A celebration of my poor hijab-wrapping skills

I must have tried half a dozen approaches to wrapping my headscarf since I've been here. When I first arrived, my hijab style was all about survival; even though we aren’t required to wear hijabs in Saudi Arabia, I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself. I thus present to you “the survivor”. This twice-trademarked approach consists of putting the long rectangular scarf on your head, safety pinning it under your chin and wrapping the excess around your shoulders till there’s nothing left to wrap. It’s okay if you stab yourself with a safety pin a few times or almost choke yourself with overzealous wrapping; it’s part of the patented process. Our early days, if you'll recall...

Next, I tried out the “extreme double-wrap”, so called because I didn’t center the scarf on my head, but rather left only a few inches on one side and several feet on the other (see below). Then I wrapped it over my head twice and subsequently around my neck.

I was pretty happy with this style until I started to do that in front of a few of the women in our workshop, who very sweetly teased me. Happily, one attendee took me under her wing and introduced me to the “hang loose”, which is apparently the stylish way to do it. All I have is this blurry photo because there’s no hope for my figuring out how to replicate it.

And actually, I shouldn’t say the hang loose is “the” stylish way. Turns out wrapping a hijab offers women the opportunity to express their style, so there are a bunch of ways to tie it (and tons of websites dedicated to sharing new methods). In addition to expressing style, the way women tie their hijabs can also reflect the country or region from which they come. But we’ll leave that interpretation to the experts and continue on with the rest of my attempts at hijab-tying.

One of my go-to’s is the “quick 'n easy hijab”, known by some as the “it’s 105 degrees out and we have to walk fifteen minutes on an asphalt road without sidewalks or shade”. I’m a pro at this one. Put the scarf on your head. Wrap one side very loosely around your neck, and then the other. Proceed. And trust me, you’ll have to proceed a bunch of times because it falls as soon as you take a few steps.

After playing around with a few more techniques, I have actually found one that I like. Now, I put the scarf on my head, off-centered so that the left side a bit longer than the right. I then fold under about an inch of the scarf around my cheeks and neck and then bring the left side of the scarf around my head again, tucking it into the first layer a little bit at my left cheek. I still haven’t figured out how to drape the parts that hang down, but I take solace in the fact that there are women who have been here for years who still haven’t mastered their style.

Andrea, Zeynep and Hind, on the other hand seem to be pretty consistent—and confident—in their hijab styles. Hind never even touched a safety pin, making it look easy.

Zeynep somehow figured out how to be completely gorgeous in hers.

And Andrea has been crowned “best hijab” for her tireless commitment to covering every last inch of her hair.