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I am taking a civilian position with the US army Corp of Engineers. I have not yet read anything from their HR department that says I must have short hair. HOWEVER, I know too well the prejudices that will probably start once they see me show up with my hair below my ass. Question, What would be a good way to hide my hair? Any help appreciated.
I knew a guy who had hair almost mid-back who used to get in the shower and wet his hair down than put some gel in it and pulled it together and clipped it to the top of head with a hair clip under a baseball cap.
he also used bobby pins as well.
he used to get his neck shaved often to give the impression that he had a short haircut and it seemed to work for him.
you may want to try to do the same thing ,but his hair was not nearly as long as yours so I don't know if it would work with a baseball cap or not.
it's too bad that such prejudices exist. your hair should not matter, but unfortunately it does in many employment situations.
I wish you the best of luck and let us know how it goes!
as yours so I don't know if it would work with a baseball cap or not.
Hey thanks for the advice. Ill experiment with wet hair and gel undet a cap!
A tight bun would minimize the amount of hair showing, or you can wear it Up under a cap or hat, or just tie a low ponytail and put it inside your shirt. But, Don't cut it. There are lots of federal regulations protecting civilians and equal opportunity in the work place. Best of luck.
Um... this won't completely hide your ponytail, but it could make it look substantially shorter.
You're going to need at least 4 ties.
First tie: where it normally goes.
Second tie: Near the bottom. You may stick additional ties so that the whole thing stays in one strand.
Third tie: Fold your hair such that the first and second ties meet. Then tie it around the first and second tie.
Fourth tie: At the bottom of the new ponytail so as to not look like a loop.
But as to make it look collar length short, there is absolutely no way of doing so.
Thanks, I tried it, and it is way shorter looking. Good tip.
That's a great looking head of hair - why hide it! Braid it or put it in a segmented tail. You're more likely to get a lot of nice compliments.
- Oren
Cannot really give you any help as regards to hiding hair length. All I can say is I that I am going to stick a picture of your hair on the wall as an inspiration. Your current length is what I hope to achieve one day.
Best of luck,
Duncan
Thanks Duncan. I finally got the length I was going for. Nohair cut for me!
First and foremost I would absolutely suggest not cutting any of that beautiful hair.
Second you could use a hair tie to tie your hair up in the back
of your head. Back a number of years ago (in the 70s) I had one
job who complained about my long hair. I refused to cut it, wrapped the hair around my hand a few times, tied it with a hair
tie, and got no further complaints from that job. At the end of
the work shift I remove the tie and could fully enjoy my long hair. There were also some days where i tied the hair into a
pony tail, tucked it under my shirt, and also got away with that.
If they don't accept these suggestions or the others offered
then i'd suggest finding work elsewhere. Whatever you do though
please don't cut that beautiful hair.
You're fooling yourself if you think you'll be able to hide that much awesome hair for long. Once the people you work with find out that you've been trying to hide it, your lack of self-confidence will taint their opinion of you. Be proud of who you are. Show up, do a good job, and earn their respect without hiding what is clearly an important aspect to your self-identity. For the sake of safety and practicality, though, I'd suggest a solid, tight braid, and be ready to either tie it up or tuck it into your shirt, depending on the work you're doing and the machinery that may be nearby.
--Val
What he said!
Better to not start doing it...it would be horrible to have to do it for an entire career!
Safe and controlled should be enough.
You r right. Safe and controlled is way ill try.
Absolutely right.
Thanks you are right. That is a good point.
I think I will try a braid for safety reasons
If you into tucking that awesome mane underneath a hat i would do that, or put into a nice braid. good luck
I know a guy who works for the US Dept of the Navy. He apparently used to have longer hair than he does now, although I don't know exactly how long. Now it's just a little beyond collar length.
He tells a story that one time he was aboard ship for some field tests and was ordered to get a haircut by a naval officer who didn't realise he was a civilian, and who then had to back down, embarassed by his mistake.
I don't believe the US government has any hair length restrictions for civilians.
civilians.
Thanks that info is helpful. Funny story
Hi there PirateMale,
What an AWESOME head of have you have there, mate!!!
Rather than "hide" your hair, what I suggest you do is what I've been doing for years at my job: put your hair back into a man-bun instead!
It's very practical (especially for someone with your amazing hair length), it keeps it neat and out-of-the-way, AND it protects your hair from damage... What more could you ask for than that?
Good luck!
- Ken in San Francisco
(the attached pic of my hair back in a bun at SF's Ocean beach was taken just 4 months ago, my current hair length being just a few inches shorter than yours)
If you found out that you HAVE to hide it, I would either tail it or braid it and then stick it inside my shirt. If you found out that, as a civilian, you don't have to do anything along that line, I would wear it the way I wanted to. One thing for sure--I wouldn't cut it.
Steve
Thanks steve. I agree, no haircuts for this guy . I think I may try braided under the shirt until they see I am very intelligent and well qualified. Ciao bro
I would only suggest tying it back, but if you try to conceal it and they find out later it could create some problems for you.
if they cannot accept you for WHO you are then you do not want to work for them anyway.
this is NOT the 1950s and you should be able to wear your hair any way you want regardless of gender!!
good luck with the interview!!
I have to chime in with the majority: that hair is too nice to hide! The most compromise I would make would be to put it in a ponytail for the interview, but I hope you wear it down most of the time!
I've worked for the Corps of Engineers since 1993. I showed up with long hair, grew it to longer-than-waist length, and proceeded to pierce both ears from top to bottom. Add a knee-length goatee, thigh length chops, a mustache that sometimes reaches ten inches in length - AND exceptional performance awards in 16 out of 19 years. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're working at Headquarters. The photo is me in a recent Corps training course:)
Hey thanks so much! You just made my day! I feel better now. I will be out in the field at all times. I am glad there is at least one normal person such as yourself working there. Maybe ill run into you sometime !
Thanks!!! I am glad there is at least one normal person such as yourself working there. I had this vision of being surronded by shaved military guys! Whewwww!!!!!! You made my day, ill keep an eye out for you.
Thanks for your response. What District are you working for? We have other longhairs here too, a few of which are close to waist length. I tried emailing you via this board, but my message came back as undeliverable.
(n/t)