Will they make her cut her hair?

leslie :-D · Aug 6, 2005

I brought up the headlice issue because it is often thought that dirty hair harbors not only microorganisms, but parasites as well. Just because hair looks dirty, doesn't mean that it is and vice versa. Dreadlocks are thought to harbor both, especially by people who are not in that particular ethnic group. It's all about stereotypes and ethnicity. None of this should have been relevant to that student's ability to do her clinicals. It's all because someone took offense and assumed that dreadlocks harbor everything imaginable.
QUOTE=bluiis923]If the issue is ETHNICITY, then why did you bring up who gets the most head lice ? Just wondering....

i have not seen this thread as ethnic at all and there's no reason for it to go/stay in that direction. rather, i've seen a multitude of replies that have mixed responses re: dreadlocks.....i.e.., that some smell and some do not. it has NOTHING to do with race. that's why there has been so much emphasis on hygiene. i don't see the need to get defensive when we're not talking about race/skin color. it has also been acknowledged that caucasians have been noted with dirty hair so the emphasis should be on keeping one's hair clean vs. caucasians get more head lice than people of color. and just because people of color are typically the ones who wear the dreadlocks should not shift the subject of cleanliness and appropriateness to 'those people' who wear them. i find that downright irritating when it has to be made into a racial blame game.

leslie

underwatergirl · Aug 6, 2005

Leslie,

OUTSTANDING POINT!!! IT isn't about ethnicity but rather hygiene and professionalism...meaning pulling hair back...I have long curly hair and it is always pulled back...

Not racial or ethnic issue, just hygiene and professionalism.

Annette

bluiis923 · Aug 6, 2005

i

Well said ...

leslie

bluiis923 · Aug 6, 2005

Well said Leslie...

pickledpepperRN · Aug 6, 2005

Leslie,
OUTSTANDING POINT!!! IT isn't about ethnicity but rather hygiene and professionalism...meaning pulling hair back...I have long curly hair and it is always pulled back...
Not racial or ethnic issue, just hygiene and professionalism.
Annette

I am with you both.

I do want to be clear that the nurse with the beautiful long blond hair did not have dirty hair. It was a clean as hair can be (meaning bacteria ridden) until it swooped over the trach. THEN she had sputum in her hair and the patient had hair germs on the trach. We had been so careful to be sterile.

If I'm a patient I don't care about the ethnicity on my caregivers. I do not want hair in my face while being turned.

chattypattyCRNA2B · Aug 6, 2005

Leslie,
OUTSTANDING POINT!!! IT isn't about ethnicity but rather hygiene and professionalism...meaning pulling hair back...I have long curly hair and it is always pulled back...
Not racial or ethnic issue, just hygiene and professionalism.
Annette

Well what if the hair isn't very long should it be pulled back then? I was under the impression that people were implying that the dreads should be pulled back because the simple fact of the hair being in dreads not because they were long. If they are long then pulling them back into a ponytail or bun or whatever goes without saying and they SHOULD be pulled back so they won't get in the way. But feeling as if hair that is dreadlocked should be pulled back because it would look more professional is not right. If the hair is really long it should be pulled back no matter the texture or style. I get that. I just don't think that was what some of the posters were implying. If they were then I agree with them.

edited: because I'm a bad speller

underwatergirl · Aug 6, 2005

I believe ANY hair, should not by no means be left down if it touches the nurses collar. Doesn't matter clean or not (preferably clean). Our hair can be a risk of an infection if left down, I have very long hair and curly that is unruley, I struggle everyday to keep it up...LOL

I personally like dreads, I think they are awesome...dangerous...remember that friend that left a welt on my face with her's...LOL I am playing...I have worked with nurses with short and long dreads...the long ones were pulled back as they should be.

Annette

Well what if the hair isn't very long should it be pulled back then? I was under the impression that people were implying that the dreads should be pulled back because the simple fact of the hair being in dreads not because they were long. If they are long then pulling them back into a ponytail or bun or whatever goes without saying and they SHOULD be pulled back so they won't get in the way. But feeling as if hair that is dreadlocked should be pulled back because it would look more professional is not right. If the hair is really long it should be pulled back no matter the texture or style. I get that. I just don't think that was what some of the posters were implying. If they were then I agree with them.
edited: because I'm a bad speller

leslie :-D · Aug 6, 2005

if the dreadlocks don't touch the collar then they needn't be pulled back.

but i am from the school that teaches you that nothing touches the collar.

and if you have lice, get rid of them. all should keep their hair clean. afterall, we do have a professional image to maintain.

leslie

Hairstylingnurse · Aug 6, 2005

Well... even though most of the ones YOU'VE seen look dirty... doesn't give much validity to dreadlocks overall being that way... and whether or not they are put in a ponytail should be up to the wearer's discretion... I'm sure every nurse does not wear his/her hair in a bun or ponytail everytime they go to work... :D

Well seeing as I'm a liscensed hairdresser (duh, my screen name), that gives quiet a bit a validity to what I said. And if you have dreadlocks as a nurse then you shou;d have to wear it up. I don't know where you work but I dress alot of wounds on compromised patients. If you in a dr. office and answering a phone or scheaduling surgies or other procedures then get down and dirty. Sorry but I think the dread locks are way worse than the artificial nails. I don't wear either, but at least the artificial nails get hot soapy washes throughout the day. When you get your lisc. in cosmetology, call me until then don't tell me what I have seen as a professional in a feild you have no clue about. I have had clients and given clients dreadlocks, haow many have you dealt with????????:imbar :saint:

Hairstylingnurse · Aug 6, 2005

It is defianantly not a question of race, I've seen more & styled white guy's than anyone and I have the smell of one ingrained majorly in my mind. He came to expect that free shampoo I agve him (he refused to pay that extra $4.00 for a shampoo. I then got to the point that I always made sure I was too busy to do his hair when he came in after a while.

lowpdnrse · Aug 7, 2005

My point exactly. What does a person's hair has to do with their ability to be a nurse. As long as the hair is a proper length and does not interfere with the patient, what's the problem?

i have not seen this thread as ethnic at all and there's no reason for it to go/stay in that direction. rather, i've seen a multitude of replies that have mixed responses re: dreadlocks.....i.e.., that some smell and some do not. it has NOTHING to do with race. that's why there has been so much emphasis on hygiene. i don't see the need to get defensive when we're not talking about race/skin color. it has also been acknowledged that caucasians have been noted with dirty hair so the emphasis should be on keeping one's hair clean vs. caucasians get more head lice than people of color. and just because people of color are typically the ones who wear the dreadlocks should not shift the subject of cleanliness and appropriateness to 'those people' who wear them. i find that downright irritating when it has to be made into a racial blame game.

leslie

chattypattyCRNA2B · Aug 7, 2005

Well seeing as I'm a liscensed hairdresser (duh, my screen name), that gives quiet a bit a validity to what I said. And if you have dreadlocks as a nurse then you shou;d have to wear it up. I don't know where you work but I dress alot of wounds on compromised patients. If you in a dr. office and answering a phone or scheaduling surgies or other procedures then get down and dirty. Sorry but I think the dread locks are way worse than the artificial nails. I don't wear either, but at least the artificial nails get hot soapy washes throughout the day. When you get your lisc. in cosmetology, call me until then don't tell me what I have seen as a professional in a feild you have no clue about. I have had clients and given clients dreadlocks, haow many have you dealt with????????:imbar

Well seeing that you are a licensed hairdresser, you may need to be RE-licensed. Furthermore what does being a licensed hairdresser have to do with knowing proper hygeine??? Last time I checked you don't need a license for that. Why should you wear your hair up IF you have dreads? I've already stated that they should be up if they are very long, so what's your problem. If they are not very long, why put them up? I see nurses all the time who wear their hair down, so why does one with dreadlocks be required to? And excuse me...."dreadlocks are way worse than artificial nails" is SO not true. You're supposed to wash them, but there's a greater chance of transferring nosocomial infections to the patient via the hands, especially if you have artificial nails because there are spaces within the acryllic that are hard to reach; and you use your hands to deliver patient care.

Oh by the way if you think dreads are so unhygeinic then why would you provide that service? If you are an educated hairdresser as you say then you would know that hair can be washed. You're implying that dreadlocks cannot be cleaned and that's not true. If you have had chemistry I'm sure you've heard about saponification and how it removes dirt. Have you heard that one? Well guess what....it works on dreads too. Hey what a concept!!!!