[Note: With this article I am trying to show that wearing hijab in and of itself will not cause hair loss. If you experience hair loss or breakage upon starting to wear hijab, there are underlying reasons (as listed below) that cause your hair loss and breakage. Please also see the comments to this post for more information and tips from other readers. And by all means, do not let this post scare you away from wearing hijab. Sometimes we might think that wearing hijab gives us an excuse to be lazy with our hair, but we have to take care of it whether the world sees it or not.]

“HIJAB IS MAKING ME BALD!”
Over the years, I have heard of Muslim women not wearing hijab because they say that wearing hijabs makes their hair fall out. If you’re experiencing this issue, there are two things that I could think of that may be causing your seemingly-hijab-induced hair loss. Read on to find out what they are and what you can do about them.

1. Your hijab is too tight.
Your scarf does not need to be locked down like a maximum security prison! A too-tight hijab can not only cause you to lose hair around the front and back of your head, but it can also cause major headaches. To resolve this issue, you could try wearing a bigger underscarf (some of those tiny ones don’t work so well with thicker heads of hair). You could also loosen your hijab and/or wear hijabs that are a bit stretchy. Your hair and head will thank you for it!

2. Your hair is too dry.
When dry hair rubs up against fabrics like the ones that you’ll find in most hijabs, the hair can break off from the friction. To resolve this issue, I have three suggestions for you…

i) Keep your hair well-moisturized by using an oil like coconut oil (olive oil and most other oils will not moisturize your hair; they will just sit on top of your hair without penetrating it). Or you could use a moisturizing conditioner like V05 Moisture Milks Moisturizing Conditioner (this is what I use on my hair and I love it!), just be sure to leave the conditioner in your hair and do not rinse it out.

ii) If your hair is long enough, be sure to keep the ends of your hair tucked in and away from the fabric of your scarf. This can be accomplished by wearing your hair in a bun, a french roll, braids, or a similar style under your scarf.

iii) Only wear smooth, silk scarves for hijabs. Hijabs made out of silk will not cause friction with your hair and thus your hair will be less likely to break and fall out.

Now, tell me: Have you ever experienced this or other beauty-related issues caused by hijab? How did you resolve them?

HIJAB Q&A : IMITATING THE “DISBELIEVERS”

[UPDATE: I will continue this post later on inshallah because I am too busy to sit and write it right now. Sorry for the delay.]

Rather than continuing with my post entitled “Is Hijab Overrated Part 1?“, I am going to start addressing the questions about hijab that I receive from readers. I think these posts will be really useful, inshallah, and I think that it’s really important for me to start talking about the hijab-related information that is thrown around on the Internet. If you have any questions about hijab, please contact me.

HIJAB Q&A #1: Are Muslim women (and men) imitating the “disbelievers” by wearing “modern clothing”?

I don’t want to answer a question with a question, but let’s just think for a moment: What type of clothing do you think Prophet Muhammad wore before he became a Muslim? What do you think the Muslim females of that time wore before they were Muslims?…

Any thoughts? Please leave them below in the comments and on Monday I will continue with this post inshallah.

IS HIJAB OVERRATED? PART 1

I think that it is and it isn’t. This may surprise some of you because this site is all about how much “We Love Hijab“, but I think that some people take the concept of hijab to an unnecessary extreme.

On one hand it is seen as an oppressive, cultural, or otherwise unnecessary object. On the other hand, hijab is seen as a holy thing that shouldn’t be used for fashion and such.

Over the past 2 years that I have been writing about hijab fashion (both here and the old Precious Modesty hijab blog), I have read a number of comments that argue both extremes.

One non-Muslim man, felt the need to write an article on a general interest website about how hijab is not a requirement for Muslim women. I really don’t know why he was so concerned about the subject in the first place, but, in his opinion, hijab is a cultural practice of dressing and his evidence to that point is the fact that Allah doesn’t use the word “hijab” to describe a headscarf in the Qur’an. He also pointed out that Arab women and other women had been covering their hair long before the revelation of the Qur’an.

While he is right in saying that hijab does not refer to a headscarf in the Qur’an and that women had been covering their hair since forever, there are a few things that he should realize.

1. The word hijab is used to describe things that cover other things. A table-cloth which covers a table; a blanket that covers your bed. Muslim women have a specific way of covering ourselves, and therefore the word hijab has just come to be used as a reference for our style of dressing – particularly when it comes to the distinct way that we cover our hair.

2. If covering the hair was just an “Arab” practice that Allah did not want the rest of the Muslim world to uphold, maybe Allah would have corrected that practice in the Qur’an, just as He corrected other unnecessary, man-made rules and regulations.

Instead, Allah instructed us to cover in a more distinct and modest way – adding to the already practiced hair covering. Apparently, Muslim women back in Prophet Muhammad’s time looked just like most other women. Their hair was covered, but their necks and upper-chest areas were exposed. So when some disgusting men (who interestingly enough had great respect for Muslim women) started to bother the women in the community, Allah revealed Ayah 33:59, which instructed the Muslim women to cover their bosom area as well so that the men would know who they were and leave them alone.

This concept is still relevant today because all throughout my life, I have found that people respected me more than other females because they saw the way that I covered and they knew that I was a Muslim. Yes, there are unfortunate situations where hijabi women are bothered, but I think that in general, the world is not hostile towards us and that in general, they hold us in a higher regard than other women – at least to our faces!

Any thoughts?

7 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WEAR THAT OUTFIT


1. Am I following my understanding of hijab as best as I can?

There are so many different opinions about what hijab is and what it is not. Some Muslim women only wear black, some Muslim women cover their faces, some Muslim women wear specific regional styles of clothing, and some Muslim women mix it all together. Whatever you choose to wear, as a Muslimah, you are responsible for finding out what Allah expects of you. My beliefs of how we have to dress are clearly presented on this website, but you have to do your own research. Ask Allah for guidance and then follow what you understand hijab to be to the best of your ability. As long as your intentions and actions are good, Allah will be pleased with you, inshallah. And that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?

2. Am I trying to make someone jealous or envious of me by wearing this?

We’ve all heard of the phrase “dress to impress”, but some women take this concept too far. It’s one thing to make sure that you look good for, perhaps, a job interview. (You don’t want to show up in tattered, old jeans do you?) But, it’s another thing to be completely arrogant in what you wear.

If you’re the type of girl who dresses up just to go to the grocery store (I’m guilty of this and actually, I recommend it!), you probably don’t dress that way out of arrogance. For me, it’s about how I feel about myself. When I dress up, I feel confident, presentable, and pretty – Allah loves beauty and there’s nothing wrong with feeling it!

On the other hand, you have women who dress up only when they’re going to be around certain other women. Many of us are guilty of doing this at one time or another. Only you know what your intentions are, so be mindful of them. Dress to make yourself feel good and be careful not to be a Show-Off.

3. Is my clothing tight?

Some people would have you believe that wearing a big, black abaya will completely conceal your curves at all times. Well, what happens when the wind blows your abaya to the right while you’re walking to the left? Sometimes, your shape will accidentally be revealed and no matter how many layers of clothes you pile on, you simply cannot disguise a healthy booty or a big chest! That said, you still need to be mindful of how tight your clothing is so that in ordinary situations (when the wind is not blowing your clothing all over the place), you’re covered properly.


A few things to think about: If you had to stretch your shirt over your chest just to button it up, your shirt is too tight. If you can clearly define the shape of your body when standing still in front of the mirror, your clothes are too tight. If you broke a sweat trying to put those pants on, they’re way too tight! There are a few other things to look for when trying to figure out whether or not your clothes are tight, but they’re all pretty obvious… When in doubt, check yourself out in the mirror again!

4. Is my clothing see-through?

What girl doesn’t love a frilly, lacy bra that’s worthy of a Victoria’s Secret runway show? I know that I love them, but I also know that I need to keep them to myself (and my hubby of course!). Transparency is a big fashion trend for Spring 2008. You’ll be seeing sheer tops, jackets, and pants all over the place, but those things are definitely not fit for Muslimahs. We all know that layering comes with the territory when you’re a Muslim woman, so if you find that whatever you’re wearing is a bit see-through, just throw on something opaque (like a t-shirt) underneath of it and you’ll be good to go!

5. Is what I’m wearing extravagant?

We already spoke about the fact that Muslim women shouldn’t dress up just to impress other people, but that rule is based on your intentions. Extravagance is a bit more difficult to define because what’s extravagant to me might not be extravagant to another Muslimah.


What does the word “extravagant” mean? One of the definitions of the word “extravagant” is that it is something that is excessive and unreasonable. For example, wearing a wedding gown on your wedding day is great! But, wearing your wedding gown outside on any other day is extravagant. You get the idea, right?


A few tips: If your entire outfit is shimmery, glittery, sparkly, and beaded, it might be a little extravagant. If you have jewelry on every single part of your body (rings on all 10 fingers, bangles up to your elbows, and a huge nose ring), it might be a little extravagant. If you’re abaya is trailing behind you like the train of a wedding gown, it might be a little extravagant. Ok, now I’ll admit that those 3 examples may have been a little extravagant themselves, but you get the idea! If you just can’t figure out whether or not your attire is a bit too much, take off some of your jewelry, or take off one of your decorative items and replace it with something that’s more simple in style.

6. Is my hair completely covered?

We’re all friends here right? So, let’s be real with each other. If you’re going to cover your hair, you probably should cover all of it. No bangs are allowed. No deliberate baby hairs plastered to your forehead with hair gel. And please, none of that half-scarf-on half-scarf-off stuff. With all of the lovely hijab pins out there, it’s unfathomable that a Muslimah can’t keep her scarf on properly. If you don’t believe that we have to cover our hair in the first place, well then I guess you’re excused. But, if you’re going to wear hijab, you should try your best to wear it correctly.

7. Is my chest covered?

Cleavage and headscarves just do not go together. It just doesn’t look right, you know? I’m not trying to give you an Islamic history lesson here, but… To my understanding, back in Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) time, women (both Muslims and non-Muslims) wore headscarves that hung down behind their backs (click here for an idea of what that scarf style looks like). They also wore garments that looked similar to a man’s ihram (click here for an example). These garments left the women’s cleavages and upper skin exposed. Allah revealed verse 24:31 in the Qur’an to address this issue, stating that Muslim women should “…draw their veils over their bosoms…” So, this is pretty clear. If your top doesn’t cover your entire chest area, or if your shirt is really tight on your chest, just be sure that your hijab hangs down low enough to give you the proper coverage.

So that concludes my little list. I hope that I haven’t offended you and I hope that you enjoyed reading it. If you did, please invite other Muslimahs to come and read it as well. As always, I look forward to reading your comments on this article and if you have anything to add to the list, please post it up in the comments!

xoxo Kima