In traditional Judaism, women typically cover their hair once they are married. This is often attributed to the Sotah ritual described in Numbers (5:18). There are many sources on this online, which go into a lot more depth. In this post, I am just going to talk about my own personal reason, beyond the common tradition, for covering my hair.
When I first started to cover my hair, it was kind of fun. It was different and instantly I noticed a change in how people interacted with me. Suddenly I felt that people were looking at me like I was more than just appearances. I noticed that my conversations with men weren’t as friendly and seemingly flirtatious as they had sometimes seemed before.
Then as time went on, I got bored and started to panic a little. I LOVE my hair. It’s one of my best features. Every single morning I would get up, get ready for work, put my makeup on, and think, “wow I look great”. Then it would always hit me that I cover my hair. And I would get a little depressed and the rebel in me would think, what if I just didn’t cover it today?! (At this time, and even now, I could not afford a good wig (called a sheitel in Judaism) and I figured that scarfs are comfier anyway).