# i was told i have to get a haircut?!?!?



## SARcastic1 (Sep 9, 2011)

hey yall gotta ?  for the guys out there...  does any one of you have longer-ish hair?  whats does you dept/agency say about it?  pull'n it back tyn'n up??? geta haircut?  mines alittle longer kind of a tim lincecum thing i usually just tye it back....

any comments  BESIDES GET A HAIRCUT!!!! which i am was just wondering


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## Aidey (Sep 9, 2011)

I'd respond but I'm not sure I was able to interpret your particular version of English properly, so I'll hold off for now.


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## ffemt8978 (Sep 9, 2011)

Thread title edited.


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## fast65 (Sep 9, 2011)

No, my hair is average length...I recommend a haircut/dictionary. h34r:


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## Steam Engine (Sep 9, 2011)

It's not uncommon around here for agencies / departments to have set grooming standards that employees must adhere to. Honestly, if I had hair long enough that it needed to be "tyed back" I'm not sure I'd want to be doing this job. The odds of having it pulled by someone, caught in something, or dragged through some nastiness just seem to far outweigh the benefit of looking like the man on my off hours.


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## JPINFV (Sep 9, 2011)

To try to make this thread useful, should there be different grooming standards for men and women? If one employee is allowed to have long hair provided it's either put into a bun or a pony tail, then shouldn't all employees have that option?


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## Steam Engine (Sep 9, 2011)

JPINFV said:


> To try to make this thread useful, should there be different grooming standards for men and women? If one employee is allowed to have long hair provided it's either put into a bun or a pony tail, then shouldn't all employees have that option?



Ok, I'll bite...no, there should not be separate standards. Men and women are both expected to  do the same job, pass the same tests, and wear the same uniforms, so they should be held to the same standards of appearance.


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## Tigger (Sep 9, 2011)

JPINFV said:


> To try to make this thread useful, should there be different grooming standards for men and women? If one employee is allowed to have long hair provided it's either put into a bun or a pony tail, then shouldn't all employees have that option?



We have separate standards where I work, but it is not (explicitly) as a saftey reason. The company has an image that it wishes to portray, and apparently that image does not include guys with hair longer than their collar. Right or wrong I have no issue with a private company deciding how they want their employees to look, after all they're paying you, right?

For what its worth, my hair is now out of standard (glad I'm back at school!) and I have no problem in the slightest with guys that have long hair.


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## JPINFV (Sep 9, 2011)

Tigger said:


> Right or wrong I have no issue with a private company deciding how they want their employees to look, after all they're paying you, right?



Well, it depends. Would there be outrage if the company required women to have their hair cut above the collar line? There are feminine short hair cuts after all, just like there are ways for men to present a professional image with long hair.


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## Youngin (Sep 9, 2011)

Assuming it's not long because of religious beliefs, like Sikhs or Nazirites, is getting it cut really a big deal?


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## Sasha (Sep 10, 2011)

There is a medic here who grows his hair for locks of love. They just require him to pull it back. Strangely they dont require women to pull it back, but thats double standards for you.

Sent from LuLu using Tapatalk


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## Sasha (Sep 10, 2011)

JPINFV said:


> Well, it depends. Would there be outrage if the company required women to have their hair cut above the collar line? There are feminine short hair cuts after all, just like there are ways for men to present a professional image with long hair.



Blech id quit before cutting my hair short.

Sent from LuLu using Tapatalk


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## WickedGood (Sep 10, 2011)

Andrew said:


> is getting it cut really a big deal?



Hell yeah, I look like a deranged Q-tip with long hair.  I will never cut it short again. So it is a big deal.  If a company told me I couldn't wear a bun I'd quit.


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## Hunter (Sep 10, 2011)

WickedGood said:


> Hell yeah, I look like a deranged Q-tip with long hair.  I will never cut it short again. So it is a big deal.  If a company told me I couldn't wear a bun I'd quit.



Lol cutting it doesn't man a buzz cut, could just trim it so its above the collar, and can look pretty professional I'm sure that's the only issue any company would have.

And as far as double standards for men and women, we can argue all we want, they'll always be there... or at least for a long time to come.


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## Backwoods (Sep 10, 2011)

SARcastic1 said:


> hey yall gotta ?  for the guys out there...  does any one of you have longer-ish hair?  whats does you dept/agency say about it?  pull'n it back tyn'n up??? geta haircut?  mines alittle longer kind of a tim lincecum thing i usually just tye it back....
> 
> any comments  BESIDES GET A HAIRCUT!!!! which i am was just wondering



My dept. makes us keep it at a reasonable length. If it interferes with a SCBA mask its too long.

Personally I keep it buzzed to make it a bit more comfortable in my fire gear.


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## SARcastic1 (Sep 10, 2011)

For those who gave a straight answer thx...  For the others :.... And I do apologize about the spelling and grammar! I was in a hurry and using a new phone feature with an screwy auto dictation/ spell feature.  I didn't realize this would turn in to such a debate.  I did get a hair cut to day!  1" above the collar!!! still longer in the in the front but wouldnt affect my scba mask at all! thx again


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## Joe (Sep 12, 2011)

Couple thoughts... 1st:rock a mullet! Its off the ears and off the collar! 2nd: if you have to comb it, its too long. (except the mullet.) I have stuck with the razor fade with a 3 on top. Works for me and gets the ladies. And thats what this thread is really about


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## Seaglass (Sep 15, 2011)

One place I work says anything that isn't messy and doesn't interfere with a mask (N95 or SCBA) is kosher, guy or girl. Everywhere else, it's been short hair for guys, with women keeping theirs above the collar when on duty. Some places prohibit ponytails, along with stethoscopes around the neck and other things that are easy to grab.

For what it's worth, it's possible to have really long hair and keep a good seal with a facepiece. But if you're fighting fire, long hair is such a pain that it probably isn't worth it.


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## Aerin-Sol (Sep 15, 2011)

JPINFV said:


> To try to make this thread useful, should there be different grooming standards for men and women? If one employee is allowed to have long hair provided it's either put into a bun or a pony tail, then shouldn't all employees have that option?



Legally speaking, it's okay to have separate standards for male and female employees. Check out Jesperson vs. Harrah (that case makes me angry). 


Practically speaking, I don't know of anywhere non-military that has requirements for the hair length of nurses, respiratory therapists, etc, etc. /beats professionalism horse.


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## jamesm (Sep 22, 2011)

Where I work your not allowed facial hair becuase the SCBA will not fit correctly and long hair is fine  as long as it's safe when wearing scba, any sort of mask and when doing vertical rescue


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## WoodyPN (Sep 23, 2011)

Our requirements are: 

Naturally occuring color. 
Off the collar of our polos.
Cannot interfere with SCBA in anyway....regardless of whether our position even rates wearing an SCBA.


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## CaydenElizalde (Sep 23, 2011)

I work EMS on a native american reservation and am native american myself, so typically short hair on males I work with is uncommon. My hair actually extends to midway down my shoulder blades. It's just a cultural thing I suppose and it doesn't interfere.


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## MedicJon88 (Sep 28, 2011)

When i was hired i could tie my hair back in a ponytail... something about living in the pacific northwest that compelled me to do so... It was just a pain in the field... and when it came time for summer i was dying- so i ended up cutting it anyways.. I was told if i was ever confronted about it- claim it was against my religion... only the oldschool FF and mangers hassled me about it- citing bs para-military standards... blah blah. They also exempt me on the Ear piercings untill they banned it outright... for guys- Female employees were still allowed to have a set of studs... i went around the rule by wearing clear spacers... Patients never complained about my apperance... just the Fire Fighters... i don't complain about them wearing turnouts to medical calls... oh wait.. i do...


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## usafmedic45 (Sep 28, 2011)

Another point to keep in mind: is looking cool worth the risk of giving a combative or violent patient or bystander the perfect thing to grab you by?


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## MedicJon88 (Sep 28, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> Another point to keep in mind: is looking cool worth the risk of giving a combative or violent patient or bystander the perfect thing to grab you by?



Thats why we would have it tied back... plus I have non violent crisis intervention training...


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## shfd739 (Sep 28, 2011)

AchilliesOmega3 said:


> plus I have non violent crisis intervention training...



You're kidding right? The violent patients I've dealt with would eat you and your nonviolent crisis stuff for lunch. 


Sent from my electronic overbearing life controller


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## Fish (Sep 28, 2011)

They should be made to look professional, whatever your interpretation of that is.


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## usafmedic45 (Sep 29, 2011)

> plus I have non violent crisis intervention training



So have several people I know who have been attacked by patients.  



> You're kidding right? The violent patients I've dealt with would eat you and your nonviolent crisis stuff for lunch.



What he said.


> Thats why we would have it tied back



So that it's an effective handle.  Remember, there's a reason why dual pigtails on a girl are half-jokingly referred to as "handlebars".


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## MedicJon88 (Sep 29, 2011)

shfd739 said:


> You're kidding right? The violent patients I've dealt with would eat you and your nonviolent crisis stuff for lunch.
> 
> 
> Sent from my electronic overbearing life controller



The point is to identify the escalation to crisis and remove yourself from the "violence"... *,**

*doesn't work for psychotic patients
**guess it doesn't work well in the back of an ambulance either...


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## shfd739 (Sep 29, 2011)

AchilliesOmega3 said:


> The point is to identify the escalation to crisis and remove yourself from the "violence"... *,**
> 
> *doesn't work for psychotic patients
> **guess it doesn't work well in the back of an ambulance either...



You made an answer for me. Is it really that big of a deal to not have long hair? 



Sent from my electronic overbearing life controller


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## Epi-do (Sep 29, 2011)

Joe said:


> Couple thoughts... 1st:_rock a mullet! Its off the ears and *off the collar!*_ 2nd: if you have to comb it, its too long. (except the mullet.) I have stuck with the razor fade with a 3 on top. Works for me and gets the ladies. And thats what this thread is really about



Since when is a mullet "off the collar"?


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## MedicJon88 (Sep 29, 2011)

shfd739 said:


> You made an answer for me. Is it really that big of a deal to not have long hair?



Depends on how you look at it? Hair for a lot of people is a major part of their identity- I wasn't interested in going fire- it set me apart from the cookie cutter FF look- And to stick it to them that I was medical and "wanted" to stay that way.


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## Sasha (Sep 29, 2011)

shfd739 said:


> You made an answer for me. Is it really that big of a deal to not have long hair?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my electronic overbearing life controller



I would change professions before i cut my hair.

Sent from LuLu using Tapatalk


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