From the pages of magazines to TV to shampoo bottles,
hair is everywhere.
But this isn’t the case for all women.
Like those who choose to cover their hair as part of their religious identity.
This is "Mane".
And today, we are uncovering the real story behind women who choose to cover their hair.
Wearing a hijab does not mean Muslim women don’t style their hair
or enjoy being treated at a salon.
That’s where Huda Quhshi comes in.
She’s the owner of Le 'Jemalik, a Brooklyn salon that caters to Muslim women who cover their hair in public.
As wear a hijab, Huda decided it was time for a salon space to be
open for Muslim women whose needs may not always be met elsewhere.
So, the hijab is how I practice my faith
and it’s how I express my identity.
So as a Muslim woman— when I walk outside, if you see me wearing a hijab,
you immediately know I’m a Muslim woman.
I wore it at a young age, I started wearing my hijab when I was 14.
Part of the culture is we wear our hijab young, although we don’t have to wear the hijab until we hit puberty.
Because when we wear our hijab, it’s— we’re doing it for God.
And the right time to do that is as soon as you have a maturity and understanding of your faith.
What would you say are some of the most common misconceptions about wearing the hijab?
"I’m wearing my scarf because my husband told me to wear it."
We don’t wear the hijab for our husbands, we wear it for God.
And it’s a choice that we make as women.
We choose when to wear our hijab, we choose how to wear our hijab,
and we choose to wear it for our purposes,
not because my father told me, not because my husband told me.
Men having nothing to do with the hijab, it’s our choice as Muslim women.
The salon, it gave them a safe space where they can feel accepted.
Because before this, we never had a space where we could practice our faith
and get beautified at the same time.
I’m so proud that I was able to bring this to them
not knowing what an impact it’s going to have.
I just went with my gut, I knew this is what I wanted for me, for my daughter,
for my sister, for my mother,
and for all Muslim women.
So this area here is the main area of the salon, where the women get their hair colored and cut,
styling, everything— you name it, we do it.
I didn’t compromise, I didn’t care what it would take, I wanted to make sure it was special and it was different.
As well as the details I’ve put in here, I wanted women who are coming in here to feel like
they’re coming to get a luxury service.
So it’s nice when women come in here and when they first open the doors they’re shocked.
They’re so surprised, they don’t expect the space to be big first of all.
They sit in the chair and they’re like "wow,"
like this is not something I’m used to, to just take off my scarf in a salon
they literally feel like they are at home.
It’s beautiful, it’s just so so pretty in here.
For modern orthodox Jewish women, like Zelda Volkov,
wearing a wig in public is a part of her Jewish identity.
But Zelda was frustrated by her experiences shopping in wig stores.
So she decided to start her own wig business.
Now she’s working towards showing young women within her community that shopping for
and wearing wigs can be fun and fashionable.
I was 19 when I got engaged.
And I was like searching for wigs with my mother
she brought me to her, you know, lady that sold wigs.
So it’s a very different style, very old fashioned
and I left with a short, dark wig that looked nothing like me.
I definitely never felt confident, I never felt like myself.
And I definitely never felt beautiful.
You know, I love our faith and I love being an observing Jew.
And I just hated that I hated doing this important, beautiful commandment—
which we call it, It’s a mitzvah.
This is like the number one question that people ask is:
How is it modest for a woman to cover her hair with a wig that is sometimes more attractive than her natural hair?
It’s about privacy, and channeling the beauty for whoever she wants to let in.
It’s about keeping something intimate, just for your spouse.
It’s really a full wig— so it’s like my full head is covered,
but my own hair is out in the front
a little bit, so it kind of blends in.
The general idea is we have a full stock of wigs, full wall of wigs that
a woman would have an initial consult, we would discuss color and size and texture.
And then we would pick from various different pieces that we would try on.
But the stock of wigs are very raw pieces.
So they are kind of just like a raw canvas—
blank canvas with like nothing, you know?
Just hair, nothing going on.
And then customizing it for her.
Adding color, and cut, and style, and all that.
So the idea behind my wigs is that they’re all very natural.
So whatever color you see, that’s their natural color
and whatever texture.
So if it’s curly, wavy, straight, frizzy, that’s the way they were
before they were cut off.
So this is someone's like natural—
Yeah!
Someone naturally had this?
Yes.
Can you tell me a little bit about going from having these conversations with other women
within your community to then actually opening up the shop and what that process was like?
My parents are from Russia, so I’ve been to Ukraine before and I knew that’s where
a lot of the good hair is sourced
and finally I found a really good supplier and a manufacturer and I just made myself a wig.
Then my mother fell in love with it, and she wanted one.
I just felt like renewed and fresh in my love for keeping this commandment.
And I wanted for everyone else to feel like that.
Do you cater to women outside of the Jewish community as well?
So a majority of our clients are from the orthodox Jewish community,
but we have a lot of clients— especially recently
that suffer from alopecia, or cancer patients
that are looking for natural wigs that have come.
As well as we do a lot of editorials and fashion that use a lot of wigs, so
we have like a variety.
I travel to Ukraine every 6-8 weeks, where I select the hair,
there’s like a few suppliers.
This is Ulga, our wig technician magician.
And how long does something like this take?
So a full full skin tug from scratch could take about two weeks.
And here we have Lucet, who is our amazing colorist.
You can treat it like your own hair.
You could curl it, style it, blow it, straighten it, it’s incredible!
Yeah, it’s a lot of fun to play with them.
Yeah.
Zelda and Huda are proving that for young women
in Muslim and Jewish communities,
hair coverings are becoming a symbol of empowerment and autonomy.
And although the practice has distinct roots in each religion,
shared values like,
modesty and independence
are common amongst women
whether they’re wearing a sheitel or a hijab.
Huda, Zelda, I’m so excited to have you both here.
Probably a common misconception is that underneath the sheitel or underneath the hijab,
you’re not taking care of your natural hair.
That’s very interesting, because most of the time I would say that women
their hair underneath looks exactly like their wig.
So for example, my wig now, this is exactly what my natural hair looks like.
So I get it highlighted, get it washed and set and stuff
just as I would do my wig.
Just because we cover our hair doesn’t mean we don’t care for it
or do crazy things sometimes to it like fun colors and all of that.
Potentially covering your hair can be empowering because you’re like,
I’m going to do this thing for me and the people I really want to see it
and then everyone else can just get this version.
Especially when we’re talking about culture within the United States,
there is not a widespread education on
head covering as it relates to religion.
And so many times we can misconstrue social norms
to then be religious practices.
Like you said, you’re able to do it for you
and when people tell me that “you’re putting it under your scarf, what’s the use? No one’s going to see it."
I say, “you know what? I'm not doing it for the people to see, I’m doing it for me."
I see myself in the mirror, and I want to see myself beautiful.
Not all Muslim wear a head scarf, not all women cover their hair,
some choose to wear it a little bit later, some choose to wear it younger,
It’s a choice that we have, it’s a freedom of expression that we have.
We’re very observant, both of us and
people feel like
you know, when women are observant, they must be oppressed.
And I feel like it’s very interesting, we’re both young women in a very modern time
and we’re both observant and yet we have our own businesses.
It’s very empowering to say “I’m a woman, I’m a business woman, I’m an entrepreneur,
I’m Muslim, I cover.
Religion is not an oppression.
And it’s beautiful, fashionable fun,
creative, and women have so many outlets within religion
to be themselves while simultaneously serving God and having a higher purpose.
You can do anything and follow your religion.
You just have to find the ways to do it.
That’s really fantastic.
Now, women like Zelda and Huda are creating a new dialogue around head coverings.
One built around the sense of self and unity the practice can give women.
Both in Muslim, Jewish, and all other faiths.
And while hair styles may come and go,
feeling confident and connected never goes out of style.