with me so that I can twist the braid up when needed. ( I have hip length hair) Other times I use a headband or I pull back the front into a braid & then twist it all up on top of my head with a big barette when I'm going to be working with my residents. I like to have a little "poof" to soften the severity of having it all pulled up. I buy colored elastic bands to match my scrubs. They are cheap, disposable & I can match nearly any outfit.

I hope this gives you some ideas.

KrisMis

Any ideas on how to teach myself to french braid? I have a hard time b/c I have pretty yucky joint pain in my fingers so I'm not sure how well I could do it but I'd love to learn!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

My hubby's another one who hates short hair. And being considerably overweight, I look pin-headed with short hair, so I grew it back out last year and now it's down to the middle of my back again. Since my job is more of an administrative one, I can wear my hair down at work but often choose not to because a) I have hot flashes and like to have my hair off my neck, and b) I do some resident care and don't need it getting in the way. So I alternate between putting it in a ponytail or bun, braiding it, and using a large clip to keep it upswept and out of my face. I also sometimes use a barrette clip with an attached net that keeps it contained and looks more professional than a pony or braid.

I don't know how to French braid either, and as long and thick as my hair is, my arms would probably get tired long before I got it done. And I don't think Hubs wants to learn........:lol2:

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Specializes in ER, Medicine.
Yes I have cut it short in the past and I don't like it that way LOL so I won't do it anymore LOL it took me almost 2 years to grow it back LOL ROFL! And yes my Hubby hates short hair too.

I hear ya about the headaches so I will try to alternate between clips and ponys.

I cut mine too and it was okay for a while...but when you have short hair you really have to style it or it wont look as nice. I hated having to style it and deal with it on bad hair days. Because with short hair you really can't just pin it up or anything.

I'm growing mine out, I just reached the 1 year mark since I cut it and it's about halfway back to the original length. If only I had known it would take this long to grow it back!:(

Ladies think twice about cutting your hair cuz when it's gone...it's gone!

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I start out with a high ponytail, then a clip, then a low ponytail, then a low braid. I've found that switching it up during the day prevents sore scalp. I just change the hairstyle everytime i make a pit stop (bathroom).

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Consider also the texture of your hair and if the style will stay put through a 12 hour shift. French braids look good on me for a couple of hours until wisps start to escape, then more hair slips out until I look like I have been pulled through a bush.

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