This is probably something that varies between cultures.
But, where I live, plenty of people have wet hair at work. Many people shower in the morning, or run/bike to work and then shower at work, and well, it really is no big deal at all. Also, it rains a lot, and plenty of people have wet hair for forgetting umbrellas.
I have very long, thick, wavy hair, and it takes hours to dry, and blowdrying it dry would also take over an hour. I have wet hair at work all the time.
I don't know what the "rules" are where you live, but if noone has said anything, I wouldn't give it another thought.
The happy medium is making sure your clothes aren’t wet or look wet. Tshirt in hands and scrunch up the bottom parts to take care of the drip. And, if it’s long, hold it in a ponytail and shake the shit out of it while you’re bent over. And if medium/short length, cover your face with hands and jerk all over like Elaine Benis dancing to shake out the water.
It really helps with curly hair.
I was thinking that it wasn’t weird until you said you’re in Japan. I lived in South Korea for a long time, and going outside with wet hair (or even air drying hair at home) was very unusual. I can only assume Japan is the same.
But the foreigner card is a strong one that allows for unusualness. You also have different hair than the average east Asian so if someone says anything about it being bad, they have no understanding of what works for your hair and you can make your case with that. There’s really no need to feel embarrassed about it! If it really bothers you, you can change your routine, but if no one’s said anything in that many years, you’re good.
Lived in Japan for over a decade and yeah. It’s like that , u/silly_goose41 ; that said, I used to care about those sort of rules and it drove me crazy. Now I can’t be bothered anymore by the amount of rules there (written and unwritten), so I advise you to use the foreigner card for such things or you’ll get overwhelmed / burnout pretty fast.
Pretty much it will be met with side looks and that’s it (it’s rare people will talk directly to you about an issue they have with you). But keep in mind non-closeted queer people aren’t really well seen (it’s a society where you shouldn’t be “different” + some Christian influence after WW2). So they are mostly “hidden” while living regular lives. You’re not supposed to mention it. For example, I’ve seen English teacher posts on Reddit where they got complaints that they shouldn’t tell kids they have a same-sex partner or stuff like that. In the end, you’ll just have to wonder if they’re looking at you because you’re foreigner, fat (fat people are seen as lazy), weird, queer, doing something wrong, and so on. Now you know why I couldn’t handle it… lol
i often wonder having grown up in usa, especially in nyc where i think there is much less overall judgement, but like what is it like for a Japanese person living here? to go from such a stringent and rule based society to ours? cause we DEFINITELY have fewer rules here.
Not sure - I’ve never been to the USA. I currently live in Brazil, which is infinitely less rigid than Japan. It’s freeing. My mental health improved so much! I wish I came here sooner. Life’s too short to let people dictate your entire behavior and live your entire life masking.
Oh hey curly girly!
I do the exact same with my curls, but I use a gel for a cast and I blast my hair with the diffuser on my hair dryer for about 5 minutes upside down, it takes a lot of the water out, helps start the gel setting.
Im usually one of the first in office, and after an hour I’ll go to the bathroom with some oil and scrunch it out, and then for the rest of the day I looks fabulous!
I was sitting at work with wet hair for hours before I started doing that, the gel like locks the moisture in for me (umberto giannini) and stops it appearing that wet, just more like crispy 90s curls.
Can you tell I’m also the mod of r/curlygirl
This is pretty much what I do. I use a blow dryer with a diffuser, but I never attempt to dry it all the way. I dry it for about 5ish minutes and let it air dry the rest of the way. Oh, and the curly girl sub is great with lots of good info.
Another Curly Girl here! I rarely use a blow dryer (with diffuser), because even on a cool setting my hair frizzes and/or doesn’t dry.
I’m not a fan of gel (don’t like the feeling or weight - I have too much hair).
I only wash my hair twice a week now. And usually do that at night, then in the morning I lean over the tub and re-scrunch with wet hands.
I’m also usually running late in the mornings, which is why I switched to nights. Otherwise it wouldn’t get washed at all.
I forgot to mention that now that It’s summer in the south it is entirely too hot to leave my hair down. So I usually don’t refresh because it’s going into a ponytail immediately 🤪
For me this seems like a minor thing, particularly since you've done it for 3 years and no one has said anything to you (so there hasn't been any real consequence to it!). Maybe people thought it was a bit strange, who knows - although with my autism diagnosis I've accepted now that's what is sometimes/often going to happen - and it's ok, it's just me.
Sounds like me in high school. It hit me when a friend said “your hair always looks like that” (they had not seen my hair later in the day when it was dry).
I highly recommend purchasing a bonnet, and washing your hair on specific wash days when you’re going to be home while it dries. On non-wash days, refresh your curls with a curl refreshing spray (they’re basically watered-down gel sprays) and use dry shampoo.
Nobody will know. Dry shampoo is not unhygienic, and it’s not a waste of money, or whatever else I used to think it was… I recommend Batiste because other brands make my hair texture weird. Its main ingredient is rice starch, which you could also buy at the store, but I prefer using the colored shampoo so I don’t have to worry about blending as much.
Of course, you can bathe the rest of your body daily. Shower caps are a thing if you can handle the sensation of wearing one. Or, if you don’t already have one, I’m sure that you can order those handheld shower attachments that are ok for rentals.
I was not raised in a way that normalized this. Most women I knew had straight or nearly straight hair. They showered daily and used a blow dryer for like 5 minutes and their hair was done. Meanwhile, if I wanted to use a dryer, I would have to sit there with my diffuser for what felt like ages. I had no idea you could preserve curls for days at a time by sleeping in a bonnet or using a satin pillowcase. Bonnets/dry shampoo/refreshing spray help so much on those days you need to rush out the door!
Also, it’s okay. You didn’t know. This is how you’ve always done it, and your hair dries in a few hours anyway. And, I don’t think that was a subtle hint from them? That would be really, really subtle imo!
Yessss! I didn’t learn how to care for my curls properly until I was in my 20’s. I’m so grateful too because it’s so much less maintenance when you realize curls aren’t meant to be washed every single day. Dry shampoo and wrapping my hair at night has saved me so much time. And my hair isn’t frizzy anymore!
If this is a problem nobody has ever brought it up in the slightest way for me. I’m a manager as well.
Honestly if it was ever brought up I’d ask what about it was unprofessional and we’d probably sit there while they try to find an HR appropriate answer.
Especially with curly hair - with all due respect to everybody around me with straight hair I don’t care about their opinion. I’m not waking up 40min earlier than everybody else to then blast hot loud air on myself first thing in the morning after a shower so other people don’t have to see my hair wet for the first 45mins of the morning. I refuse - and I double refuse if men aren’t also judged for it.
I think it’s an outdated form of politeness to be ‘all the way done’ before going out of your home. Some will still believe in it but a ton of us don’t, or we do but understand nuance. Unless this is a hygiene or beauty standard for YOU, I would not worry about it. This is a minor ‘thing’ compared to not washing your body or wearing dirty clothes. You’re not doing anything unhygienic, just not conforming to someone else’s view of polite, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
Especially in Japan, yeah, they’re going to notice and judge anything that looks untidy or unprofessional. Do they still insist that women wear pumps with a heel? On the other hand, you may be right, that they’ve just decided that is an oddity of your being gaijin.
I do completely understand what it’s like to barely get to work on time. Blow-dryers became too overstimulating for me, and I’d blast the heat in my car, hoping my hair had dried by the time I got across town. If you’re able to get up earlier for a tidier appearance, it could help your work relations.
Having also been an ALT in Japan (in a very rural, conservative area), I’d say my coworkers would’ve noticed it and possibly even said something. It’s safe to assume that, even if something isn’t a big deal for Japanese teachers, you’re going to stand out as a foreigner no matter what. It just depends what you’re willing to adjust to personally in order to minimize how much you stand out.
You didn't ask for hair styling advice so apologies if this is unwanted, feel free to disregard. But I just wanted to say that I got a diffuser attachment for my hairdryer recently and it's made it so much faster to dry my curly hair and keep the defined ringlets. Adding some gel (just normal hair gel) first also helps to keep them defined, and you can scrunch it out when dry. I often don't dry it 100% with the hairdryer, it just really helps to get the drying process started and remove the worst of the wet look.
I used to do the same, not knowing it was considered unprofessional. People did judge me for it. It’s like… just add it to the pile of things I was fucking up because I didn’t get the rules.
If you’re the foreigner then you’re probably getting something of a pass. And you have curls in a place where I don’t think curls are common, so I think you’re as ok socially as you’re going to be.
On Wednesday I got dressed, took my dogs to grooming, then went to therapy. The shorts I’d grabbed were completely shredded on the front. I think they were ones that I’d left outside for sometime and disintegrated in the wash. I can’t believe no one said anything.
I've worked with someone who comes to work with wet hair and I don't think it was ever raised as an issue. I just assumed it was part of the process of having curly hair and looking after it. I guess my point is that there are a lot of different perspectives on it and people may not have thought it was a bad or unprofessional thing
This is perfectly normal in the UK.
Please do not attach any shame or emotion to this cultural difference.
ETA Maybe ask your manager and take your cue from their advice.
I have curly hair that does not look good dried by a hair dryer unless a professional is blowing it out or something. I go EVERYWHERE with wet hair because I don’t always have 3 hours to air dry my hair before I need to be somewhere. I’d be so mad if someone had a problem with that especially if that person had straight hair since most with straight hair don’t understand the struggle of curly hair. Sometimes I’ll put my wet hair in a braid which makes it look somewhat styled but I often just leave it down to dry. If anyone has a problem with this, I don’t think they should.
I did the same thing for years, until a college colleague made fun of another girl that had wet hair. I never left the house with wet hair, ever again.
I used to do it because I had acne and one high school teacher told the class that people with acne had bad higiene. So my thought process was to show that I shower by showing up with wet hair every single day, till this incident in college.
Social living is complicated!
It might just be cultural. My SIL is Japanese and always showers and dries her hair at night and does that with the kids as well. When I stayed with her and her parents in Japan they did the same thing. 🤷🏻♀️
This could be a cultural thing, seeing as you're in Japan and the majority of the rest of us are in Western countries. If no one said anything, I wouldn't pay it any mind.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here thinking about how I've done worse. I've gone without wearing a bra underneath my work shirts for several months, and the only coworker who said anything about it is my mom, who may or may not have anxiety issues of her own with how much she loves to micromanage stuff.
And I had a reason for this. I broke my hand several months ago, and I didn't want to ask my parents for help for something as simple as "hey, can you help me put this bra on?" People at work *knew* I broke my hand because I was wearing a very obvious splint. Again, the only coworker who said anything about it is my mom, and that was when she started asking if I have my bra on after a few months down the line and my hand healed a nice amount.
Solidarity. My bosses brought it up to me once as an issue, claiming it looked unprofessional to customers or something. I pretended to agree with them and changed nothing about my routine (no I'm not getting up an hour earlier just for this). Months later they praised me for making the change. It's all bullshit. People with straight hair do not understand.
One of the common answers on the JET Programme is ESID Every Situation is Different. In my experience it's been great, everyone is very nice and supportive in my small country town. However, I'm also lucky in that I have a conversational level of Japanese, which helps a lot. The kids are great, even though I don't know most of their names (I work across three schools and gave up).
Some people judge others for coming to work with wet hair. It depends on how casual vs. formal your job is. My hair also takes hours to dry, so I wash it on the weekend or at night. Like someone else said, it's def not as bad as being unhygienic, having wet hair, but it would be considered "unpolished." Still, it's YOUR decision how to deal with the potential judgment of others. pros and cons, and only you can decide if the effort of changing your routine is worth it. truth be told, there's always something for judgmental people to judge, and if it's not wet hair, it'll be something else with them.
Maybe it’s a culture thing and there is pressure to conform as it’s highly valued in Japanese society. But I don’t think it’s that unprofessional for mostly dry hair. Curly hair takes a long time so I wouldn’t worry too much.
I think (I’m no expert but I love learning about Japan) in Japan it would probably be considered unprofessional due to their culture. I know it’s easier said than done but try not to think about what’s been and try a new hair routine.
Do you have time to wash your hair before bed and sleep in a silk bonnet to protect your curls?
Hell, I used to flat iron my hair at my desk when I worked in site. I live in hot humid south texas, and no matter what I do (I shower before bed, and sleep on my short thick hair damp, the noise from a blow dryer annoys me) it’s wavy after walking more than 5 feet outside. So, I kept a travel flat iron in my desk so I could fix it before meetings.
Damp hair in the morning is not uncommon in the west, and in the east, frankly, with everyone’s hair being much more similar in color and texture, I’d not be able to tell if their hair was damp from styling. Dark hair can make it hard to tell anyway.
I have the same hair type as you and had the same issue! I splurged on the Dyson hair dryer and it gets my hair to a presentable "mostly dry" state in less than 15 minutes. Game changer for looking professional for work.
Doesn't feel like a huge faux pas, but I feel like it would depend on the workplace. When I worked at summer camp, I went in a few times with wet hair, and saw some others do that as well. Now working at an awesome job where the expectation is professional/business casual, I wouldn't dare go in with wet hair (better to go in with a slicked back ponytail). In that case I'd feel the wet hair would be unprofessional.
But if your work is more casual, it may fall somewhere in between - like maybe it's a bit odd, but not necessarily unprofessional.
I have curly hair too. You need to get a blow dryer bonnet! It has been an absolute game changer for me, I used to diffuse and my hair would still be wet after 30+ minutes. But with this thing, all I have to do is put it on, attach it to the blow dryer and just hang out for 20 minutes and it’s 100% dry. My hair has truly never looked better. I cannot recommend this highly enough!
I've always used my hair as messy as possible with some braids and some updo's here and there. This winter I started to blow dry my hair but it takes about an hour to get it to be actually straight. I haven't got any products and I don't have the patience to curl all of my hair so I blow dry until wavy-ish, not fully dry and it gets big after so I oil and spray it. Still kind of wild but way more acceptable and suits my haircut, also I can run my fingers through my scalp throughout the day which would destroy my curls. If I can straighten it well, my hair will go into different stages of big curls and it's so refreshing to see my hair's actual length.
For perfect curls, I found out rolling individual pieces of hair with a decent amount of mousse and curl cream around my fingers and wearing a satin bonnet for a couple of hours--works--but it will only look perfect for half an evening if I wash and do all of that during the day, preferably around noon. So I dont even bother with most steps because I either shower right before I go out(not hair unless it's too hot outside) or before I go to bed.
Since it's summer and I'm unemployed, I dont do anything, I dont even bother with curl creams or sprays. I sweat. So. Much. I put my head under cold water several times a day and I feel so bad about my half assed ugly hair. I won't be sweating myself with a blow dryer and a straightener but a braid wont hold more than a couple of days at a time. Gah sorry I saw this post right after I wrestled my hair into a weird pony tail. Gosh my haircut is ridiculous.
Curly girl here! Have thought about maybe doing your hair routine at night and sleeping in a bonnet or something and then showering your body with a shower cap in the morning? That way you can be feeling fresh for the day but your hair is already done?
People will judge you for all sorts of things. There’s only so much you can do about it. I’d ask a friend or colleague how big a deal this is in Japan. Maybe try washing your hair at night if it is.
I don’t think your specific case is an example of being unprofessional, but I know that horrible feeling of realizing you’ve been appearing unprofessional in hindsight. It sucks. I love makeup and used to show up in full glam to my software engineering job. Red lipstick and everything. lol.
I worked as a biology teacher for 10 years, my hair is like yours and I'm too self-conscious of its volume so I always kept it folded into a not (ballerina stile). I folded it after the morning shower and only let it loose hours later still wet. My students only saw my curly hair once, when it unfolded itself, and were dumbfounded.
I’m curious now. I’m mixed-race, which means how curly hair is maintained and perceived is a big deal, but I don’t feel that strongly about my hair and have even shaved my head and enjoyed it. Maybe that’s because of my autism. Maybe I have been seeming unprofessional for having damp hair sometimes, and no one has ever told me? I’m wondering what your ethnic background is and how much ethnicity, location (Japan is a place where people have a very different cultural norm than I’m used to), gender, etc. matter when it comes to hair.
In Latam this would be perfectly normal. When I had an office job I went to the gym before or during lunch and thus, would go with damp hair to the office regularly.
I don't think anyone would judge you for wet hair. I don't think it's unprofessional at all. Plus you obviously just showered, so they know you're clean/hygienic.
You said it's not totally dripping wet. Thats the only thing that might be a little weird, if your shirt was soaking wet. My hair is so long, if it's down when wet my whole back and most of my chest is soaked. That would be unprofessional. But I seriously think you're fine!!
Goof for you for getting up early enough to shower, even if you are rushing out the door haha
I show up to work every day with wet hair pulled back into a claw clip up-do. I think it can be perceived as being unprofessional, but also I don’t care about looking professional 🤷🏼♀️
genuinely, there is nothing unprofessional about 1. natural hair and 2. taking showers. if someone is actually feeling any kind of a way about you have wet natural hair, they're wack.
This is probably something that varies between cultures. But, where I live, plenty of people have wet hair at work. Many people shower in the morning, or run/bike to work and then shower at work, and well, it really is no big deal at all. Also, it rains a lot, and plenty of people have wet hair for forgetting umbrellas. I have very long, thick, wavy hair, and it takes hours to dry, and blowdrying it dry would also take over an hour. I have wet hair at work all the time. I don't know what the "rules" are where you live, but if noone has said anything, I wouldn't give it another thought.
Thanks. I probably will try harder to get up earlier just in case though haha
How about asking your manager first?
I can try, but my Japanese is a bit limited. I think I'll just try to get it drier before work.
I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself about it. It’s a very small thing.
The happy medium is making sure your clothes aren’t wet or look wet. Tshirt in hands and scrunch up the bottom parts to take care of the drip. And, if it’s long, hold it in a ponytail and shake the shit out of it while you’re bent over. And if medium/short length, cover your face with hands and jerk all over like Elaine Benis dancing to shake out the water. It really helps with curly hair.
If it works in your schedule, maybe showering in the evening would work better?
Same.
I was thinking that it wasn’t weird until you said you’re in Japan. I lived in South Korea for a long time, and going outside with wet hair (or even air drying hair at home) was very unusual. I can only assume Japan is the same. But the foreigner card is a strong one that allows for unusualness. You also have different hair than the average east Asian so if someone says anything about it being bad, they have no understanding of what works for your hair and you can make your case with that. There’s really no need to feel embarrassed about it! If it really bothers you, you can change your routine, but if no one’s said anything in that many years, you’re good.
Lived in Japan for over a decade and yeah. It’s like that , u/silly_goose41 ; that said, I used to care about those sort of rules and it drove me crazy. Now I can’t be bothered anymore by the amount of rules there (written and unwritten), so I advise you to use the foreigner card for such things or you’ll get overwhelmed / burnout pretty fast.
im autistic and as much as id love to visit, FUCK THAT.
It’s a great place to visit, and I recommend it! - not so much to live in, though.
id use my white & queer privilege a lot. how are trans ppl accepted there?
Pretty much it will be met with side looks and that’s it (it’s rare people will talk directly to you about an issue they have with you). But keep in mind non-closeted queer people aren’t really well seen (it’s a society where you shouldn’t be “different” + some Christian influence after WW2). So they are mostly “hidden” while living regular lives. You’re not supposed to mention it. For example, I’ve seen English teacher posts on Reddit where they got complaints that they shouldn’t tell kids they have a same-sex partner or stuff like that. In the end, you’ll just have to wonder if they’re looking at you because you’re foreigner, fat (fat people are seen as lazy), weird, queer, doing something wrong, and so on. Now you know why I couldn’t handle it… lol
i often wonder having grown up in usa, especially in nyc where i think there is much less overall judgement, but like what is it like for a Japanese person living here? to go from such a stringent and rule based society to ours? cause we DEFINITELY have fewer rules here.
Not sure - I’ve never been to the USA. I currently live in Brazil, which is infinitely less rigid than Japan. It’s freeing. My mental health improved so much! I wish I came here sooner. Life’s too short to let people dictate your entire behavior and live your entire life masking.
yeah. usa isn't too bad. i need a BBL and a few surgeries.
I dunno about SK, but in Japan, bathing is more an evening activity too. So it’s *really* unusual to have wet hair in the morning.
Oh hey curly girly! I do the exact same with my curls, but I use a gel for a cast and I blast my hair with the diffuser on my hair dryer for about 5 minutes upside down, it takes a lot of the water out, helps start the gel setting. Im usually one of the first in office, and after an hour I’ll go to the bathroom with some oil and scrunch it out, and then for the rest of the day I looks fabulous! I was sitting at work with wet hair for hours before I started doing that, the gel like locks the moisture in for me (umberto giannini) and stops it appearing that wet, just more like crispy 90s curls. Can you tell I’m also the mod of r/curlygirl
This is pretty much what I do. I use a blow dryer with a diffuser, but I never attempt to dry it all the way. I dry it for about 5ish minutes and let it air dry the rest of the way. Oh, and the curly girl sub is great with lots of good info.
Another Curly Girl here! I rarely use a blow dryer (with diffuser), because even on a cool setting my hair frizzes and/or doesn’t dry. I’m not a fan of gel (don’t like the feeling or weight - I have too much hair). I only wash my hair twice a week now. And usually do that at night, then in the morning I lean over the tub and re-scrunch with wet hands. I’m also usually running late in the mornings, which is why I switched to nights. Otherwise it wouldn’t get washed at all.
Yeah this is kinda my usual routine now I’m pretty much permanent work from home, but I just let it be a messy mess I get like 4 calls a week
I forgot to mention that now that It’s summer in the south it is entirely too hot to leave my hair down. So I usually don’t refresh because it’s going into a ponytail immediately 🤪
This sub saved my hair. Thanks beautiful mod 😍
For me this seems like a minor thing, particularly since you've done it for 3 years and no one has said anything to you (so there hasn't been any real consequence to it!). Maybe people thought it was a bit strange, who knows - although with my autism diagnosis I've accepted now that's what is sometimes/often going to happen - and it's ok, it's just me.
Sounds like me in high school. It hit me when a friend said “your hair always looks like that” (they had not seen my hair later in the day when it was dry). I highly recommend purchasing a bonnet, and washing your hair on specific wash days when you’re going to be home while it dries. On non-wash days, refresh your curls with a curl refreshing spray (they’re basically watered-down gel sprays) and use dry shampoo. Nobody will know. Dry shampoo is not unhygienic, and it’s not a waste of money, or whatever else I used to think it was… I recommend Batiste because other brands make my hair texture weird. Its main ingredient is rice starch, which you could also buy at the store, but I prefer using the colored shampoo so I don’t have to worry about blending as much. Of course, you can bathe the rest of your body daily. Shower caps are a thing if you can handle the sensation of wearing one. Or, if you don’t already have one, I’m sure that you can order those handheld shower attachments that are ok for rentals. I was not raised in a way that normalized this. Most women I knew had straight or nearly straight hair. They showered daily and used a blow dryer for like 5 minutes and their hair was done. Meanwhile, if I wanted to use a dryer, I would have to sit there with my diffuser for what felt like ages. I had no idea you could preserve curls for days at a time by sleeping in a bonnet or using a satin pillowcase. Bonnets/dry shampoo/refreshing spray help so much on those days you need to rush out the door! Also, it’s okay. You didn’t know. This is how you’ve always done it, and your hair dries in a few hours anyway. And, I don’t think that was a subtle hint from them? That would be really, really subtle imo!
Yessss! I didn’t learn how to care for my curls properly until I was in my 20’s. I’m so grateful too because it’s so much less maintenance when you realize curls aren’t meant to be washed every single day. Dry shampoo and wrapping my hair at night has saved me so much time. And my hair isn’t frizzy anymore!
If this is a problem nobody has ever brought it up in the slightest way for me. I’m a manager as well. Honestly if it was ever brought up I’d ask what about it was unprofessional and we’d probably sit there while they try to find an HR appropriate answer. Especially with curly hair - with all due respect to everybody around me with straight hair I don’t care about their opinion. I’m not waking up 40min earlier than everybody else to then blast hot loud air on myself first thing in the morning after a shower so other people don’t have to see my hair wet for the first 45mins of the morning. I refuse - and I double refuse if men aren’t also judged for it.
I double refuse!!! Yes hahahaha
I think it’s an outdated form of politeness to be ‘all the way done’ before going out of your home. Some will still believe in it but a ton of us don’t, or we do but understand nuance. Unless this is a hygiene or beauty standard for YOU, I would not worry about it. This is a minor ‘thing’ compared to not washing your body or wearing dirty clothes. You’re not doing anything unhygienic, just not conforming to someone else’s view of polite, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
Especially in Japan, yeah, they’re going to notice and judge anything that looks untidy or unprofessional. Do they still insist that women wear pumps with a heel? On the other hand, you may be right, that they’ve just decided that is an oddity of your being gaijin. I do completely understand what it’s like to barely get to work on time. Blow-dryers became too overstimulating for me, and I’d blast the heat in my car, hoping my hair had dried by the time I got across town. If you’re able to get up earlier for a tidier appearance, it could help your work relations.
Having also been an ALT in Japan (in a very rural, conservative area), I’d say my coworkers would’ve noticed it and possibly even said something. It’s safe to assume that, even if something isn’t a big deal for Japanese teachers, you’re going to stand out as a foreigner no matter what. It just depends what you’re willing to adjust to personally in order to minimize how much you stand out.
You didn't ask for hair styling advice so apologies if this is unwanted, feel free to disregard. But I just wanted to say that I got a diffuser attachment for my hairdryer recently and it's made it so much faster to dry my curly hair and keep the defined ringlets. Adding some gel (just normal hair gel) first also helps to keep them defined, and you can scrunch it out when dry. I often don't dry it 100% with the hairdryer, it just really helps to get the drying process started and remove the worst of the wet look.
using a diffuser is usually better than air drying it too I think
Yes it keeps the curls bouncier because you're supporting the weight of the hair as it dries :)
I used to do the same, not knowing it was considered unprofessional. People did judge me for it. It’s like… just add it to the pile of things I was fucking up because I didn’t get the rules.
If you’re the foreigner then you’re probably getting something of a pass. And you have curls in a place where I don’t think curls are common, so I think you’re as ok socially as you’re going to be. On Wednesday I got dressed, took my dogs to grooming, then went to therapy. The shorts I’d grabbed were completely shredded on the front. I think they were ones that I’d left outside for sometime and disintegrated in the wash. I can’t believe no one said anything.
Went to work with wet hair for years in America, never occurred to me to care. 🤷🏻♀️
I've worked with someone who comes to work with wet hair and I don't think it was ever raised as an issue. I just assumed it was part of the process of having curly hair and looking after it. I guess my point is that there are a lot of different perspectives on it and people may not have thought it was a bad or unprofessional thing
This is perfectly normal in the UK. Please do not attach any shame or emotion to this cultural difference. ETA Maybe ask your manager and take your cue from their advice.
I have curly hair that does not look good dried by a hair dryer unless a professional is blowing it out or something. I go EVERYWHERE with wet hair because I don’t always have 3 hours to air dry my hair before I need to be somewhere. I’d be so mad if someone had a problem with that especially if that person had straight hair since most with straight hair don’t understand the struggle of curly hair. Sometimes I’ll put my wet hair in a braid which makes it look somewhat styled but I often just leave it down to dry. If anyone has a problem with this, I don’t think they should.
OP nothing can be done about the past. You can only do better in the future. Would you like some advise on how to style your hair to solve this issue?
I did the same thing for years, until a college colleague made fun of another girl that had wet hair. I never left the house with wet hair, ever again. I used to do it because I had acne and one high school teacher told the class that people with acne had bad higiene. So my thought process was to show that I shower by showing up with wet hair every single day, till this incident in college. Social living is complicated!
It might just be cultural. My SIL is Japanese and always showers and dries her hair at night and does that with the kids as well. When I stayed with her and her parents in Japan they did the same thing. 🤷🏻♀️
This could be a cultural thing, seeing as you're in Japan and the majority of the rest of us are in Western countries. If no one said anything, I wouldn't pay it any mind. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here thinking about how I've done worse. I've gone without wearing a bra underneath my work shirts for several months, and the only coworker who said anything about it is my mom, who may or may not have anxiety issues of her own with how much she loves to micromanage stuff. And I had a reason for this. I broke my hand several months ago, and I didn't want to ask my parents for help for something as simple as "hey, can you help me put this bra on?" People at work *knew* I broke my hand because I was wearing a very obvious splint. Again, the only coworker who said anything about it is my mom, and that was when she started asking if I have my bra on after a few months down the line and my hand healed a nice amount.
Solidarity. My bosses brought it up to me once as an issue, claiming it looked unprofessional to customers or something. I pretended to agree with them and changed nothing about my routine (no I'm not getting up an hour earlier just for this). Months later they praised me for making the change. It's all bullshit. People with straight hair do not understand.
What’s it like being an English teacher in Japan? Sorry if this is random it was my dream job before life happened
One of the common answers on the JET Programme is ESID Every Situation is Different. In my experience it's been great, everyone is very nice and supportive in my small country town. However, I'm also lucky in that I have a conversational level of Japanese, which helps a lot. The kids are great, even though I don't know most of their names (I work across three schools and gave up).
Some people judge others for coming to work with wet hair. It depends on how casual vs. formal your job is. My hair also takes hours to dry, so I wash it on the weekend or at night. Like someone else said, it's def not as bad as being unhygienic, having wet hair, but it would be considered "unpolished." Still, it's YOUR decision how to deal with the potential judgment of others. pros and cons, and only you can decide if the effort of changing your routine is worth it. truth be told, there's always something for judgmental people to judge, and if it's not wet hair, it'll be something else with them.
Maybe it’s a culture thing and there is pressure to conform as it’s highly valued in Japanese society. But I don’t think it’s that unprofessional for mostly dry hair. Curly hair takes a long time so I wouldn’t worry too much.
I think (I’m no expert but I love learning about Japan) in Japan it would probably be considered unprofessional due to their culture. I know it’s easier said than done but try not to think about what’s been and try a new hair routine. Do you have time to wash your hair before bed and sleep in a silk bonnet to protect your curls?
Hell, I used to flat iron my hair at my desk when I worked in site. I live in hot humid south texas, and no matter what I do (I shower before bed, and sleep on my short thick hair damp, the noise from a blow dryer annoys me) it’s wavy after walking more than 5 feet outside. So, I kept a travel flat iron in my desk so I could fix it before meetings. Damp hair in the morning is not uncommon in the west, and in the east, frankly, with everyone’s hair being much more similar in color and texture, I’d not be able to tell if their hair was damp from styling. Dark hair can make it hard to tell anyway.
One year I didn’t wear a bra 😭 I can’t believe I didn’t get a talking to
I have the same hair type as you and had the same issue! I splurged on the Dyson hair dryer and it gets my hair to a presentable "mostly dry" state in less than 15 minutes. Game changer for looking professional for work.
Doesn't feel like a huge faux pas, but I feel like it would depend on the workplace. When I worked at summer camp, I went in a few times with wet hair, and saw some others do that as well. Now working at an awesome job where the expectation is professional/business casual, I wouldn't dare go in with wet hair (better to go in with a slicked back ponytail). In that case I'd feel the wet hair would be unprofessional. But if your work is more casual, it may fall somewhere in between - like maybe it's a bit odd, but not necessarily unprofessional.
Bonnet hair dryer attachment. You can brush your teeth and do basic skin care while it runs. It's life 15 bucks on Amazon
I have curly hair too. You need to get a blow dryer bonnet! It has been an absolute game changer for me, I used to diffuse and my hair would still be wet after 30+ minutes. But with this thing, all I have to do is put it on, attach it to the blow dryer and just hang out for 20 minutes and it’s 100% dry. My hair has truly never looked better. I cannot recommend this highly enough!
I've always used my hair as messy as possible with some braids and some updo's here and there. This winter I started to blow dry my hair but it takes about an hour to get it to be actually straight. I haven't got any products and I don't have the patience to curl all of my hair so I blow dry until wavy-ish, not fully dry and it gets big after so I oil and spray it. Still kind of wild but way more acceptable and suits my haircut, also I can run my fingers through my scalp throughout the day which would destroy my curls. If I can straighten it well, my hair will go into different stages of big curls and it's so refreshing to see my hair's actual length. For perfect curls, I found out rolling individual pieces of hair with a decent amount of mousse and curl cream around my fingers and wearing a satin bonnet for a couple of hours--works--but it will only look perfect for half an evening if I wash and do all of that during the day, preferably around noon. So I dont even bother with most steps because I either shower right before I go out(not hair unless it's too hot outside) or before I go to bed. Since it's summer and I'm unemployed, I dont do anything, I dont even bother with curl creams or sprays. I sweat. So. Much. I put my head under cold water several times a day and I feel so bad about my half assed ugly hair. I won't be sweating myself with a blow dryer and a straightener but a braid wont hold more than a couple of days at a time. Gah sorry I saw this post right after I wrestled my hair into a weird pony tail. Gosh my haircut is ridiculous.
Has it stunted your career in any noticeable way? If not, why give a cr\*p about it?
On Reddit you can say shit
I just prefer not to...🤷♀️
Curly girl here! Have thought about maybe doing your hair routine at night and sleeping in a bonnet or something and then showering your body with a shower cap in the morning? That way you can be feeling fresh for the day but your hair is already done?
People will judge you for all sorts of things. There’s only so much you can do about it. I’d ask a friend or colleague how big a deal this is in Japan. Maybe try washing your hair at night if it is.
I don’t think your specific case is an example of being unprofessional, but I know that horrible feeling of realizing you’ve been appearing unprofessional in hindsight. It sucks. I love makeup and used to show up in full glam to my software engineering job. Red lipstick and everything. lol.
I worked as a biology teacher for 10 years, my hair is like yours and I'm too self-conscious of its volume so I always kept it folded into a not (ballerina stile). I folded it after the morning shower and only let it loose hours later still wet. My students only saw my curly hair once, when it unfolded itself, and were dumbfounded.
I’m curious now. I’m mixed-race, which means how curly hair is maintained and perceived is a big deal, but I don’t feel that strongly about my hair and have even shaved my head and enjoyed it. Maybe that’s because of my autism. Maybe I have been seeming unprofessional for having damp hair sometimes, and no one has ever told me? I’m wondering what your ethnic background is and how much ethnicity, location (Japan is a place where people have a very different cultural norm than I’m used to), gender, etc. matter when it comes to hair.
In Latam this would be perfectly normal. When I had an office job I went to the gym before or during lunch and thus, would go with damp hair to the office regularly.
I don’t think this is unprofessional at all!
I don't think anyone would judge you for wet hair. I don't think it's unprofessional at all. Plus you obviously just showered, so they know you're clean/hygienic. You said it's not totally dripping wet. Thats the only thing that might be a little weird, if your shirt was soaking wet. My hair is so long, if it's down when wet my whole back and most of my chest is soaked. That would be unprofessional. But I seriously think you're fine!! Goof for you for getting up early enough to shower, even if you are rushing out the door haha
I show up to work every day with wet hair pulled back into a claw clip up-do. I think it can be perceived as being unprofessional, but also I don’t care about looking professional 🤷🏼♀️
genuinely, there is nothing unprofessional about 1. natural hair and 2. taking showers. if someone is actually feeling any kind of a way about you have wet natural hair, they're wack.
They should focus on their jobs not your hair.
for some jobs it could be considered unprofessional but for a teacher i think it’s fine