Ladies, Can you wear your hair down at work?

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2007

Everywhere I've been most people (men and women) have their hair up, off their collers and a lot have it away from their faces.

I;m sure there are situations where you can..but would you want too? Your hair falls into a wound..eww, your hair falls into a dirty brief, ewwww!!

I make sure my hair is up and away from my face, I don't like the idea of it falling into anything.

agent66 · Sep 23, 2007

I have not worn my hair up for about 10years, it is just past my shoulders and curly and has never posed a problem with any of my managers. It is clean and neat and I always looked my messy marvin in a ponytail because it is so fine it would fall out so for me this looks more professional, and frankly I am just not a ponytail kind of girl, haven't been since about grade 2. If I am anticipating a mess to clean up then i tuck it behind my ears for good measure but have never had a situation where the hair was an issue. And doing dressings etc, the masks work wonders for keeping it off the face and in place.

Christie RN2006 · Sep 23, 2007

We are allowed to wear our hair however we want as long as it looks nice. My hair is medium/long length (just past my shoulders) and I always wear my hair either in a pony tail or just pulled partially back. Sometimes I have to do thing such as sterile procedures, cpr, etc and the last thing I want to be worrying about during those things is my hair getting in my face. It also can be a safety issue... we sometimes care for dangerous people such as prison inmates or people with mental health issues and you don't want anything close that they can grab (you cannot wear your stethoscopes around your neck and you need to keep your hair away from them)

Katnip, RN · Sep 23, 2007

Most places I've worked allow you to wear your hair down, but why would you? It gets in the way, can drag into body fluids when you're turning or moving someone, an angry/confused/violent patient can grabe hold of it more easily.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2007

I work with a long-haired man, men have long hair too. He always wears his in a pony tail. I was taught in school to always wear it back so that's what I do..

At my workplace people wear it any way they prefer, but I think it's better to wear it back.

leslie :-D · Sep 23, 2007

my hair goes down to the bottom of my back.

even if i was allowed to, i HATE having it down.

it is such a nuisance and i hate anything touching my face.

i can't imagine trying to do care w/hair flying everywhere.

always wear it back/up/off.

leslie

allthingsbright · Sep 23, 2007

I have really long hair and it just gets caught in stuff if I wear it down. So, no, I put it up! :)

allnurses Guide · Sep 23, 2007

We can and I have but I'm with most of the posters . . . . you will find yourself in a spot where your hair gets in the way and you don't have time to fix it and will have to keep pushing it out of your face . . ..

steph

Devil_Duckie, LVN · Sep 23, 2007

Whenever I was in clinical, we HAD to have our hair up and off the collar otherwise we were sent home. That said, it's a heckuva lot easier to just have it up at the beginning of the day otherwise I'd spend wayyyy too much time tucking it back. My hair is extremely thin and fine and it tends to look more proffessional and put-together when I have it up...so that's my 0.02!

Babarnurse · Sep 23, 2007

I watched a nurse do an assessment on a patient and her long hair kept ending up in the patients face. When I had long hair, I wore it up. Sometimes you don't have time to put your hair up in an emergency situation like CPR, etc.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Sep 23, 2007

My hair is quite long---past the middle of my back---and even as an administrative nurse, I usually wear it up or tie it back. It looks neater and more professional IMO, and serves me well when I have to change a dressing or perform an assessment.

For various reasons, I'm not ready to give up my long tresses........I cut it short a couple of years ago, and almost immediately discovered that I still really like the versatility of longer hair. About the only disadvantages are summer heat and the inquisitive fingers of young grandbabies, but then, that's why they make those nice big clips!