If a Woman Willfully Cuts or Shaves Off Her Hair but Wears a Scarf or Hat to Pray, Is She Covered?
1) Direct answer
No. If a woman willfully cuts or shaves her hair and then puts on a scarf or hat to pray, she is still uncovered before God. The only covering Scripture names is her hair. She must repent, stop cutting, and let it grow. A scarf may be worn for modesty, but it does not fulfill 1 Corinthians 11.
2) Scriptural explanation
- “Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head… for if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn… but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered” (1 Corinthians 11:5–6). Uncovered is tied to being shorn/shaven.
- “Her hair is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15). The Bible names the covering: hair.
- God receives the repentant: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Willful cutting/shaving = shorn/shaven = uncovered, regardless of any hat.
- The remedy Paul gives is not a hat, but to be “covered”—and he defines that covering as hair. So obedience is to cease cutting and let the hair grow back.
- While it grows, she can pray and walk modestly, but she must not claim a scarf as the Scriptural covering. God forgives the repentant heart immediately; the visible sign returns as the hair grows.
4) Reinforcing statement
Now notice, God is not measuring hats—He honors obedience. Let the hair grow, don’t cut it again, and the God-given covering will return.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Thirsting for Life
57-0613 §67
Not only am I going to pray for them, but they're expecting you to pray for them. You are just as much to do in this, and just as responsible before God, as I am myself. Your prayers... What if your mother was standing here? If my mother was standing there, I'd sure appreciate you praying for her. If my wife was in that line or my baby, I'd appreciate your prayers. And it's not just one man's prayer. It's all of our prayers. Everyone that prays, will just mean that much more. And I'm just not going to pray for them...
Why cry? Speak!
63-0714M §55
and it paralyzes what little faith you have got. Lot could see the glamour, but he didn't have enough faith to see the fire that would destroy such glamour. I wonder if we have today? I wonder if us ... the women that wants to be popular, that wants to act like the rest of the women in the church, if they see that they want to act like the rest---they can see the possibilities of being a prettier woman by being painted; they can see a prettier woman by having a younger appearance by cutting their hair, and acting l...
The Harvest Time
64-1212 §78
That's one of the words, for the Bible said it's wrong for a woman to cut her hair. That's right. If she does how's she going to get in? See? Just ask, any preacher will tell you the Word says that. See, "she dishonors her head," she dishonors her husband. She should be divorced. That's exactly right. "For she that will cut her hair, let her also be shorn off, shaven." See, if she wants to do that. Not with just bobbed, God don't want it that way. That's that Mr. In-between. Don't fool with it. Either cut it all of...
Why are we not a denomination?
58-0927 §87
Now watch. There's some of the habits they have, some of the morals that they have. We could just go on. First thing you know, it leaked into the Protestant churches. Then the Catholic women begin to... "Why, it wasn't no harm to put on little shorts, as long as you went to church, and put a little handkerchief over their head." Some kind of tradition. "Don't eat any meat on Friday." And, oh, where did you ever find putting a handkerchief on your head to enter church? I want you to show me the Scripture! False prop...
A thinking man's filter
65-0822E §32
Notice, now women, they want to have bobbed hair. They want to wear shorts, paint, make-up. These little bikinis and things that they wear nowadays, they want to do it; and yet they want to go to church. You see that anointing upon the spirit, not upon the soul, see. Wants to be a Christian and also do these things. And the pastor says it's okay. Then if he says it's okay ("You can be a member; your name can be on my church book here; it's okay."), then he's giving her his denominational filter to suit a worldly wo...