Tattoos\Piercings & Professionalism

['chelle]

Here, here!! I have 9 large tattoo's & 20 piercings!!! Its who I am & no one will dictate to me how I should be. I'm not a clone nore do I have the desire to be one! I like the fact I am an individual!!! I am & always have been professional in all that I do!! Plus never had anything other than compliments & OMG your mad/brave, lol! Be who you want to be, its your life don't let others lead it for you!! A lot of any disapproving comments are generally down to jealousy & the fact that person can't be as out going & happy with themselves as you. :hug:

Completely disagree, and in fact I even think this is a very narrow minded view. Ok if you work for yourself it's totally your call, but I think this is unsafe advice to give someone who is in paid employment as they could soon find themselves out of it.

I can see both sides of this fence, being that I favour the alternative look myself, and being that I run a business where appearance does matter to the mainstream clientbase, so it makes financial sense to tone it down for work purposes. If appearance doesnt affect your ability to do the job well, then surely you dont need to express your individuality at work through your fashion choices?

Disapproving comments are rarely due to jealousy as you have said, they are most commonly due to a lack of understanding and stereotyping, and whether we like it or not, this will drive clients away, not all of them, but even if it drives some away, is it really a good idea to risk losing any clients just because you want to be an individual?

Personally I am very comfortable with myself and although I like to indulge in the goth look I dont feel that I need to hide behind it to feel confident, so I feel equally confident to wear my "normals" for work and make myself more approachable to the mainstream clients. I express my fashion preferences in my own time, and frankly I fail to understand this recent turnaround in views on wearing visible tattoos and piercings for work. I remember when you couldnt get a job as a police officer if you had a tattoo that couldnt be covered, and you had to wear "office" clothes for the office.

To me, if someone is giving you a job, they have every right to tell you to remove facial piercings, cover your tattoos etc. If you are one of the extremely rare but very lucky people for whom work is just a hobby and you dont rely on that wage to pay the bills, go for it, wear your piercings and tattoos with pride, I know I would if I didnt rely on my clientbase to pay my bills, but in the real world, unfortunately we are judged on our appearances, especially in an industry that is all about appearances, and we have to accept that if we want to succeed in it.

 

[shell28]

I dont have any myself and to be honest it does not bother me in the slightest if people have them the lady who used to wax my eyebrows used to have a peirced nose and 2 tattoos i think theres nothing worng with it its to do with personal choice IMO and its makes no difference.

 

[1999judy]

No-one sees my tattoos unless they socialise with me usually because they are covered.
The really funny thing is that if clients find out you have tattoos they wanna see them NOW!!! And never have I had anyone say anything bad about my tats.
They are works of art, well paid for and to be studied at certain times

 

[Lynne Baker]

I'm with 'Chelle. We are a visual species. An impression is formed of you within the first 20 or 30 seconds, and you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Google "halo effect" if you want to learn how this affects your chances of employment/business/relationship success.

 

[Lindsayxx]

Thought this question would fit in here rather than starting a new thread! Thinking about getting a new tattoo on my hand, views are kind of mixed about if theyre proffesional, do you think having one there would effect employment at all? Obviously being a nail tech your hands are one of the main things your client will see! Has anyone else got one there? Any thoughts? x

 

[sj1973]

Thought this question would fit in here rather than starting a new thread! Thinking about getting a new tattoo on my hand, views are kind of mixed about if theyre proffesional, do you think having one there would effect employment at all? Obviously being a nail tech your hands are one of the main things your client will see! Has anyone else got one there? Any thoughts? x

My hubby has one on his hand but he is a tattooist and he done it himself....i think you will get a mixed response about tattoos on hands.

I think it should be up to you but as professionalism goes,it wont go down to well.

 

[Martin Duffy]

I have no tattoos but have a lot of piercings. However, I take all of mine out before work as I don't think it's worth risking the loss of clients over something like appearance.

 

[Karen Minx]

I have piercings and tatoos. My nose piercing i had to take out for work (im only a cleaner aswell lol) and i have my ears pierced from the bottom to the top which i also had to take out and only keep set of studs. I have a tatoo at the top of my arm which is mostly covered and i have one in the middle of my forarm which had the blast of the removal lazor last friday...in about 6 months it will be gone completly. Then i will be getting a little one done on the inside of my wrist. When i can finally pack in my job and start nails mobile, my nose piercing will go back in I will wear what i want aswell.
I personally dont feel uncomfortable as a client if the tech or hairdresser has piercings or tatoos, i feel a bit more comfortable with them to be honest because then i know they arent thinking bad of me. xx

 

[soriminah]

Thought this question would fit in here rather than starting a new thread! Thinking about getting a new tattoo on my hand, views are kind of mixed about if theyre proffesional, do you think having one there would effect employment at all? Obviously being a nail tech your hands are one of the main things your client will see! Has anyone else got one there? Any thoughts? x

My first ever tattoo was on my hand. It's a ring on my right hand. At least I can cover it with a ring if I ever wanted to.

At one stage I wanted one in the area between my thumb and pointer but no-one would do it. They gave the excuse that as we use our hands so often and always have hands in water etc, it is pointless to do as they fade really quickly.

I still think about it and since I've moved, I'm going to look into it again.

 

[alpina]

I'm a newbie from the US but am compelled to reply to this thread (good one!). Although I'm in Southern California, I'm not in LA where, "just about anything goes" - I'm in a smaller town near San Diego that's somewhat wealthy and conservative.

I'm also 50 years old, so on a personal note, I do not have any piercings (other than my ear lobes) but do have a couple tatties from over the years but made it a point to always have them put in a place that I could hide them (hip and inside shoulder) I love them and USED to show them off, but I don't feel comfortable doing so any more. Additionally, in my business, in my location, I have many older clients that would definitely be turned off if I was not conservative in appearance. I'd rather make the money and be "who I am" in private and I'm okay with that. thanks for the opportunity to express my opinion! ox kelly

I agree with this post completely. I don't have tattoos or piercings (other than my nose), but I do dress VERY differently than what is considered normal in my town. For work I wear a professional looking tunic and skirt, keep my hair and makeup to a minimum and not much jewelery. I only wear my small nose stud and hoop earings.

I would love to be able to wear something different to work and express myself through my clothing and makeup, but that is not is what the majority of clients want or expect. At the end of the day we are paid to offer a service to our clients, not the other way around and they must feel comfortable with not only the service the receive but the environment of the salon. In my opinion this includes a therapist they feel they can relate to and feel comfortable with.

In this industry we are also constantly battling to be taken seriously. It's a shame that most people's opinions of a person will come from how the person looks (first impressions anyway), but that's how it is and if I want the work I have to appeal to the majority of potential clients in town.

Ok, rant over, sorry everyone