Where did Uzbek braids come from and what do they say about a woman (6 photos)

In India, a woman's status can be understood by the colored dot on her forehead. And in Uzbekistan it’s even more convenient - with braids or cornrows. And also find out not only your status, but also your age!





In big cities, many Uzbek women are lazy or don’t want to braid their hair anymore in favor of trendy Instagram hairstyles. However, you can still meet girls with pigtails in Uzbekistan, and the further you travel from the center, the more of them you will meet.

Why do girls wear braids?



Look with an open eye, it’s no less cool than a Japanese kimono.

This is a very beautiful way out of religious restrictions. According to faith, it was previously impossible for a girl to appear in front of a man with her hair down. Other countries gradually switched to headscarves and hijabs, but Uzbekistan followed its own unique path.

The girls began to weave many, many braids so that they would fall in waves, like loose hair, and at the same time be considered a hairstyle.

As a standard, an Uzbek woman should have 40 braids on her head. Moreover, she wears them BEFORE getting married in her youth.





Long overgrown roots are not visible thanks to the national skullcap

But they will return to her head in old age, after 80 years. Then women also braid their hair a lot, but not because they again consider themselves free.

40 braids on the head of an elderly woman are a sign of great life experience and age. They are treated with special respect and listened to. Well, it’s nice to once again feel like you’ve thrown off 60 years of age in an instant, when you’re once again a perky girl in pigtails.



Such a beautiful girl and married. Eh!

When a girl gets married, she undoes her braids and makes herself two tight braids.

Unlike anything in the world

Uzbek braids are not modern braided kanekalon of different colors. This is a convenient, proven hairstyle, which is done using a special technology that was invented back in the 8th century.

At the roots, the hair is taken loosely so as not to pull the skin, at a length of seven centimeters. And in the middle of the braids, jamlaks begin to be woven into the hair.



They are so long, it’s because there is jamlak. Did you think they all had super hair?

Zhamlak is a long dark cord of dense cotton threads. It must be 50 centimeters and have a tassel at the end. That's why all the girls' braids are so even and the same length - they have a straightener!

Braids are indeed more convenient for rural areas. They look clean longer compared to loose hair that needs to be combed frequently. And in the heat they don’t get so dusty and greasy - an ideal hairstyle for a hot country.



Kanekalon weaves from the parting. NOT LIKE traditional braids

True, due to the habit of rinsing your hair with sour milk, particles of milk remain in your braids, which sours in the heat. After all, it is much more difficult to wash them than loose hair. That’s why they can smell stronger if a girl uses traditional care products.