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As theeditorial assistant forGlamour, I get invited to a lot of events in the beauty space.
I was super excited until I saw there was an opportunity to get my headshot taken.
Immediately, my first thought was: What the hell do I do with my hair?
Should I pull my hair into a sleek high bun?
My current LinkedIn headshot
Do I have two hours to blow-dry my hair?
I could flatiron my hair, but run therisk of damagingit without the proper products.
The entire day I couldn’t stop thinking about my hair as I prepared for this event.
Brianna’s headshot
I knew my outfit and what time I was going to wake up, but my hairstyle taunted me.
It wasnt until I was restlessly trying to fall asleep that my brain called me out.
This isn’t the first time this has happened to me.
My Dove x LinkedIn headshot
Less than a year ago, I graduated from college.
For most seniors, graduation season is a scary time of the year.
When should I get my senior ball dress?
Where will my family stay for the ceremony?
However, nothing stressed me out more than my hairstyle for my graduation pictures.
I felt so beautiful with mystraight hairand it gave me the boost of confidence I needed for job interviews.
Once I received my images, I eagerly picked the One and uploaded it to my LinkedIn page.
I knewI couldn’t be the only Black woman feelingthis way about taking a professional headshot.
Brianna Medina, a 29-year-old freelance writer and editor from the Bronx, knows headshot anxiety all too well.
For all of my school pictures, my hair was straightened, she says.
For graduation pictures, I had a weave installed.
As far as my headshot, I had a curly wig, but it was a looser curl.
Brianna’s headshot
This struggle affects Black women of all ranks and titles.
Even formerfirst lady Michelle Obama felt pressure to wear her hair straightduring her tenure in the White House.
Let me keep my hair straight.
Lets get health care passed, she said.
Saint John recalls an incident duringApple’s 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference, where she delivered the keynote.
One of Saint Johns white male colleagues was known for his gelled-back hair.
For the dress rehearsal, Saint John wore her hair in an afro.
He was the chief engineer at Apple and had a Twitter account dedicated to his hair, she says.
Somebody said, Boz is gonna try and go after his hair.
And I remember thinking, Y’all don’t even know the half.
First of all, I already won.
On the day of the conference, Saint John showed up wearing her natural hair.
But I did it anyway.
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Nancy Twine, founder and CEO of hair-care brandBriogeo, is working to create change through her own company.
Unfortunately, feeling different because of our hair is nothing newand begins long before we enter the workforce.
Anytime I straightened my hair, that’s when I got the most compliments growing up, she says.
It always seemed like people had the nicest things to say about my hair when it was straight.
Three years ago Hyacinthe decided to dothe big chop.
She felt happy with her choice, but panic crept in.
She’s ultimately grateful for her decision.
That was a big move because there’s nothing I can do about it now, she says.
I can’t straighten my hair because I would look crazy.
Like Hyacinthe, I had no way out of my headshot.
I picked out my hair for the utmost volume andlaid my edgeswith theEco Style Professional Styling Gel.
I felt absolutely beautiful and proud of my hair as I sat down for my headshot.
The line between natural hair and professionalism will always be an uncomfortable tightrope for Black women to walk.
Feeling comfortable about our hairin all its forms and working environmentsis a long and personal journey.
Society will judge you anyway, so you might as well show up as yourself.
Monique Wilson is the editorial assistant atGlamour.
