This post is dedicated to aidelknaidel - good luck hun!
Aidel asked about my sheitel so here goes:
A good friend once put it wisely. Wearing a sheitel has its stages.
Stage 1: Not so bad
Stage 2: I got used it
Stage 3: Hey that's me in the mirror
Stage 4: Hey that's me in the mirror and I don't look so bad
Stage 5: Hey that's me in the mirror and I look good
Stage 6: Hey that's me in the mirror and I like how I look
Stage 7: My sheitel is so comfortable I hardly feel it.
I think I'm up to somewhere between stage 4 and stage 5
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Sidepoint - you're probably getting loads of advice from everyone and everywhere, so you're welcome to ignore this if you really want (especially since you did not ask for advice!!!). My personal experience has been that for some reason I always took advice from my small circle of blog friends slightly more seriously - I'm not sure why - aomething to do with everyone being anonymous.
1. Sheitel Companies - boy do people have an opinion on this one!
Long sheitels get knotty. I have two shevys - they both tangle very badly, my sister in law has Noas and they tangle, my friend has a David - it tangles. One friend has a Shuly and it never tangled but the hair started falling out after about 5 months.
Don't let anyone convice you that one Sheitel company is better than another. They're all the same, they're all overpriced and the main thing is that when you put the sheitel on , you want to look good.
2. Testing it out.
Before your sheitel macher cuts the wig, ask her to wash it and let it air dry. A good sheitel should air dry nicely, if it gets frizzy thats exactly how you will look after the rain.
If you are nervous about cutting you sheitel ask your sheitel macher to cut just a bit and then take it home and wear it around the house, you'll look in the mirror enough times to decide what you want to do with it. You don't have to chop your sheitels before you wedding, you can have the front and sides cut and then decide what you want to do with it after you've really been wearing for long periods of time.
Wear it wear it wear it. Once you take your sheitel home practice putting it on, taking it off, putting it on a sheitel head, etc. If you're brave you can practice making a pony, half pony, wearing a headband, using clips, boppy pins, claws etc. The more you get used to it now the easier it will when it's for real.
3. Wash and Sets Cost $$$$$!
Ask your sheitel macher or someone you know who knows how to care for sheitels to give you a crash course in how to wash and set a sheitel. Invest in a good blow dryer (if you don't already have one) - I would say visio or elchim save yourself a lot of money.
Very Important: Make sure your sheitel macher will back your sheitel. Most sheitels come with a one year warranty - don't let anyone convince you that your sheitel is fine if you ch''v feel that it is not!
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4 comments:
Thanks for the very practical tutorial. Feel free to update as your experience grows. Here's hoping some more bloggers (and others) get to use this advice soon!
(Is there REALLY an "I hardly feel it" stage?! Ah, hope!)
Thanks! I know- The sheitel I just got is gorgeous on the head. Its light, thin, long, and a nice cut. On me though- I see a wig. A nice one, granted. But it's not my hair and I will really miss it.
Hair Coverings – It is time to UnCover
I am writing to raise a simple and very important question:
Where is the codified Halacha that a married woman must cover all her hair, all the time, whenever she steps out of her house, whether it is summer or winter?
There is NO CODIFIED HALACHA that a married woman must cover her hair totally and constantly whenever she steps out of her house.
The halachah has been totally MISINTERPRETED, and in fact, relates ONLY to a married woman covering her hair when she lights the candles to welcome in Shabbat and Yom Tov – lechavod Shabbat ve Yom Tov, and when she goes to the Synagogue.
Therefore, for religious men/women to impose hair coverings on other women, whenever they step out of their houses is against the Torah. This misinterpretation of the Torah is completely ASSUR, and a TWISTING of the Torah.
In ancient times, a woman would only cover her hair upon entering the Beit Hamikdash. Similarly for the Sotah - otherwise she would not cover her hair ordinarily, day to day.
It is very important for people to know and realise that when a married woman covers her hair with 'REAL HAIR' the woman is covering herself with 100%TUMAH. This is TOTALLY AGAINST the Torah AND IS 100% ASSUR.
She can never fully be sure that this 'hair' has not come from MEITIM - despite any guarantee by the seller.
This 'real hair' is doubly and in some circumstances, triply TUMAH. FIRSTLY, it will contain the leftover dead hair cells from another person - however much it has been treated, the tumah is still there.
SECONDLY, this other person (likely to be a non-Jew who most likely was involved in some kind of AVODAH ZARAH) may have eaten bacon, ham, lobster etc, all of which are totally forbidden as unclean and non-kosher foods in Halacha.
THIRDLY, if the woman happens to be the wife of a COHEN, then she is bringing her husband into close contact and proximity with meitim and Tumah Every day, and throughout their married life - clearly strictly against the Torah.
Men have degraded women in order to suit their own sexual desires and needs. Some men actually prefer to see their wives in wigs because they look more sexually attractive to them than their real hair.
There is nothing more degrading and demeaning to a woman than to make her cover her hair upon marriage. Frankly it is an abhorrent practice. By quoting feeble non-starter arguments like 'Tzniut' - 'Modesty' not backed up by clear Halacha, the Rabbis and Rebbetzins are making a complete MOCKERY of the Torah, and all the good values that they stand for.
It is extremely unhealthy and unhygienic for a woman to cover her hair constantly. The hair needs oxygen to breathe.
In addition, hair covering is a form of oppression to women by men, and doing so, can undoubtedly cause a certain type of depression in women, once their hair is covered so permanently for life. It is a vile and abhorrent practice.
A woman's hair will lose its natural beauty and shine, she may have scalp problems, some of her hair may fall out, she may get headaches, and she may end up cutting it short like a man, when she always wore it long, in order not to have too much discomfort from her hair covering.
Do you think that HaKadosh Baruch Hu commanded this of women? I can assure you that He did not.
The commmandments are not meant to cause so much repression and oppression in women.
The Goyim also look at us in disgust when they know that Jewish women cover their hair and wear wigs. They think that we are going against all the light and the beautiful principles that we, Am Yisrael, brought into the world.
And therefore, for a woman to start doing this nonsensical act of covering her hair, all the time, in all seasons and temperatures, is against the Torah, and is also a form of CHILLUL HASHEM. Exactly the opposite of all the arguments put forward for this unnecessary sacrifice.
For a married woman to cover her hair is a Chillul Hashem, and is in no way, a Kiddush Hashem.
It is also against all common sense, apart from anything else, otherwise why would Hashem have created women with hair on their heads in the first place?
WAS CHAVA CREATED WITH A WIG? OF COURSE NOT! DID SHE START WEARING A WIG? OF COURSE NOT!
To all the women reading this: Please think about all that I have said above. As there is NO HALACHAH for a married woman to constantly cover her hair once she steps out of her house, PLEASE have the intelligence and moral strength of character to remove your wigs, and hair coverings, other than to bring in Shabbat and Yom Tov, and to go to the Synagogue.
It is totally AGAINST THE TORAH for any married woman to be covering her hair constantly, ( e.g especially in the hot summer), when she steps out of her house. This is a MISREPRESENTATION and TWISTING of the Torah.
WIGS AND HAIR COVERINGS ARE ASSUR AND AGAINST THE TORAH. ESPECIALLY WIGS FROM REAL HAIR.
It is far better to admit a wrong and do Teshuvah now, whilst there is time, than to leave it until it is TOO LATE - AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
That is precisely why Yehuda was rewarded with the Malchut.
For a woman to cover her hair with REAL HAIR is to cover herself with complete TUMAH, and also against the Torah. If she happens to be the wife of a COHEN, then she is bringing her husband into close contact and proximity with meitim and Tumah every day - clearly strictly against the Torah.
Deborah Shaya,
London, England.
Here is a nice article about the halachic source of women hair covering. It seems very balanced and reasonable:
http://www.torahlab.org/family/article/hair_covering_for_married_women/
One thing that is quite clear is that normative halachah requires married women to cover their hair outside of home (based on a mishnah and gemarah in Ketubot chapter 7). This is codified by the Rambam (Hilchot Issurei Biah 21:17) and the Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 21:2). I hope no one will be mislead by an unfortunate and clearly politically motivated outburst into a violation of Jewish law.
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