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Woman uses ‘malicious compliance’ to get around employer’s rule against pink hair

She wears terrible wigs on purpose, and they each have their own names.

Emily|TikTok

Malicious compliance gets woman around work rule against pink hair.

Work dress codes aren't always practical, especially when you want to have a little room for self-expression. Most dress codes include things like no open-toed shoes, no spaghetti straps or no facial piercings, but some employers have a policy against unnatural hair colors.

One TikTok user, @emuhleeebee, whose first name is Emily, recently started a new job that does not allow for her brightly colored pink hair. Since she interviewed with her pink hair on full display and still got the job, she didn't realize until after she started that the company dress code called for natural hair colors.

If you thought, easy enough, she'll just dye her hair brown or some other natural color that would cover her pink hair, you'd be wrong. Emily decided to participate in what she calls "malicious compliance," meaning she will comply with the company policy but in the most obnoxious way possible.

Instead of dying her hair (which, as she explained in one of her videos, makes her feel her best), Emily simply decided to buy wigs to cover her distracting hair—hilariously bad wigs that are likely far more distracting than her pink hair but still within company policy.

In one of her videos, she's wearing a bald wig that has a dark brown ponytail sticking out of the middle. Another wig she has in her rotation is one that makes her look like George Washington. Each wig has its own name and personality when she uploads the videos to her social media account. Since the wigs are all a natural color, there's really not much the company can say as long as she's doing her job and staying within policy.

@emuhleeebee

Replying to @iamrachelvray HOLLERING. #pinkhair #corporate #corporatelife #corporatehumor #corporatetiktok #maliciouscompliance #coloredhair #badwig #pinkhairdye

The argument for natural hair colors in a corporate environment feels a bit outdated. There are teachers, therapists and even doctors who sport brightly colored hair and tattoos up to their necks, and it doesn't hinder their ability to do their jobs. Unnatural hair colors have become so normal that a company having a policy against it may not be something that crosses someone's mind while job hunting.

But if having natural hair is a requirement, it would seem that during the job interview process, this would be something that's mentioned, yet Emily appears to have been blindsided. In a comment, someone asked if her job has said anything about her bad wigs yet.

"Not yet...emphasis on yet. I feel it coming," Emily replied.

@emuhleeebee

@Jay Benke besite. You chose ANOTHER wig that I feel really hot in TBH 😭. #pink #pinkhair #coloredhair #corporatetok #corporateamericaburnout #corporatehumour #corporatelifebelike

The TikTok creator even set up an Amazon wishlist where people have been purchasing wigs for her to wear to work. It's an entertaining series on her page and certainly a creative way to stay in compliance. Hopefully, the company she works for has a sense of humor and is also getting a kick out of the malicious compliance like the rest of the internet.

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A magazine edited Lupita Nyong'o's hair on its cover, and she's really not having it.

#dtmh, all right?

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o isn't happy with her latest magazine cover, and for good reason.

Appearing on the cover of Grazia, a U.K.-based fashion magazine, Nyong'o couldn't help but notice that something was missing from the original photoshoot: namely, her hair. The image as it appears in the magazine erases an entire section of Nyong'o's hair and smooths the rest of it.

Nyong'o took to her social media accounts to vent her frustration with the decision to take such creative liberties, writing on Instagram that she was "disappointed" in the outlet for trying to box her into their ideal of beautiful hair.

"Had I been consulted, I would have explained that I cannot support or condone the omission of what is my native heritage with the intention that they appreciate that there is still a very long way to go to combat the unconscious prejudice against black women's complexion, hair style and texture," she wrote.

In 2016, Vogue incorrectly attributed the inspiration for Nyong'o's hairstyle at that year's Met Gala to Audrey Hepburn. She was quick to correct them, as well.

N'yongo put together a video compilation of her real hair inspirations — Nina Simone as well as a number of traditional East and West African styles — for the event:

Hair Inspiration. Check. @vernonfrancois @voguemagazine #metball2016

A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on

So it shouldn't come as any surprise that when Grazia literally erased an important part of her look, she spoke up.

Again, writing on Instagram, she explains that growing up, she was conditioned to believe that "light skin and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty." Magazine covers didn't often show women with hair like hers — and the Grazia cover demonstrates this is still the case.

"I now know that my dark skin and kinky, coily hair are beautiful too," she wrote. "Being featured on the cover of a magazine fulfills me as it is an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are."

[rebelmouse-image 19530038 dam="1" original_size="750x480" caption="Nyong'o accepting an Oscar for her performance in "12 Years a Slave" in 2014. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images." expand=1]Nyong'o accepting an Oscar for her performance in "12 Years a Slave" in 2014. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

Responding to the backlash, Grazia offered an apology, noting that the photographer made the alteration without their notice.

Whether that changes anything in the mind of Nyong'o or anyone else...  ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. After all, she hoped that her cover could help inspire girls growing up in a world of Euro-centric beauty standards, which apology aside, won't happen with this cover.

If there's one thing to take away from this moving forward, in her words, it's #dtmh — don't touch my hair.

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This 7-year-old recently lost her hair, but her style on Crazy Hair Day was amazing.

In January, 7-year-old Gianessa "Nessa" Wride's hair started falling out. Not just stray strands, but clumps.

It's a scary prospect for adults seven times her age, let alone a child who hasn't even mastered long division yet.  Her mother, Daniella Wride, took it hard.

"I think I took it harder than she did; I would just bawl and cry sometimes,” Wride told local Salt Lake City station KUTV.

Daniella made an appointment for her daughter at the local dermatologist, but by the time she was seen, Nessa's hair was completely gone.

Photo by iStock.

Nessa was diagnosed with alopecia, a condition that results in sudden hair loss.

It occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles, which is where hair growth begins. The condition has no cure, but is treated with a corticosteroid or, quite simply, patience. Occasionally, the hair loss comes and goes within a year, but 10% of people will never regrow their hair, especially those who are diagnosed at a young age or have a family history of the condition.

It would be easy for most newly bald kids to feel down about Crazy Hair Day at school, but not Nessa.

When Crazy Hair Day was announced, the bubbly first-grader wanted to participate. Mother and daughter worked together to come up with the perfect solution: scrapbooking stickers!

Nessa rocked stick-on gems in cool sparkly patterns, including an owl and flowers.

"She's just so funky and vibrant and she loves everything sparkly," Daniella says.

Nessa looked amazing, and her classmates thought so too.

"When we pulled up to the drop-off lane at school, Gianessa opened the car door and you could already hear people saying things like, 'Oh that's so awesome!' 'That's so cool!,'" Daniella shares. "Gianessa got home from school and she said that all the kids kept swarming her and telling her that they loved her crazy hair, and that they wanted to be just like her."

No matter who you are or the hand you're dealt, positivity is powerful.

It's not always easy. In fact, some days it's downright hard. But a little hope and optimism can go a long away toward making a your day a little better. And maybe someone else's too.

Here's to you, Nessa! Keep shining!

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A popular blogger responded to a rude comment about her gray hair in the best way.

As Rachel Farnsworth knows all too well, you can't run a popular blog without getting a few nasty comments along the way.

Photo by Rachel Farnsworth used with permission

The 31-year-old mom behind the booming recipe blog The Stay at Home Chef says she gets a couple of negative or critical comments every week on her blog, Facebook page, or YouTube channel.

Usually, she just ignores them. Or, if they're profane, she deletes them.

But one rude comment recently struck a much deeper nerve, and for the first time in the eight-year history of her blog, Farnsworth felt like she had to respond.

In a Facebook video, she beautifully called out one recent commenter who said her gray hairs made her look like "an old hag."

Facing the camera in front of an all-black background, she calmly explained why she felt this particular comment warranted a response:

"If you read my about me page, you'll find that I have a rare autoimmune disease that means I will most likely never live to be 70 years old. Every sign of aging that I have is a sign that I'm still alive.

A lot of people don't get the privilege to ever live to be old. And I probably won't either. Which means that I don't have time to waste criticizing myself and I don't have time to waste criticizing other people. I care a lot more about what my life is like right now."

From there, she talked about her long and difficult journey to love the body she has, "flaws" and all, and why the world needs more people with the courage to be who they are.

Why My Gray Hairs Make Me Happy

Someone recently commented on my blog and said I look like an old hag with my gray hairs. This is my response. www.thestayathomechef.com

Posted by The Stay At Home Chef on Wednesday, November 23, 2016

But the message here isn't just about Farnsworth's unique battle with body image. It's also about how people treat each other and, more importantly, how we treat ourselves.

The video has been viewed over 4 million times, and in addition to thousands of Likes and comments, Farnsworth said she's been flooded with people sharing their own stories of how they've learned to love themselves.

"It's been people encouraging each other to stand up to online bullying and building each other up with kindness," she says. "It's a really humbling experience."

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