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.
Hear ye Him
60-0712 §43
Some lady said to me; she said, "Brother Branham, they don't make any more clothes. We have to wear them kind of clothes." "Sister, they still make goods, and they make sewing machines. There's no excuse for it at all." What's the matter? It's an unclean spirit got on them. It used to be wrong for our Pentecostal women to cut their hair. Now, you hit something, didn't you? What happened? Some of them used to say they had headaches, a lot of headache. You know, the Bible said if a woman cuts her hair, she dishonors...
Painted-face Jezebel
56-1005 §24
And so we find Jezebel tiring her head, which was cutting her hair, rolling it up. Tiring her head, which is a disgrace. A woman that cuts her hair dishonors her husband. The Bible said so. A dishonorable woman should be divorced and put away. So, that's a sign that she loves somebody else, according to the Bible, 'cause she dishonors her husband when she does it. You know that's the Bible? How many knows that's so? Raise up your hand all that knows the Bible says that. Then what do you do it for? That's what I won...
Perfect strength by perfect weakness
61-1119 §154
How many women in here this morning---I say this in the name of the Lord Jesus---how many of you are ashamed of that short hair you're wearing, want God, by His grace, to let it grow out? God bless you. How many men are ashamed that you let your wife smoke cigarettes, and wear trousers that actually belong to you? And the Bible said, "It's an abomination in the sight of God." Do you know God can't change? He can't change. He has one nature, that's holiness. He can't change. If you don't become like Him, you'll not...
Jesus at the door
58-0529 §36
The Bible claims that if a woman cuts her hair or locks, her husband has a right to divorce her and send her away. The Bible said so. She dishonors her husband. And a dishonorable woman shouldn't be lived with. Oh, you say, "I'm just as pure as a lily." That might be true, sister; it's because the preacher never told you about it, or either your stubborn will that won't let God come in. Maybe it didn't come into the preacher's heart. I know that's rough. I don't mean to hurt you, but that... We can't handle the Gos...
Oneness
62-0211 §74
...me sometime ago... I'll explain it while I'm at it. He said, "Well, the Bible said that she should have long hair because of the angels. What's the angels got to do with a woman?" I said, "What is an angel? It's a messenger." What's Paul saying? If a true messenger, an angel from God comes by, you'd better have long hair. He'll condemn the thing. That's right. How many's got--knows that an angel is a messenger? Exactly right. A messenger sent from God will condemn it. Said, "You'd better have long hair, because of...