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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was unprepared for the aesthetic of this year's crop of new hires.  They dress horribly - sweatpants, messy hair (looks like they just got out of bed), crocs or other plastic shoes, rumpled t-shirts.  For some tasks this is OK, but a lot of the time we are meeting with clients and doing site visits, and we are in the design industry, meaning we generally consider our look part of our branding.  Our brand is high end but creative, so there is a lot of leeway, but I just don't know how to tell the younger adults how to dress without offending anyone or being seen to police bodies or hairstyles.  But I need them not just to adhere to a list of "don't wear this," but to actively look good.  Like, hair combed and styled, [b]preferably some makeup for women, [/b]and so on.  Does anyone else have this issue and how did you handle it?  [/quote]

Right....and Im sure you would consider a man wearing makeup and nail polish to be suitably dressed and pleasingly aesthetically to your clients?

I dont wear makeup because its dumb, expensive, and lots of chemicals for no real purpose. Sunscreen chemicals get balanced with sun exposure and risk of cancer. There is no balance benefit to makeup besides societal expectations. Not to mention that most people have no idea how much makeup it takes to make a "no makeup" look. 
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I'm fine if they don't want to wear makeup, but I'm not fine with a messy, frizzy ponytail topping it off.  I don't care what the specific look is, but I need them to look good.  Our clients are dressed up, our brand is high end and all about aesthetics.  I can't even bring them into the sites with me sometimes because they look so bad that I'm sure they would cost us a sale.[/quote]

Provide a budget for this. For me to go beyond what you would probably view as “a messy, frizzy ponytail “ I’d need to get quarterly relaxers and cuts for $200+ per visit, and add significant health risks to my profile. Heat styling would be safer — but exponentially more expensive and time consuming because of their frequency.  What are you offering here? 
Also, “aesthetics” is a judgement call. Are you positive that your own judgements and the client’s are aligned? [/quote]

Don’t do relaxers!  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-women-hair-relaxers-cancer-rcna117685   It may explain *some*  of the differences in health outcomes.  [/quote]

Correlation vs causation.[/quote]

True. Quite a lot of health research looks like this — with quite sophisticated statistical methods used to attempt to isolate particular variables and combinations of variables.

The quite expensive and highly unethical alternative would involve isolating a large group of women (increasing statistical power).  Making sure that all of the factors in their lives were as similar as possible. Then giving one group relaxers, and, over the decades, noting their health issues, comparing them with the group not given relaxers.  Repeating this multiple times would approach causation and take several decades.

Personally I’d rather braid my hair, go with twists, or risk having someone view my natural hair — even in a ponytail— as “unprofessional “.  
[/quote]

Wear your hair how you want, but my controversial view is that the natural hair movement has gone to far in the direction of making relaxers seem unacceptable or even evil. There are women who want a different look  or find natural hair time consuming, and the culture no longer accepts relaxers as an option.  If a lot of us are just going to wear wigs might as well get a relaxer. [/quote]

“Evil”?  Yes, your view is indeed controversial.  Which “culture” are you referring to? [/quote]

Like nostrils, everyone has an opinion. I said what I said. The natural hair movement has not been one of freedom, but of judgment. Relaxers are now seen as not allowed, but some people actually might find that relaxers suit their lifestyles, but they hear no no not allowed. [/quote]

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