Much ado is made about Black hair. Black women are known to be audacious when it comes to our manes. A billion dollar business has been spawned from our need to color, straighten, curl, braid, and coif. Hair means a lot to Black women, but it can mean even more to our career.

Your appearance does not affect your ability to do a job, but it does impact your success. Keeping it cute can influence your salary as much as your work experience. Research shows that attractive people earn an average of 3% to 4% more than a person with below average looks – that comes out to about $230,000 over a lifetime. Even an average-looking worker is likely to make $140,000 more over a lifetime than an ugly worker.

Hair goes beyond aesthetics. It is personal and public: visible to everyone while also being an intrinsic part of our body. Black women carry a great deal of culture in their hair. Since that culture is not a mainstream one, appropriating hair to the workplace can be a tricky process.

For some time, many – including Black women – considered anything outside of straightened hair to be unprofessional. However, as more women go natural, that notion is changing. Professional hair isn’t about texture. For most employers, particularly conservative ones, a professional hairstyle is considered neat, clean, and out of the face. Texture alone is not a deciding factor.

Granted, not every workplace has caught on to the trend. But, they’ll catch on or get left behind. You’ve never seen a White woman afraid to wear her hair in its natural state, so why should you? Presenting a professional appearance is one thing, but altering who you are is another. If a company can’t accept your hair, they can’t accept you.

Conservative work settings aside, being adventurous with your hair can pay off. Hair can serve as the ultimate declaration of individuality. It can set you apart, grab attention, and give a sense of your personal brand before you open your mouth. It would be silly not to harness the power of the mane for professional gain.

The poster girl for savvy hairstyling in recent years has to be Rihanna. Before she chopped off her Beyonce weave in favor of a jet-black crop cut, she blended in with every other R&B singer. The risky move made her a fashion favorite, and she’s been leveraging her mane for success ever since, changing her a style with little abandon to coincide with her countless image makeovers. Now, every time she changes her hair color, she gets free publicity.

As always being adventurous comes with risk. The candy-colored bald head look worked for Amber Rose, for Willow Smith, not so much.

Appearance is important because you are the personification of who you work for. Employers have dress codes to ensure the staff maintains an appearance that promotes a positive image for their brand. Depending on your career, you may have to conform Monday through Friday, and save the mohawk for the weekend. But, a side part or a slick bun isn’t the only way to be conservative.

Even with restrictions, you can find small ways to express yourself and set yourself apart from the crowd.  If you’re an entrepreneur, you have even more freedom to allow your hair to make a statement about who you are and stand out from the competition. Hair is a powerful tool to project your personal brand. Don’t hide it in a bun, unless that bun is fierce.

Cortney Cleveland is a freelance writer and content strategist in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter @CleveInTheCity.

[Article via Madam Noire - Source]