What about this hair?!

jackson145 · Feb 22, 2008

I had planned on wearing my hair in a ponytail and then the instructor said that wasn't good enough. She said it had to be in a bun. Boy that's stylin!

WDWpixieRN, RN · Feb 22, 2008

I wear mine slightly longer than shoulder length....it's long enough to go in a clip or a pony tail, but short enough to be "stylish" and flipped up or down (think pageboy-type style) when I'm not in clinicals.

I mentioned to my stylist recently that I might be ready for something different. She told me I have to wait until after NS as she doesn't want me to have to mess with it on clinical mornings, lol. She was once going to go in to nursing, so has some idea of what I'm going through!!

I think your options are short enough that you don't get hassled to put it up (like off the collar) or long enough that you can get it out of your way for clinical mornings.

Oh, and I'm early 50's, so I understand where you're coming from. I envy the fact that you have thick hair as mine's baby fine and there's not a whole lot of it, lol!! We always want what we don't have!!

Best wishes!!

momtojosh · Feb 22, 2008

hey keep tryin......i am 40 "smething" too......I am doing the LPN program...LOVE IT......

i also wanted something different for my hair too.....i cant do a pony tail....i dont look right......but i am letting my layers grow out.......it is shoulder length and at clinicals i wear a headband to keep it back......i know what you mean about loooking dowdy.......i feel like that too when my hair is down.......i am looking for a 40 something haor cut myself......BUT my hair is curly and thinning................AAAAHHHHHHH not bald spot thinning....but menopause thiniing....heheh..........

how is school goiing for you?? are you doing RN or Luld love to hear from you!!!

ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN · Feb 23, 2008

I started out with really long thick hair, well once you put that much hair in a bun it was HUGE lol so I cut it shorter to make for a smaller bun, I became the example bun lmao BUT i still hated having to spend that much time for clinical look (had to be tight, slicked back, very picky instructor) so I hacked it all off over the summer, it's a bit longer than usual right now but still short, it was really nice last semester to wash and go and just clip on the cap (yep we still wear them at our school lmao) thankfully in OB we aren't allowed to wear capson the floor so mine can now sit in my curio cabinet. PM me for my myspace and you can see what it was like short, took all of 10 mins in the morning to acheive the look in the pic

AmericanRN · Feb 23, 2008

I had planned on wearing my hair in a ponytail and then the instructor said that wasn't good enough. She said it had to be in a bun. Boy that's stylin!

Call your bun a chignon. It makes it sound better even if in reality it is indeed a honey bun made of hair. :bow:

future L&Dnurse · Feb 23, 2008

Are you willing to cut your hair? If so, something like this would probably work fairly well with your hair type: http://beauty.about.com/od/shorthairstyles/ss/shorthair2_3.htm I've got really thick wavy hair too and a textured, layered shoulder-ish length style really works well to tame it. If it's up off your shoulders, you can use a barrette or two to hold it out of your face, but won't have to do the pony tail.

If you don't want to cut it, you could buy some thick claw clips (I don't know what they're called, these things: http://www.goody.com/images/glossary/claw_clip.jpg ). They make some now that have a rubber band reinforcing them, so they really do hold tight to thick hair. You could also try learning to french braid it if you're fairly good with your hands. I taught myself to french braid my hair a while back and there's a learning curve for sure, but I'm pretty good at it now.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2008

I also have what has been described as "hair for DAYS." Thick, coorifice, wavy, and needs to be brushed q30min to not become a huge frizzy mess. (You think I'm kidding. I am not kidding.) In my case, cutting it for "convenience" was the WORST idea I could have had. It went from long and thick to medium and enormous. I ended up spending more time and more money on product than I ever did when it was long. What I do for work now is a ponytail that I then braid. Yeah, sometimes I get called "the girl with the braid" by families who don't remember my name, but it's the only way it still looks remotely polished by the end of a shift. Even a ponytail gets out of hand after a few hours.

Edit: That cut linked above is so cute I could die. I had one like it once. I looked like a mushroom.

flightnurse2b, LPN · Feb 23, 2008

i have thick, mid-back long, curly hair that is comparable to a horses tail and costs me about 50 dollars every 2 weeks for just for shampoo and frizz ease. when i worked in the field, the ER and now in NS my hairdo of choice is a french braid with a headband to get rid of the sunshine of frizz around my face. but sometimes a ballerina bun if i flat iron it (which doesnt happen often because it takes like 2 hours)....and i agree with the PP about the cute haircut--people with our kind of hair look more like a christmas tree with that cut, believe me ive tried it, lol.

keeptryin · Feb 23, 2008

Thanks for the info, LOVE the cute bob cut in the link, unfortunalty my hair is like elizabells, it would certainly be a mushroom, or even a nuclear mushroom cloud! I too made the mistake of cutting it short once. Have mercy!! It became an entity of it's own! By the way, love the suggestion to call the bun a chingnon! Now if only someone can find a way to "class up" those scrubs...