For those people of faith who wear headscarves or some similar item, are there prescribed hairstyles? Or does it not matter what’s underneath as long as it’s covered?
I can’t say for sure since I know there are regional variations. One of the stricter ones I’ve heard is no haircuts. Keep it long, and neat and straight. Part it in the middle. This is the traditional look for both Indian and Muslim women, though it’s changing rapidly.
However, most of the time this is faaaaar from reality. Women I’ve seen who wear headscarves often will have elaborate coiffs underneath, with glittering bejewelled hairclips and such. Just goes to show that every woman likes to dress up and look pretty.
I know from personal experience that the easiest way is simply to pull it all into a braid. I don’t wear a headscarf and never have, but I have worn veils over my head for short amounts of time and your hair gets static-y fast.
I cover my hair, and it depends on what I’m covering it with. I have long, curly hair (it gets pretty flattened under headcoverings, though.) Under scarves I tend to have it in either a bun or a braid, depending on the scarfstyle I’m wearing; under a hat, it’s usually bunned, except for my big floppy quasi-rasta knit, under which things look better if they’re in a pony tail. Under my Fake Hair, I tend to have it in two mini-buns at the base of my neck, as this leads to less of a lump at the back of my head.
Less anecdotally, other than Hasidic women, most Orthodox Jewish women wear their hair how they want, although they’ll frequently cut it fairly short (less than shoulder-length) to make life easier, particularly if they usually wear wigs. (I’m not yet working in an office setting or anywhere that would require that I look professional as yet, and am not of a background where wig-wearing is seen as the preferable option, so I wear scarves most of the time since they’re way more comfortable.) Many sects of Hasidic women actually shave their heads underneath; I’ve heard conflicting reasons for this.
I’ve yet to see the hair of observant, wig-wearing Jewish women I work with. When primping in the ladies’ room, they primp their wig. I’ve heard rumors of buzz cuts and shave heads underneath, and to mean the reason seems obvious - less hot and itchy, and the wigs sit better with less real hair underneath.
The Muslims, however, do take off and re-arrange their scarves. Underneath, they seem to have stylish short haircuts. More poofy hairdos require a lightweight scarf, such as silk, as a heavier one would compact things down. Some have curls, some shaped coifs, some just plain. Some have elaborate pins, combs, etc. as mentioned, and other don’t.
I don’t take my wig off in the bathroom either, unless there’s something wrong with it. Wigs are a pain to take off and put on, and sit fairly securely, so you don’t want to put it on and take it off more than you have to, which isn’t often in a work environment. They primp their wigs because they, too, want to look nice. I doubt the women you work with shave their heads - non-Hasidic women don’t (and are have a certain horrified fascination with Hasidic women who do, probably similar to that of the rest of the population that knows about it), and Hasidic women don’t work outside of the home much, and almost never outside of a Jewish environment. Short haircuts (not buzzcuts) are way more likely, but they might have a couple of feet of hair under there, too, like I do.
On the other hand, scarves are much more comfortable, but slide around and need occasional retying. They’re also less of a production to put on and take off, so it’s not a big deal. I readjust mine in the ladies’ room as necessary. There’s also an element of not wanting to look like a freak - it looks really odd if you take off your hair, even if people know it’s a wig, but people are much more comfortable with you taking your scarf off.
Around here it is universally braids, pretty much the same as you see on African American women in the states.