I saw these colors in my burgundy Cherry Blossom tichel this morning (burgundy, dark yellow and grey) and thought, why not?  And then that morphed into a cah-wazy idea – why not try a triple zig zag criss cross wrap?  So I had to get the attempt on video, and lo and behold, it turned out awesome!  Huzzah!

I don’t know what possessed me to try this style with these colors, but wow – super like!  This is the Yael wrap, but a double.  Basically everything in the single scarf version, I did a second time with another scarf… does that make sense?  It’s a definite repeater!

I’m wearing my Exotic Spice (aka new favourite color – who woulda thunk that I wear it wayyy more than the burgundy?!) and Dark Blue 2 in 1s so it was cool enough to beat the heat!

Hope you enjoy this new style!!
Love, Andrea

Since Penina Taylor made her first video for Wrapunzel, we’ve been getting requests to hear more from her!  She’s had lots going on in her life, with her son’s wedding, a recent move and her regular teaching/speaking gigs, but was able to make the time to share some beautiful thoughts with us about the boxes people make for us and the boxes we put ourselves in.  Listen, dig deep, and love yourself and everyone you meet for the WHOLE multifaceted people that we all are!  Enjoy!

I’m loving wearing the double braid lately with a little extra addition… a sash, a patterned headband.  Just adds an extra something to an already gorgeous wrap!

Here I am on the subway a month ago (in NYC… wow do I ever miss a good transit system here in Baltimore!) pairing it with a golden tan lace sash:

And here I am rocking it with a Damask Headband… these three colors were just laying on my bed together and I was like, “Wow!  Gotta try this!”  I would have never put these three colors together on my own, so am somewhat grateful for being a little disorganized lately!

All the scarves I’m wearing are 2 in 1s… they are, as always, just so perfect for styles like this – especially in the summer!

Enjoy and happy wrapping!
Love, Andrea xo

This tutorial is a bit bittersweet… it’s the same technique that I did wayyyyy back before Wrapunzel even existed (yup, I was making tichel videos on andreagrinberg.com, then created Wrapuzel the blog… and only after that did a store emerge – time flies when you’re having fun!)  Anyway, back then I didn’t have a velvet headband or shaper, and was too shy to talk to the camera so I just had gorgeous classical music playing – check it out!  Awwww nostalgia ❤

So here is the newer version of this old classic – how to do a gorgeous single braid!

On the Wrapunzel Fangroup, we’re grateful to see so many women rocking various tichel styles.  There have been some great ideas about what to do with sashes on there, so here is a video of my playing around with these ideas from Gwen, Naomi Rose, and Heather!  Enjoy!

I rarely wear pastels… but Shabbat always inspires me to wear light colors to help get in touch with my elevated self.  I truly felt like a queen in this ensemble.  We had an super special group of people at our table on Friday night… who weren’t afraid to be intense and deep – very inspirational!

I’m wearing a sky blue 2 in 1, and a white shiny-licious, with a vintage beauty headband 🙂

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!  This is the hardest week on the Jewish calendar, but it holds the potential for a type of connection that we cannot experience during the rest of the year.  May we all use this difficult time to grow closer to our creator and ourselves.

Love, Andrea

This girl is is a turban wizardess!!  Check it out!  And yeah, we totally listened to you and asked her to make more tutorials for Wrapunzel… this isn’t the last you’ve heard from Rachel!

This is my new favourite summer wrap – invented by Yael!  It’s perfect for our new Summer Solid Pashminas!
Here is a little about Yael, in her own words:

“I am Italian, I´m born in Florence and I lived there till I was 25. Then I made a PhD at the Hebrew Universty of Jerusalem, on Purity/Impurity in Biblical Hebrew. I meet my husband there, who was born in Hamburg Germany and we lived then in Jerusalem for 10 Years. At the moment we live in Germany in a little town near Frankfurt, where we´re the only jewish orthodox family (besides a very old couple). Therefore we are trying to leave Germany, in order to find a living jewish community, in Europe, America, Israel, in which we can live our yiddishkeit together with other …. Our kids (three) need friends and structures in order to develop themselves… Actually my english is better than in the tutorial (a part my Italian accent), but I was very excited to make my first video at all and I am not yet comfortable with the tichels and wrapping vocabulary… “

Well… I certainly think she did an incredible job!  LOVING this wrap!

There are no words to describe the gratitude that one feels when seeing a message like this.  This is everything that I ever dreamed Wrapunzel would become.  May we only continue to all grow bigger and brighter!

Written by Emily Rose from Oregon

“For me, covering my hair and surrendering to modesty has been the most positive, affirming, freeing choice I have ever made in relation to how I feel about my body and in the year I’ve been wrapping, it’s changed everything for me and I can’t even think about it without crying.  I have a long, ugly history of severe mental illness; I have severe social anxiety, severe panic attacks, and I also have a long history of eating disorders including anorexia and I still struggle with bulimia to this day. Often, my various symptoms are intrusive to the point that it keeps me from school, work, and life. But this isn’t about illness, I want this to be about the unique challenges we all face as women in world obsessed with the physical, trying to feel good and connect with others. I still struggle and fight with myself, but I am light years from where I used to be. Years of therapy has not done for me what connecting with my spirituality and creator has, and walking the path to modesty has done and is continuing to do for me. I could write a book on this and maybe someday I will. For now, I just want to tell all of you how strong and beautiful wrapping makes me feel, and I want to hear how it’s changed things for you, too. I never thought standing out could make me feel safe and strong, make me feel right, make me feel beautiful, make me love the way I look and love getting dressed while always knowing that my body doesn’t define me, make me appreciate every amazing thing this body I live in can do –but that’s exactly what covering does for me!  I’ll throw it to you ladies – have any of you struggled with body image and found that covering has changed the way you feel about yourself? How so? I know I’m not alone!”

Many of you know that I also play the cello, and am embarking on some very exciting musical projects!  One of them is The Baltimore Bows which is an endless source of nachat (even though I’m on maternity leave from teaching for the time being – seriously missing those kids!)  But now we’re working on even more exciting stuff!  ANYWAY, for some of these projects, we needed to make a press kit for our group, which meant a photoshoot, so I got all dressed and made up.  It sure was funny walking around outside with my cello (and little Shalom Yaakov in a carseat beside us) but we made do!  Here are some outtakes that show my outfit:

You may recognize my tichel from the Wrapunzel Facebook Page – I am loving this bright teal and rust combination!  Here I am wearing an Israeli Tichel, an Empress Circlet, and of course, a Sari Scarf.  This is one of those outfits/tichels that felt so “me” – it was a pleasure to hang out in it!  Of course, as soon as we came back into our apartment, I asked my husband to snap some more formal tichel shots 😛

So much fun!  Hope you enjoy!
Love, Andrea

Remember our Lady Wrap Star, Carmen?  Her wraps have continued to wow us since that post, and now she’s made her first tutorial for Wrapunzel!  In true Carmen fashion, she pays homage to another Lady Wrap Star, Chagit!  What a beautiful example of wrapping sisterhood!  And seriously, this woman has skillz!  Look how she owns that scarf and makes it do her bidding!  Go Carmen go!  Isn’t she just adorable in this video?  Can’t wait to see you ladies try this one out!  Enjoy!

It is becoming well known that almost every religion has something to say about hair wrapping.  It is also becoming well known that many women cover their hair for health reasons that cause hair loss (such as chemotherapy and alopecia).  We are so happy about this progress and that awareness is spreading!!

But there is so much more.  Did you know that there are a crazy amount of other reasons that women cover their hair? People are so surprised to hear how diverse the hair wrapping community is!  From fashion to political feminism, allergy avoidance to historical connection!  We asked the ladies of the Wrapunzel community that cover for ‘not so well known’ reasons to contribute and share their reasons for covering with us.  The response?  Just… wow.  These women are THE COOLEST!!  Thank you everyone for contributing to this amazing resource that shows the world how diverse the Wrapunzelution is!  This is definitely something that needs to be shared with the world!

(We received TONS of entries and had to sift through them to make a concise article.  Sit back, relax and read on!  Photos and names used with permission.)

Samantha M – I cover my hair because I think it is beautiful!   I have always been drawn to the unique head coverings of different cultures and time periods. I work at living history museums where women almost always cover their heads–although the coverings are quite different from tichels! I have had the most amazing connections with women who cover for religious reasons while working in period clothes, and it’s so exciting to have these meaningful conversations about women throughout history and how and why they cover their hair. In the “modern” world, it is so fun to plan the colorful outfits that accompany the scarves, but covering also helps me to conduct myself in a more mindful way. At the same time, I never feel more elegant and regal than when I am wearing a tichel.

Rosa Robichaud, Saint John, NB, Canada – I don’t believe its anyone’s business as to whether my hair is long, short, dyed, curly or straight or what it looks like on a particular day as compared to another. This has now become MY business – and my husband’s too.

Krissa S. – For me, my covering has many reasons. I fell in love with coverings when I was in middle school, and I started to notice the turbans of my best friend’s mother. I thought they were beautiful, creative, and interesting. Of course, as a middle schooler, I never thought that I would ever wrap my hair myself. As I grew, the idea popped up in my mind. I went to a three-week writing camp, and expressed my interest to my roommate. She was uplifted, telling me how much she loved covers and that she had thought about it as well. As I talked to my artistic friends, I realized “different” was celebrated in the world I wanted to live in. They all loved my idea of wearing tichels. So, for me tichel-tying is a means of artistic expression. I was sculpting one day, and my hair kept getting in the way, falling out of the pony tail, getting caught in clay. It would fall in my face as I wrote, drew, or sewed. Tichel tying keeps my hair out of my face as I work on my art. Later I made my first hijabi friend on the internet. I spent years being stared at and verbally abused by men. I felt out of control of my body and the idea of taking control was refreshing. It was feminism at its finest. Why should a man decide what I wear? I came to the belief that every women has the right to wear what she wishes to wear, be it a burka or a bikini, and those women included me and my tichels. For me tichel tying is an expression of my beliefs as a feminist.

Cindy – I started wrapping about a year ago. I work in a local hospital doing procedures which require my hair be covered. I used to wear surgical  caps, but had a lot of hair escape. Using the velvet headband and wrapping my hair is perfect! My hair wraps stay in place all day! Working in the hospital, I come in contact with a lot of people. I consistently get positive comments and often have the opportunity  to  share  your website  with ladies, and occasionally gentlemen, who are looking for an alternative to wigs or caps to cover their heads, when they are dealing with hair loss from medications or health issues. I also wrap even when I’m not at work! I occasionally get questions about why. I usually reply that I just enjoy covering my hair.

Mishka – I am a trained historian and recognize that for most of history, even Western history, women have covered their heads.  We have the idiom to ‘let your hair down’ because adult women were not supposed to let their hair down except in the bedroom.  I never intended to cover full time, but once I started I found that I felt transformed, not just in my appearance but also in my demeanour and general outlook.  When my head is wrapped in a tichel/mitpachat I feel neat and self-assured.  There is a completeness that comes from matching my scarves to the rest of my clothing, and I find that my identity as a woman becomes secondary to my humanity and individuality.  I am less concerned about ageing or being seen as ‘sexy’, I have better posture, and (oddly) I feel less self-conscious even though I stand out a mile.  Though I don’t want to aggrandise the effect of covering, I must confess that there is a sense that one is part of an ancient tradition in which women are dignified, modest, and attuned to beauty.  For me, covering is part of a womanly tradition that shifts the focus from fashion to beauty, from attention-seeking to being attentive, and from the imitation of men to the inspiration of women.

Donna Halpern – I am agnostic.  I cover because it makes me feel regal and beautiful.  I also cover because I am an artist and although I don’t cover every day, when I do, it offers another outlet to demonstrate my creativity.

Sarah Pizzichemi – Dear Wrapunzel, I only wrap a couple of times a month, but when I do it is a commemoration to my mother. She was a Christian with a rich spiritual private life. I would often come home and find her with her head simply wrapped during prayer or meditation; especially on fasting days. This had a big impact on me. I first began to occasionally wrap when my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer to help her cover her head and connect with her long distance. I now do it in loving memory of my mother’s fascinating private life and her spiritual conviction.

Inger Eilin – I wrap because it seems to be the only thing that keeps my headache at bay. If I forget it before I leave the house, I’m guaranteed to get a bad headache. Living in a country where few wrap (with the exception of some muslim women wearing hijab) I’m guaranteed to get weird looks, but that is a small price to pay!

Heather – I wrap because I hate fixing my hair. I wrap because I love to color my hair with wild colors, but change my mind often. I wrap because I lose my hair due to thyroid issues. I wrap because I love the way it looks, and I love the way I feel when I do. I also wrap because I see it as a feminist issue in a couple of ways – I choose what I show the world. I choose what I look like. I choose what I wear. I do not have to conform to societal standards of beauty to be a beautiful woman. Everyone has beauty, including me.  Wrapping has given me a lot more confidence in myself. I lost a lot of weight (110 lbs), then gained back 70. During that time, I grew incredibly depressed, ashamed of myself for failing to keep the weight off, for being a failure in general. I was in a very dark place. Wrapping has helped my spirit grow, it has helped my soul heal and allowed me to see that I DO have beauty. I DO have worth, and it isn’t just in how I look. It isn’t the body I have or don’t have. It isn’t anything physical. It’s the light that shines out of my eyes. It’s the warmth of my heart and soul. Wrapping (and Wrapunzel!) has helped me to see that.

Katie Shelton – I’m tattooed, dye my abundant, curly hair blue and my fashion sense is modest and eccentric, to say the least. My hair is the first thing people see, but my inner beauty is more important and far brighter than any color I dye my hair and more interesting than any clothes I may wear. I don’t dye my hair, wear my art and clothes for anyone else but me and my husband. Covering my hair and dressing modestly reinforces that belief for me.

Michele Therese – I joined the US Navy and served in places like Bahrain and the UAE. I was exposed to the idea of wrapping one’s head in beautiful cloth. When I returned to America and became a civilian again I began to wear triangle head scarves in order to disguise what I believed was my shame [psoriasis]. With a mere length of cloth I was elevated from feeling disgusting and shameful to feeling beautiful and feminine!

Erin – Some days I wrap up my hair to do mundane tasks. I have long, fluffy, curly hair that likes to drop in my face (and around the house!). Wrapping helps immensely when I’m gardening and even more so when I’m cooking! No hairs in the food! Plus it’s more comfortable than a tight bun or pony tail.

Anne Jambor – I have been wrapping my hair/head for a few years now. I think I started about a year after my last one was born (he will be 13 in July). First it was just because I don’t look good in a cap in summertime. I sweat buckets, I mean buckets of liquid coming down my face at all times of the day. I don’t sweat anywhere else but my head. And that’s not pretty. So I used to only wrap my forehead, and now it varies. Depending on the day or the scarf, if I have a colorful shirt and want to match it with a colorful head wrap… it is depending on the mood and the type of day!  I know that sometimes I feel like people are looking at me funny, but I just take it as a compliment. I have had several people be amazed at how fast I can wrap my head with a scarf. I used to be known in our previous community as that Turban French lady!

Amelia – Although I started covering my hair for my wife, I also now do it to help calm sensory integration problems, and as a small piece of combating depression. The act of taking the time to wrap with intention does something for me that simply brushing and braiding my hair didn’t fulfill.

Jona – I started wrapping because my best friend wraps and was getting bad looks and nasty comments in our small town. Then I started to realize that I continued wrapping because it makes me feel pretty. As a big woman in a society that tells women that to be pretty you have to be thin. Wrapping made me feel pretty when I never had before in my 28 years on this earth.

Anonymous – I wrap because it’s fun and beautiful. I’m practicing for when I get married, G-d willing, and cover my hair according to Jewish law. I don’t wear tichels on a daily basis, but practicing tying them is an enjoyable pastime with a purpose.

Tessa DuRocher – I am 23 years old and I started wrapping my hair on occasion almost 2 years ago. I can, after a year of on and off head wrapping attest to the idea that it DOES make me feel more confident. Bad hair days are a thing of the past and my morning routine is drastically shortened. I don’t wear one every day but as I acquire more and more scarfs…I’m enjoying it even more.  I also believe that I’ve taken to this sort of thing so greatly because I love to change my hair, A LOT. But there’s only so much cutting and dying that I can do…and I certainly don’t have the patience to grow it out to my butt… Learning various head wraps helps fulfill this need of mine for change.  What woman DOESN’T feel more regal and elegant with a little bit of “oompf” on top?

Edith Wherton – When I put on the scarf it is sort of a meditation. When the ends get wrapped around the head, it’s like putting on a crown.  I feel empowered. No submission for me!!!  And then there is the fact that it looks better with makeup and earrings! On a good day this 58 year old granny can pass for 57 and 1/2 easily!!!

Mirjam, France – For me, it’s a mixture of everything. I began “ticheling“ when I was a teenager!  I just began to cover my long thick curly hair in order to keep it away from “nasty” boys and men. That was my very first reason: I did protest against this behavior which considers girls and women as “objects”.  I was always disagreeing with the actual “standards of fashion” which uncovers the body.  So I guess my first reason for wearing a tichel is what some can call “feminism”.  In this sense that I did hide some physical features to tell to the people surrounding me: I am not only a body. I am a soul that lives in a body, not a just body. I was telling them that if they want to know me, they have to go a little bit further than just the outside.

Ooohhh it’s nice to be making outfit posts again!  Yesterday I went with my classic favourite combination: teal and brown!  I highlighted it with a gold sari sash which just made everything feel so rich!  Whenever I’m having difficulty figuring out what to wear, teal and brown is my go to.  It always makes me feel great!  Props to my husband for seeing the awesome lighting on this wall and taking the photos even though it was the middle of the night!

This new sari sash is one of my faves… it just matches everything!

What is your “go to” color combo that always makes you feel great?  Let’s inspire each other!

All my love,
Andrea

Lots can be said about the effects of wearing a tichel in day-to-day life… but one thing’s for sure: people will say the darnedest things! Whether the real reason we cover is for religion, medical or personal reasons, it won’t stop people from taking their best (or wildest) guess at what we’re up to!

We asked Wrapunzel fans for the silliest or most unexpected tichel comment they’d ever had. Boy did we get some great answers!!!

Violeta: “An African employee at Costco always gives me a smile when I wear my tichel to shop. I’m hoping it reminds him of home. When I wore my tichel to school for one of my daughter’s events, one of the other moms asked me if I was dressing up as a fortune teller! D’oh.”

Robin: “My favorite happened in an airport when a man went running by me shouting, ‘I love your hat!'”

Susie: “I got asked if I were Buddhist in the market.”

Amanda: “Last week someone asked if I was from Sierra Leone. And a while ago, a stranger reached up and squeezed my shaper (!) and said, ‘You must have a lot of hair!'”

Naomi Rose: “I was recently meeting with an insurance agent at a Starbucks. He was taking a bunch of notes on our conversation. This older guy came up to us and asked if the insurance agent was a reporter, and whether I was from Bosnia.

Another time I was in a department store and a guy yelled, “Hey, are you from Holland?!”

One of the best was when an African exchange student at my university came up to me and said that my scarves reminded him of home, because all ladies wrap their hair there!”

Emily: “I’ve told this story a thousand times but I still love it–a little kid asked me if I was a pirate. His mom got all nervous, like he did something wrong, but it was cool. I told him I was, and that I would be hitting the high seas that afternoon.”

Alicia: “I’ve also been asked if I’m a pirate. Mostly people just ask if I know where they can get kosher food!”

Pauline: “I was in McDonalds when one of the staff sidled up to me asking if I was a medium. I was thrown a bit and said, ‘No, although I do pick up on people’s vibes and feelings.’ She said ‘I knew it, just by your look.'”

Su: “How about, “Look, mommy! A Genie!” while grocery shopping.”

Kendra: “This weekend (which was my first time wearing a tichel in public), a man approached me and asked if I was an aerobics instructor. (???)”

Zehava: I got, “Does your husband make you wear that?”
Potential answer: ‘No, did your mom make you wear that?’ [disclaimer: It is maybe not a good idea to actually say this. 😛 ]

Alana: “A man from Africa came up to me one time and enthusiastically pulled out his wallet and showed me a photograph of his mother in a head wrap. He told me he liked mine and that it reminded him of home, and that he felt it was so proper and dignified for women to wrap. He asked why I wrap, and I said: ‘Because it feels proper and dignified!’ It was a wonderful moment.”

Eliana Misty: “My favorite, the one that made me laugh out loud, is when I was asked if I were a Yogi.”

Chana Rivka: “I have a karate instructor who seeks to find new ways to describe my wraps. Last time he asked if I was a gypsy and could see the future. I said, ‘I knew you were going to say that.'”

Maya: “‘Where are you from?’ ‘No, I mean where are you REALLY from?'”

Shira: “At shul, a little kid playing with my son pointed at me and asked, ‘Why does your mom wear that big stuff on her head?’ My son replies, in a matter of fact tone, ‘That’s her crown. My abba is the king and she’s the queen.’ Meanwhile, the first kid is totally lost, because he knows my husband as the rabbi!”

Nechama: “The best one was at work today. A 7-year-old kid was looking at the back of my head (I was wearing a volumizer) and he said: “Do you have a baby in your head?” i.e., Are you pregnant? Boy, did we have a good laugh!!!”

And the award for best comment goes to:

Andrea Grinberg: “I was recently asked, “Have you heard of this website called Wrapunzel?”

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Thanks for sharing, everybody!!!

Have YOU had an unexpected or humorous tichel reaction lately? Tell us about it!