Hijab and hair: 17 pleasures and struggles as told by hijabis

Wearing the hijab is a personal act of piety that comes with its own set of special pleasures...and struggles. A lot of these have to do with--you guessed it--our hair. 

Too many people think that when a hijabi covers her hair, she ceases to have a relationship with it. It's just not true. Here are just some things that make a hijabi's connection with her hair a special one, to say the least. 

Those wild baby hairs are dying to take a peek at the outside world. But there's a hack: hairspray! 

"For exactly how long has my hijab looked like I've just gotten out of a roller-coaster and why did my friends not tell me to fix it? Friendship over!"

Your hair is looking flawless. First things first, you take selfies and send them to all your girlfriends on Snapchat. 

But when it's time to go out, you die a little on the inside. You put on the hijab and start questioning whether you need to go out in the first place. All you really want to do is cancel all your plans and invite your squad over to dote over your fabulous hair.

All the talk you hear about hijab and hair loss sends you to panic mode. But you can't tell if the hijab has really taken its toll on your hair or if it's just the paranoia speaking. Either way, you scour the interwebs for hijab hair-care because it's better to be safe than sorry.

You go to great lengths to avoid showering if you're leaving the house in less than two hours, but unexpected plans always disappoint. 

The result? An uncomfortably wet under-hijab bonnet, plus when you eventually take off your scarf, you find your hair (which is still wet 7 hours later!) glued to the top of your head with crazy curls at the bottom. You probably need another shower for your hair to look presentable again.

You know how riders have helmet hair? Hijabis have hijab hair, it's a fact. 

No matter how fabulous your hair looked before leaving the house, it turns into a flat, silky smooth scalp that dissolves into random creases and an awkward frizz at the bottom.

From barging into the living room sans-hijab and finding your brother's whole basketball squad staring at you, to trapping yourself in your room until guests leave because you really can't get yourself to be a hijabi at your own home. Male guests are a pain in the hijab. 

Depending on how you style it, the hijab can do wonders in shaping your face. We really don't give it enough credit for this! 

Willow Smith was definitely referring to hijabis when she sang "I whip my hair back and forth" because that's exactly what you do as soon as you get home, granting your hair the liberty it deserves after a long day in captivity. 

Nothing makes you more grateful for the hijab like waking up to a bad hair day.

Behind that beautiful silk scarf and that on-point makeup, you could be hiding a catastrophe that would give any hair-dresser a mini heart-attack and no one could ever tell!

But to be fair, bad hijab days are a thing and those are just as brutal.

While your female friends and relatives spend long stressful hours at the salon trying to get the perfect hairdo, all you need is a make-up appointment (if any).

Not only does your fashion sense evolve as the weather gets colder (you take layering to a whole new level, but you're also the warmest girl in the room with your hijab acting as earmuffs.

*evil laughs*

How else would you make it through hours of boring lectures and intolerable family gatherings? Besides, the hijab bonnet gives extra support and stops earbuds from falling, so you might as well make the best of this gem. 

You could be hiding rainbow colored hair or a Mohawk under the hijab and no one would ever know! Being a hijabi means you can fearlessly experiment with your hair, at the risk of your mum disowning you of course.  

Your hijab doubles as a Bluetooth headset, a shield from the rain, earmuffs, the perfect cloth to wipe your glasses...