Work and formal
Neat styles for offices and ceremonies. 21 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.
Work and formal occasions call for neat, controlled hair: a smooth chignon or French twist, a tidy bob, a short barber's cut with a side parting. Some jobs carry their own hair: the wigs of British barristers and judges, the covered hair of food workers, the regulation cuts of police and pilots. What counts as professional hair has been questioned, especially where rules have excluded natural Black hairstyles.
Formal styles
The chignon and the French twist have been standard formal and office styles for women since the 1950s, along with the bob and the low ponytail. Men's formal hair has usually meant a regular haircut or an Ivy League, parted and combed. In Britain, barristers and judges have worn horsehair wigs since the late 17th century; since 2008 they have been dropped in most civil cases but remain in criminal courts.
What is professional?
Workplace rules on hair have often treated afros, braids and locs as untidy. Studies and campaigns in the United States and Britain have described this as discrimination, and the CROWN Act and similar policies now protect natural hairstyles in many American states, while British employers and schools have adopted similar codes. Supporters of dress codes argue for consistency; critics say the codes reflect narrow ideas of how hair should look.
Famous work and formal hairstyles
Still to be written: Wig.
Further reading
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreNatural hair movement
A social and cultural campaign for wearing textured hair without chemical straightening.Natural · Coily and kinky hair · 1960
🇬🇧 United KingdomSnood
A net or cloth bag that holds hair at the back of the head.Wrapped · Any hair · 1590
WorldHeadscarf
A triangular or square cloth folded to cover the hair and head while leaving the face visible.Wrapped · Any hair
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreMantilla
A traditional Spanish lace or silk veil worn over the head and shoulders, often with a comb.Wrapped · 1500
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 morePonytail
A practical hairstyle where hair is gathered and secured at the back of the head.Ponytail · Any hair
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBob cut
Short to medium haircut ending at the jaw or shoulders.Cut · Any hair · 1909
🇷🇸 Serbia and 4 moreBuzz cut
A very short, uniform haircut made with clippers.Cut · Any hair · 1890
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreCornrows
Tight three-strand braids woven close to the scalp in straight or curved lines.Braid · Coily and kinky hair · 1902
🇳🇦 Namibia and 1 moreBox braids
Square-parted protective braids with synthetic extensions.Braid · Coily and kinky hair · 1990
🇺🇸 United StatesProtective hairstyle
Styles that tuck hair away to reduce breakage and environmental damage.Braid · Coily and kinky hair
🇺🇸 United StatesSilk press
Heat-straightened style for kinky hair without chemicalsStyled · Coily and kinky hair · 1920
🇯🇵 JapanFrench twist
An elegant updo where hair is twisted vertically against the head.Updo · Any hair · 1940
WorldHistorical Christian hairstyles
A survey of hair practices in Christianity from antiquity to the early modern period.Shaved · Any hair
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Protective hairstyle: Bluenile Photography c/o A. Smith, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bob cut: 147 Company, CC BY 4.0, source
- Snood: Adolph von Menzel, Public domain, source
- Headscarf: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mantilla: Museu Valencià d'Etnologia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cornrows: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ponytail: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Buzz cut: Fadi El Benni of Al Jazeera English, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Box braids: Randen Pederson, CC BY 2.0, source
- French twist: SWinxy, CC BY 4.0, source
- Regular haircut: JParker9, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Natural hair movement: livepict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ivy League haircut: U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Robert Benson, Public domain, source