Hard Hat Hair

For my first blog post, I want to talk about these plastic turtle shells we use to protect our heads and, more specifically, how to fit your hair under there.

Let’s go over the safety first, because that’s the whole point of a hard hat. Hard hats can protect your skull from impact and should be worn on active construction sites. Even if you feel dorky because no one else is wearing one, just put it on. The risk of head injury is never worth it, and you don’t want to get written up for not wearing one on site.

Disclaimer: This is in no way a comprehensive safety checklist. Please get proper OSHA safety training before going to an active job site.

My genetic clumsiness (thanks Dad!) means that I usually come off of site looking worse for the wear. But after a few years of going in the field, I’ve come up with a few easy looks that can work under a hardhat. Here are all the looks, when to wear them, and how to transition back to the office.

HAIR DOWN:

This hairstyle is the easiest, as you don’t have to do anything. However, it is also the most prone to very visible hat hair. Easy fix, is to throw your hair up into a style after you take the hard hat off.

This is a good style for cold weather, your hair can provide some extra insulation around you. Throw on a thin beanie (one that fits comfortably under your hardhat) and you’re good to go for a wintery site visit. Note that this does not pull your hair out of the way, so it may not be the best option for those with Rapunzel-y hair lengths.

This may be the best way to fit a hardhat over thicker hairstyles, such as dreads. Hardhats do come in different sizes. So if your hardhat cannot fit over your large head or super thick locks, please get a larger size for your safety. A hardhat cannot help you if it can’t stay on.

BRAIDS:

This hairstyle is great for keeping your hair out of the way. It pulls your hair off your neck and frizz at bay in hot weather. It pulls longer hair out of the way from getting caught on things. All good.

You can transition back to the office with braids. Double braids can come off as a little childish for the office, but you can always undo your braids to reveal wavy hair.

This is a very good option for those with voluminous hair styles that would create a very obvious hat hair situation (i.e. curlier or kinkier hair).

LOW PONIES:

Low ponies and low half ponies can look good for the office and fit well under a hard hat. You need to keep the ponies low to avoid the suspension.

It keeps your hair out of the face and out of the way (well, only partially for half-ponies). However, it does still keep hair around your neck, so it’s not my favorite for hot weather.

I’m personally partial to the high pony look,, so I don’t have much to say about these low pony styles. But you might like it, so I threw the look in here for extra options.

TOP BUNS:

This is my FAVORITE hairstyle for wearing under a hard hat. If you put a bun at the top of your head, it can fit between the bands of the suspension. This pulls all your hair off your neck in hot weather.

What’s even better, is that the bun holds your hard hat in place. If it’s windy outside or if you need to tilt your head to look under a structure, your hat will stay in place. Then, when you’re all done on site, you have a professional look for the office, happy hour, or wherever you’re going.

Be safe out there!