Virginia slaves
In Virginia according to Thirteen PBS slaves both male and female brought the custom of wrapping their heads with cloth from Africa. They utilized scraps of materials that their slave masters provided for clothing. The women adorned their scarves and turbans with jewels as a sign of pride.
Slave masters, however, saw the headwrap as a sign of poverty and subordination designating that the wearer was enslaved. Meanwhile, the Tigon Law was originating in Louisiana according to Essence Magazine.
The Tignon Law
The June 2, 1786 decree, formally titled the bando de buen gobierno or “proclamation of good government”, stated that women of color had to wear a scarf or handkerchief over their hair as a visible sign of belonging to the slave class, whether they were enslaved or not;[ specifying that “the Negras Mulatas, quarteronas can no longer have feathers nor jewelry in their hair. (Wikipedia)
The Tignon Law was put in place because Creole and Mulata women were beautiful and white males were attracted to them. The headwrap was to distinguish them from Caucasian females and deter white men from falling in love with and or lusting after them.