# What's the deal with Mormon fundamentalist women's hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679 "2008-04-09T22:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/1 "2008-04-09T22:18:55Z")
After seeing the news reports on the women and children being removed from the YFZ compound I’m wondering about the women’s hairstyles. I get the long hair (women not cutting their hair is common in a lot of conservative/religious circles), but what I don’t get is the high front. How is that done (some of them are really high)? Doesn’t that take work? Some sort of hair product? Filler? Wouldn’t that kind of work on your hair imply vanity? Why does it seem to be very Mormon (Mormon fundamentalist offshoot sects, not mainstream Mormon)? Are there historic precedents? [Example One](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7339392.stm) [Example Two](http://www.mctcampus.com/visuals/preview.htm?doc=KRT%2Fkrtphotoslive%2Fdocs%2F297%2F463) [And a photo montage](http://166.70.44.68/blogs/trent/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/flds-bus-load1k.jpg) Chloe Sevigny has a tame [version](http://www.hbo.com/biglove/cast/character/nicolette_grant.html) of it in “Big Love.” (In which she plays a Mormon polygamist). I’m not sure there are factual answers, which is why this isn’t in GQ. Any thoughts? Experiences with this? ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/2 "2008-04-09T22:28:04Z")
I see a lot of this among Pentecostal and Mennonite women. I think it’s just a way to give a little softer, more flattering look than having your hair skinned [straight back](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/specials/beautytrends/070226/kate_winslet.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20008689_6,00.html&h=400&w=300&sz=31&hl=en&start=8&sig2=gH2WVYTDJ37orSUG83mgDA&um=1&tbnid=z2QBFyFHO9vV7M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&ei=XkL9R5y8Jof2iAHyqdSJAQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dponytail%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN) in a pony tail. I mean, geez, that’s a style that makes even Kate Winslet look bad! ---
**Author:** ![Tabula\_Rasa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@Tabula\_Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabula_Rasa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/3 "2008-04-09T23:21:23Z")
The married FLDS women are supposed to wear their hair up and contained. The finger waves at the temple (side of head, not big freakin’ building) were a particular turn-on of Rulon Jeffs, father of Warren Jeffs and “prophet” before him. They got kinda built into the expected uniform. The poofy thing at the front is a face-framing thing, as mentioned above. It’s almost impossible to do on one’s own hair. Much easier to maintain as a hairstyle if there are, ahem, several other women around to help. There are several ways of achieving this pouf, but plastic combs are the most likely. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/4 "2008-04-09T23:22:39Z")
I feel like I’ve seen pictures of that hairstyle from the 19th century, implying that you can do it without modern hair products. ---
**Author:** ![tesseract](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@tesseract](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tesseract)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/5 "2008-04-10T00:25:56Z")
[QUOTE=Tabula Rasa] The poofy thing at the front is a face-framing thing, as mentioned above. It’s almost impossible to do on one’s own hair. Much easier to maintain as a hairstyle if there are, ahem, several other women around to help. There are several ways of achieving this pouf, but plastic combs are the most likely. [/QUOTE] The women in my faith also have long hair, but with much greater variety of styles (including down). I’ve known lots of women who can do this high front thing themselves (myself included, though I don’t do it --it’s like a big-hair eighties thing – way out of style if you care about style, though these women obviously are not allowed to care about style) and a lot of women I know DO wear it straight back with a chignon at the nape of the neck. Or maybe something like [this](http://beauty.glam.com/photos/features/hollywoods_holiday_hair/) or [this](http://beauty.about.com/od/promhairstyles/ss/classicup_5.htm) or [this](http://beauty.about.com/od/promhairstyles/ss/classicup_4.htm). ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/6 "2008-04-10T00:39:49Z")
No idea as to why, but that photo montage is creepy as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/7 "2008-04-10T00:52:04Z")
From the little I’ve read, these “churches” strike me as sex cults rather than genuine churches. It doesn’t surprise me that the women would have to style their hair to please the purient desires of their rapists. I think religion was just used as an instrument of psychological coercion. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/8 "2008-04-10T01:16:55Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] From the little I’ve read, these “churches” strike me as sex cults rather than genuine churches. It doesn’t surprise me that the women would have to style their hair to please the purient desires of their rapists. I think religion was just used as an instrument of psychological coercion. [/QUOTE] I absolutely agree. I also think it’s a way for men to amass dozens or scores of children they might not be able to have otherwise. And having a lot of kids must make them feel “manly.” It’s sick! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/9 "2008-04-10T01:27:45Z")
The conservative hair and dress of these offshoot groups of Mormons are very uncharacteristic of regular Mormons, who are very much into hairstyling, makeup, and flashy dress, including pants, IME. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/10 "2008-04-10T01:36:59Z")
Here’s a similar hairstyle from the turn-of-the-century: [Gibson Girl – Gibson Girl](http://www.gibsongirl.org/images/centurygirl.jpg) Their hair looks a lot like the styles on this braiding site: [dreamweaverbraiding.com](http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braid_examples.htm) Here’s another good example: [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/04-09-2008.n1a\_09FLDSwomangirls.GNS2CISNC.1.jpg](http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/04-09-2008.n1a_09FLDSwomangirls.GNS2CISNC.1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/11 "2008-04-10T02:02:44Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] Here’s a similar hairstyle from the turn-of-the-century: [http://www.gibsongirl.org/images/centurygirl.jpg](http://www.gibsongirl.org/images/centurygirl.jpg) Their hair looks a lot like the styles on this braiding site: [http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braid\_examples.htm](http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braid_examples.htm) Here’s another good example: [Client Challenge](http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/04-09-2008.n1a_09FLDSwomangirls.GNS2CISNC.1.jpg) [/QUOTE] Whoa, some of those styles on the second page are amazing-I don’t know how they have the patience to manage those. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/12 "2008-04-10T02:31:39Z")
So how _does_ one put up one’s hair like that? Does it involve a lot of back-combing? Is there an under-structure you pull your hair over? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/13 "2008-04-10T02:34:52Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Whoa, some of those styles on the second page are amazing-I don’t know how they have the patience to manage those. [/QUOTE] Well, the cash doesn’t hurt. Those braids are done at my Ren Faire (although I don’t think by that woman; she doesn’t look familiar) and the ones like those photos \*start \*around $60 and can be done in about 30 minutes by an experienced braider. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/14 "2008-04-10T03:02:42Z")
Since they’re not allowed to do much else except have sex, I’m sure most of them get pretty skilled at hair braiding. ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/15 "2008-04-10T03:36:44Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Well, the cash doesn’t hurt. Those braids are done at my Ren Faire (although I don’t think by that woman; she doesn’t look familiar) and the ones like those photos \*start \*around $60 and can be done in about 30 minutes by an experienced braider. [/QUOTE] I need to start working Ren Faires. When I had long hair, I could do more than half of those on myself. Unfortunately, many of the prettiest ones make one look like a Mormon fundamentalist outside of a Ren Faire. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/16 "2008-04-10T03:43:54Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Well, the cash doesn’t hurt. Those braids are done at my Ren Faire (although I don’t think by that woman; she doesn’t look familiar) and the ones like those photos \*start \*around $60 and can be done in about 30 minutes by an experienced braider. [/QUOTE] Psst. This summer, I will introduce you to Ray. He does the braids at a better price than the three ladies. He did [this](http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v142/184/19/507751403/n507751403_220356_154.jpg) for me this past summer and it lasted all weekend. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/17 "2008-04-10T03:49:58Z")
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry] Psst. This summer, I will introduce you to Ray. He does the braids at a better price than the three ladies. He did [this](http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v142/184/19/507751403/n507751403_220356_154.jpg) for me this past summer and it lasted all weekend. [/QUOTE] That’s awesome! Yes, yes, introduce me! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/18 "2008-04-10T05:01:15Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > So how does one put up one’s hair like that? Does it involve a lot of back-combing? Is there an under-structure you pull your hair over? It’s not that hard to do. I get [a little bit of that puff](http://pics.livejournal.com/msmcknittington/pic/0007aqp8) when I have my hair pulled back in a barrette, and that’s all natural. It gets a little bit more extreme if the barrette scoots forward on my head. The taller styles probably have some backcombing going on, but I don’t think any of the women have pads/rolls/rats in their hair, which in my experience leave a pretty distinctive shape at the sides where the rat ends. Women in the 1940s got [pretty large rolls](http://www.nocturne.com/swing/hair/amhair_aug45-3.htm) without rats, using only pincurls and backcombing and some setting lotion. So, to sum up, rats aren’t required, but they can be used. Backcombing is likely, and it might involve sleeping in curlers or pincurls to help provide volume. They probably use a lot of hair spray. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/19 "2008-04-10T13:43:27Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Purl McKnittington] So, to sum up, rats aren’t required, but they can be used. Backcombing is likely, and it might involve sleeping in curlers or pincurls to help provide volume. They probably use a lot of hair spray. [/QUOTE] “Rat” - that’s the word I was trying to think of! (the closest I got was “snood” but I knew that wasn’t right.) I assumed by looking at the volume of some of them, a rat would have to be involved, but after some comments here I guess it mostly takes patience and long bangs. I find it interesting (and indicative of the male domination of this sect) that unlike the Mennonite or Amish, the men don’t also wear styles that separate them from modern society (from what I’ve seen in pictures of Warren Jeffs). The women, however, are tagged by both their clothes and their hair. > [@Tabula Rasa](#): > > The married FLDS women are supposed to wear their hair up and contained. The finger waves at the temple (side of head, not big freakin’ building) were a particular turn-on of Rulon Jeffs, father of Warren Jeffs and “prophet” before him. They got kinda built into the expected uniform. This is also an interesting point. Because of the insularity of the the group, one man’s preference can become the dominate/preferred style for all the women years after he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679/20 "2008-04-10T21:51:00Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] No idea as to why, but that photo montage is creepy as hell. [/QUOTE] I agree… and yet I can’t stop looking at it! I don’t even know why. I wonder what will happen to all these people. The old lady with the cup on the right looks like an old English teacher of mine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mormon-fundamentalist-womens-hair/444679.md?page=2)