Woman shows up to work wearing hilariously 'terrible wigs' after her job banned her pink hair

Expressing yourself never goes out of style. However, there are several spaces where our style may not resonate with people. Several workplaces have rules regarding attire, hair, tattoos, piercings and whatnot. While most can be adhered to, some require tremendous time and money to change. What do we do in such cases? What approach can we take? @emuhleeebee suggested a hilariously foolproof plan that does more than simply “adhere to rules.”

Posting a series of videos on TikTok, 29-year-old Emily Benschoter has gone viral for her innovative way of showing up at work. Newsweek had an interview with Benschoter (@emuhleeebee) where she mentioned that she encountered a problem after she got a front-of-the-house role in the hospitality field. The company had a strict policy of natural-colored hair only. Meanwhile, Benschoter had been rocking dark and bold pink hair that screamed vibrancy. She mentioned that she acquired the role without a face-to-face interview which explained her manager having no clue about her hair before hiring her.

However, Benschoter thought she should mention the same before her first shift when her manager said it was a complete no-no. In the dilemma of choosing between her job and hair, she said: “Dyeing my hair for a job I work at for 40 hours per week wasn't an option. I am a self-expressive person and I feel very confident with pink hair so I came up with a solution to keep the job and my hair." Her solution? Wigs. Benschoter thought it to be unnecessarily ridiculous to have to hide her personality for a job so she went all out. 

While any other woman would pick the best wig that looks most natural and gives the best match, Benschoter shook things up. She started purchasing and wearing hilarious wigs to work, a different one each day. These included bob cuts, punk rock styles, spiky looks and everything bizarre that you can imagine. Needless to say, Benschoter rocked every one of the looks. She even went viral for her glamorous confidence and soon started sharing the light-heartedness of the situation on TikTok. 

The text overlay in one of her videos reads: “When you have pink hair but the corporate does not approve so you wear wigs.” The video captured her in a blonde wig sitting in her seat and posing expressively with the wig. She even mentioned in the caption that every wig has a different name. @hicccups said, “Please tell me that the second you clock out you’re holding the wig in your hand just so they know.” @tauxxic commented, “Malicious Compliance.” 

In another video, she replied to a commenter who requested her to create a wishlist so that her fans could buy her interesting wigs. She shared the various freaky wigs several commenters left on the list. These included the "founding father" wig, a bald wig, a "peg" wig and more. Commenters and Benschoter appear to be equally excited at the thought of these hilarious wigs. @soupypoos said, “Gonna need a wig haul with you trying them on.” @cherrielastrange commented, “Wait so you get in trouble for pink hair but not those wigs” @sjmead3 said, “I am living for this series, do not stop please.” 

Benschoter paid heed to her commenters and fans and did not stop. She said in the interview, "I prefer my pink hair, it's me to my core. So now I purposely pick wacky wigs which are quite funny." She regularly posts videos of her in new wigs with inspirational names that are more than enough to get customers, colleagues and surely all the netizens gasping for breath in laughter.

You can follow @emuhleeebee on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 22, 2023. It has since been updated.