Written By: Csenge N.

While scrolling Facebook this past week, Andrea came across this thoughtfully written post on our Wrapunzel Community Group page. After getting permission to publish it, we bring you this beautiful piece as a Blogpost!…

“In recent years I’ve been at war with my femininity, and one of the main battlefields was my hair. I’ve always had fine hair that loves to fall flat. Because of that, I wore it short from my teenage years on, even though as a child I had beautiful, waist-length hair. Over the past few months I even lost a lot from what already felt like very little. My frustration with my hair often sent me reaching for a baseball cap. It became my signature, if I wasn’t wearing it, people actually missed it. I loved it. It made me feel edgy and strong. But it was a defiant kind of strength. I was hiding my hair out of spite, rejecting a part of my femininity because it hadn’t given me the thick, gorgeous mane I wanted. (Just to be clear: I don’t think a baseball cap can’t be feminine, this was simply my own, very personal inner experience.)

From time to time I tried wearing headscarves, but without much success. I quickly realized that if I wrapped my already flat hair in a flat scarf, the result would be… drumroll… flat. So I concluded that this, too, was only for those blessed with lush, beautiful locks, and all those inspiring headwrap photos stayed collecting dust on a Pinterest board.

Until one day, I stumbled across a blog called Wrapunzel. And for the first time in my life, I encountered the concept of a shaper. I’m not exaggerating, it was a revelation. Suddenly everything clicked. After all, under a scarf you can do whatever you want, no one can see it! I threw together an improvised shaper, wrapped a scarf around it and… I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was beautiful. And feminine. I’d cracked the code.

Overnight, I went from zero to almost full-time head-covering. It helped that I spent the following week at home, so I could experiment safely. Within a few weeks I had hunted down over thirty headscarves from second-hand shops.

Now I’m no longer hiding my hair in defiance. I’m giving it time to heal, and I’m enjoying the femininity, confidence, and comfort my colorful, folky, cool headscarves give me. And yes, I am growing my hair long again, as a graceful act of rebellion against everyone who thinks fine hair can only ever be short.”

Sure, many head wrappers wrap for religious obligation, modesty, hair loss, headaches, other medical reasons, fashion, or whatnot. But what about those that wrap ‘just because.’ Here are some quotes from some who wrap for reasons that may seem more ‘out of the box,’ but they’re just plain ‘real.’ The bottom line is that one doesn’t need a reason to wrap! It’s just an excellent method of self-expression that brings nothing but joy to those who choose to do it – for whatever may be their fancy! In responding to the thread, some Wrapunzelistas may have talked about their wrapping for the more ‘obvious’ reasons stated above, but we just couldn’t help but to hear everyone’s reasons for wrapping! Check out all of these comments from some of our Facebook Wrapunzel Community Group!

Cathie W. – ‘I wrap simply because I think it’s pretty and because it allows me to have 100% of my hair out of my face and off my neck. It’s prettier and looks more put together than a ponytail while providing me with the same “out of my face” relief. The lightweight nature of the Original, Tuff and Watercolor 2-in-1s is absolutely perfect for this.

Thank you for being such a lovely group of women. I am heartened every time I see the same enthusiasm toward a woman who wraps for fun as someone who is wrapping as a part of a religious practice or because she’s lost her hair, or for whatever reason. The space [the Wrapunzel Community Group] is so warm and welcoming. I just adore it. It’s like a big exhale in a group of friends.

Bridget M. – ‘I wrap just because! I find the effect to be beautiful, certainly, but I love the space for intentionality that choosing a wrap for the day gives me. I love the slight separation from mass society that I experience when my hair is wrapped. I feel that when I make this choice to be outside the norm of mainstream society and culture, I am more myself, more personally powerful. When I choose to wrap, I do feel more sovereign, more self-possessed, and self-contained. Wrapping for me adds a degree of rigor and strength to my bearing. I admire the long, long history of wrapping across cultures and spiritual and religious traditions. I like the way strangers respond to me when my head is wrapped- more respectful in some ways. At this time in my life, I appreciate that but if it’s distance that wrapping affords me, it gives me the chance to feel my way into myself.’

Maria L. – ‘I’ve been drawn to wrapping for at least a decade, but it never turned into action outside of the occasional playing around in front of a mirror because I had the idea in my head that you were only “allowed” to wrap if you were obligated to in some way, whether through religion, occupation or personal modesty.

Then about 3 years ago, postpartum changes turned my hairline into something quite unmanageable. My hair had once been a place of fun and creativity with various kinds of braids and styles, but no everyday I was just thinking to myself, how can I hide the weird looking spots? Fortunately for me, at this point I had already been silently following along with the Wrapunzel Facebook group, and had learned that in fact, people wrap for all sorts of reasons, difficulties with their hair being a common one. So I gave it a try! Nearly two and a half years later, I haven’t looked back, even though my hair is now in much better shape again. I just so enjoy the variety of things I can do on my head with scarves, the way I can express myself with different fabrics and styles, the fact that my little kids can’t pull on my hair! Also, at this point I have a great big stash of scarves, so what else am I going to do with them?! Wrapping has become a part of who I am, and I’m in no hurry to take it off.’

Marie L. – ‘My old lady hair has thinned. No style or length satisfies me. Hair on my neck bothers me, yet I hate very short hair. Wrapping restores comfort and style. It looks and feels so much better than my hair! Also, it sets me apart— no woman in my community wraps, for any reason. I get looks, but that is OK. Perhaps I inspire other women who are frustrated with not being able to make their hair attractive or comfortable. Let’s face it, we do want to present an appearance that is both comfortable for us and pleasing to others.’

Nicole B. – ‘I wrap for cultural connection, spiritual protection and stylish beauty!’

Leslie C. – ‘I started out wrapping due to alopecia. I fell in love with it, though, and still wrap occasionally. The bigger aspect is that through learning to wrap, I met many Jewish women locally, encouraging me to pursue Jewish conversion. I’d wanted it for decades but never thought it was possible. So, I lost my hair, gained a beautiful practice, and found my spiritual home.’

Michaela O. – ‘I wrap because wrapping is “me.” Wrapping revealed a deep and essential part of myself that I never knew existed until I started doing it.’

Ann S. – ‘Yes. I wrap mostly because I don’t like my hair. My hair is stick straight, won’t hold a curl, and lays very flat to my head, and I never cared for it. I decided to try wrapping once I discovered shapers to help give volume and grip (thanks Wrapunzel!) and never looked back! I adore the variety i can achieve with wrapping, the addition of color and “flair” to my daily uniform of scrubs, and the individuality I can express. It just feels more like me than my hair ever did.’

Kelli C. – ‘I started wrapping during chemotherapy. Now I wrap because my hair is coming back and it’s a weird length right now. It’s more for comfort now than anything else really. But the tails of those scarves have dried so many of my tears over the last year.’

Janna L. – ‘I wrap because as a massage therapist and reiki master, I believe that covering my crown chakra protects my personal energy. The covering acts as a filter, allowing me to “see” the existence of the negative energy, while preventing the negative energy from entering the crown chakra.’

Sarah D. – ‘I wrap because I enjoy it mainly. I’ve wanted to wrap since I was a young child, my mother can attest to that, but we didn’t have the resources to learn how, as we weren’t in a Jewish household or any other kind of community that did wrapping. In church, it actually almost feels discouraged to be wrapping, like because we don’t HAVE to do it, we SHOULDN’T be doing it. Now, as a married woman and mother, my hair actually annoys me when it gains any length, especially during the summer months. I’m very active with our kids, farm, and garden. I started wrapping more just in the last few weeks, and I love it! There are so many resources for styling and securing the wraps on my head! My family is very supportive, although my hubby is a little leery of it as it’s new to him and he just wants me to be myself. I actually feel freer to be myself when I’m wrapping right now. Will I always wrap every day? I don’t know, honestly, I’m just having fun with it right now and seeing where it takes me.’

Beth T-R. – ‘I have always been interested in wrapping and played around a few times, but when I decided to grow out my grey naturally I decided to start wrapping every day to cover the transition!

What I didn’t expect was how empowering it feels, how much my hair looked affected how I felt about my reflection, and when it was no longer on display, my confidence rose. I’m now one haircut away from being entirely grey (before 40!), but I’m not sure I’ll ever stop wrapping, not entirely anyway .’

Lizzie R. – ‘I wrap because I don’t like my hair, and my hair has started to thin. And it’s a wonderful way to express myself!’

Yvonne G. – ‘Hello. I’ve been wrapping for about a year or so now. As I am getting older the texture of my hair is changing & I do not like it but that’s not the main reason for my wrapping. I’ve developed a stress coping thing and began pulling out my hair strand by strand. The rougher/coarser textured ones mostly. Even though my hair is cut fairly short, having it wrapped & under a shaper or velvet headband prevents me from being able to pull out my hair. I searched for ways to wrap and where to purchase accessories & that’s where I found the lovely Wrapunzel Community!’

Amanda M. – ‘Just because + yogic spiritual hygiene.’

Gloria C-M. – ‘I wrap to feel pretty during chemo.’

Julie B. – ‘Been wrapping since ’17. Lost my (long) hair to chemo. I don’t care for hats. My wig was itchy and really bothered me. So I tried wrapping. Was hooked. Worked through it. Was respected and admired for it by men & women. My hair grew back very sparsely. I’ve got walls of beautiful scarves. It has become my ‘trademark’ or ‘signature’, so to speak. People recognize me and compliment me on it. In turn, if I see a woman with a lovely wrap or a Sikh gentleman, I always compliment them. It costs nothing to lift another’s soul even if it’s just for a few minutes.’

Lorna V. – ‘I started by buzzing my hair off during Covid lockdowns, then when it started growing back, I started wearing wide headbands and dying my hair bright colors. I realized I don’t like my hair touching my neck and back or getting in my face, but I still want to grow it out, even though it is thin. So I decided to sometimes wrap because it keeps my hair off my neck and out of my face, I like how it looks, and I have started to enjoy the feel of it. The rest of the time I wear wide headbands or bandannas.’

Shahnjayla C. – ‘I wrap in between trips to the hair salon and because I love how they look and feel! And I can’t wear a baseball cap to church!’

Rebecca W. – ‘I’m Jewish, but not very observant. I wrap occasionally because it helps me feel connected to my people and my heritage.’