Hair help

[Parrothead]

I have mid-chest length hair that's thick and has a bit of wave too it. It also frizzes at the temples when the humidity goes up. Anyway, I have a job interview coming up, and I would like help/advice as to what I should do with my hair.

(job is business casual in a call center collecting past due payments.)

[lupo pazzesco]

I'd suggest a french braid maybe? Hair up and professional-ish without being complete business-type updo.

Yeah, other than that, I got nothing...sorry. Good luck on the interview!!!!

[Cookie]

Your hair type sounds similar to mine except as I got older it went from wavy to curly and I just recently cut it short. I went through the "what to do with all this hair" question many times.

Large hot rollers work really well for smoothing out hair and keeping it in natural looking waves if you let them cool thoroughly before removing them and brush the hair gently afterward. From there, you can do a lot of great things with hair clips. A mid-sized clip (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long) can do well holding up half of your hair at the back of your head. They make pretty ones painted with patterns; just don't pick a juvenile pattern. You could part your hair on the side, even at an angle if you wanted to, and sweep the hair across your forehead (I'm assuming no bangs as they weren't mentioned) before you gather it up in the clip. To me, a part that is on the side, or even somewhat off-center shows more thought and maturity than a part in the middle. Just about every teenager lets her hair part in the middle. The sweep across the forehead is pretty and is especially flattering if you have a high forehead like me.

Another thing I've done after parting this way and sweeping the hair across the front is taking a small amount of hair on either side and braiding it (normally, not french braid) then joining the two small braids in the back and braiding them together and letting that hang down over my smooth, rolled hair.

One more is sort of a simple up-do. I did this a lot when my hair was the exact length yours is. This one requires a somewhat larger hair clip, about 4 inches. They make them with a rubber grip on the inside so that it doesn't slide around. I highly recommend it for thick hair! Once again, I rolled the hair. Sometimes, I would just go back afterward and smooth the top layer with a curling iron if I didn't have time for rolling. Make sure the hair is parted well in the front in a way that's attractive to your face first of all. Sweep the hair back to about the middle of the back of your head. Then, twist it up and clip it at the top of the back of your head. If you position it right, the remaining hair should spill over the top and cover the clip entirely making it look like a hairdo you spent a LOT more time on that you did. If you have a round face (like me), you'll want the clip high enough so that the "bump" from the hairdo shows over the top of your head. If you have a longer face, then you wouldn't want it showing as it will make it look longer. If you do it right, this is sturdier than it sounds. I worked doubles waiting tables with this hairdo, and I have very heavy hair.

Whatever you do, experiment with it before the day of the interview to make sure you've got your technique right so you are comfortable with the way it looks and confident that it will hold in place. The worst thing you could do is something you'll be thinking about during your interview. A little tip is when you're done styling, hold your hairspray bottle almost to arms length away from your head and mist lightly. Then, gently take your hand and glide it over the surface of your hair in the direction it's flowing. This gets rid of a lot of frizzies. Everybody has a few strays, but excessive amounts gives the impression of a teenager who hasn't quite learned to care yet.

Hope this helps you! Sorry for the long post. I love playing with hair, and my mom was a beautician, so I learned a lot from her.

[AdminAssistant]

Style it however you feel comfortable - the most important thing is that it's clean and neat. It would probably be good to pull it up out of your face somehow, depending on how your hair is. (If my hair isn't in a barette or ponytail, it's hanging in my face like an emo kid.)

[JoitheArtist]

I love using this style: http://www.dressytresses.com/hair/ga...ct/long-clamp/

Looks fantastic, is REALLY comfy, and takes about 5 minutes to do. And doesn't require bobby pins which is GREAT because my hair refuses to hold them. Sigh.

[Magpie]

Sorry, I need to check: female or male?

If female, I second the French braid suggestion. Practice a few times to make sure you can get it to stay in (it's taken me several years to get one to stay all day). This works best if you don't have any really short patches of hair at the hairline (I don't know where they come from!)

If you are worried about the braiding, try a basic bun. Basically you make a ponytail (this is more difficult than it sounds), then grab it and twist. As the hair twists, it will naturally coil around itself, and then you can pin it in place.

I'm also a big believer in the "Chinese bun". I normally braid it before wrapping it up. I also don't recommend using a knitting needle unless you have short wood or bamboo ones. Longer ones will end up interfering with stuff.

Depending on the job you have more options. I tend to limit myself to the above in interviews, because the jobs I was interviewing for were ones where I didn't want to look like I fussed a lot with my hair, and where wearing hair down would be bad at work, so I didn't do it in the interview so I already looked like they expected a worker to look.

If male, then you want to do either a plain ponytail, or else a ponytail which you have then braided. Brush your hair into a ponytail that comes from the middle of the back of your head. I've found on my husband that the higher ponytails look more masculine.

Either way if it frizzes badly you might want to consider using some mousse or hairspray to hold everything in place.

[Parrothead]

Female, sorry. And no bangs, but a bunch of short, frizzy bits at the hairline (and a bunch at each temple)

[Magpie]

No, mine aren't bangs. They're just chunks of hair at the hairline that refuse to grow longer than about 5cm. Bangs aren't an option because they look awful with my cowlicks.

[trailerparkmedic]

If you want to do a bun but your hair isn't quite long enough to pull it off, you could try a sock bun. http://www.squidoo.com/sock-bun has the basic idea but I only ever used one sock, not two together. Once you get the hang of it, it's very sturdy and won't fall out, so it won't distract you during the interview.