I hate when jobs say they want a “professional appearance. First off, what does that even mean? I had an interviewer tell me if I was hired I'd need to change my hair color. It's red. It's not even a crazy shade of red, it's just obvious that it's not my natural hair color so of course it's “unprofessional” even though red is a natural color. The thought that I have to change the color of my hair in order to earn a living rubs me the wrong way. It's not like I showed up to the interview with neon orange or lime green hair. Also the fact that I have to flat iron the crap out of my hair for an hour before any interview or I look like a crazy lady since my hair is naturally very curly and frizzy. And I know that's not considered “professional”. So I have to damage my hair even more. It's not just my hair though, it's my whole style/personality/whatever you call it. I'm not a run-of-the-mill professional looking person (I'm one of those people that often get told I should work at Hot Topic, for example). But the thing is I. Can't. Help. It. Sure I can fake it for a 30 minute interview if I really wanted to but that's about it. I can't show up to work every day looking like a dainty little professional girl. It's like forcing a square peg in a round hole. I just can't.
It's BS because when jobs mention a “professional appearance” what they really mean is they want a somewhat attractive person with a natural look, especially if you have to interact with customers in any sort of way. I shower, I cut my nails, I floss and brush my teeth, I don't stink. Beyond that it shouldn't matter an ounce what I look like.