Why Jewish Women Wear Wigs

As with all religions and cultures, there are many misunderstandings about Jewish customs. One of the biggest confusions concerns the practice of head covering among Jewish women. The biggest aspect that confuses people about Jewish head covering is why some Jewish women wear wigs. This is a practice that is almost totally foreign and perplexing to gentiles. In this article, therefore, we've written a guide to help explain why Jewish Women Wear Wigs.

Why Jewish Women Wear Wigs: Not all of them do

The first thing you need to understand about why Jewish women wear wigs is that not all of them do. It is a personal choice depending on the strictness with which that woman chooses to interpret Jewish law. In more Orthodox communities Jewish women wear wigs more often than in less orthodox communities, as a general rule.

Why Jewish Women Wear Wigs: It's about modesty

According to Orthodox Jewish law, it is impermissible for a married Jewish women to show their hair. For this reason many Jewish women wear wigs after completely shaving their heads, since technically speaking, it is not their hair that is showing.

The rules about modesty apply not just to women's hair: in Jewish culture people of both sexes are forbidden to dress in revealing, overly enticing garments. If one looks at a Jewish woman who wears a wig, you will also notice that she most probably does not wear extremely short skirts or tight pants, either.

Why Jewish Women Wear Wigs: Why not just wear a hat?

When many people ask why Jewish women wear wigs, it is because they do not see the point in covering your hair if you are just going to wear fake hair anyway. This is actually a matter of some debate in the Jewish community and different schools of thought teach different rules regarding this. Some Jewish women wear wigs because they believe that they are one of the most effective forms of hair covering: Unlike scarves or hats, wigs cover the hair completely and are very unlikely to accidently slip. Other Jewish women believe that wigs defeat the purpose of covering the hair, as they can be just as attractive and flamboyant as a woman's real hair. Some believe that wearing a wig is trying to play technicalities and loopholes with God.

Some Jewish women who believe that they should cover their hair do not wear wigs, and instead wear scarves or hats.

As always, it is a personal choice and you cannot make generalities about the entire community based on a few sole examples.