I view the veil's primary purpose as symbolic ... as St. Paul described it, to indicate that the man is the head of the woman, i.e. the woman's state of submission/subjection to man.  Secondary reasons would be to prevent distractions to others and also to fight against vanity.  Now, some of these very ornate (gold, glittery) veils are actually contrary to this secondary intent.  I don't think that every inch of hair needs to be covered, but I find those tiny little postage-stamp sized veils to be preposterous.  Hair is not a temptation to impurity for most men.

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You can always spot a woman who will spend the rest of her life disrespecting a man's authority by her consistent and prideful refusal to cover her hair completely while in Church.

I wonder why anyone needs to be anonymous on this thread ?

I think 90% at least of women here agree with covering so what is so controversial ? 

Since it is a distraction for me to have extremely long hair as it is difficult to brush and comb, and since my husband does not like the shedding of long hair, I cut my hair whenever it gets a little longer than shoulder length.
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At church, especially during the hot seasons, I will usually use a hair clip to keep the hair off my neck, then I wear a 36 inch square thin cotton scarf made of cotton lawn tied under my chin.  In that way, I keep cool and modest at the same time. During the colder seasons, I will wear a scarf made of flannel or a long rectangular scarf that I can wrap around my neck.

Sorry, I forgot to click the box. I wrote the above post.
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Yes, this thread really does not belong in Anonymous. I too have been momentarily distracted by young pretty sub-teens and teenagers who flick their long beautiful hair away from their faces. That is why being in a chapel with sacred images is helpful as those holy images help us to return to prayer. We should be responsible adults who accept responsibility for failing to guard our senses, who quickly turn away from distractions and temptations, and who return to God in repentance and beg forgiveness.
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If a child has long beautiful hair, adding an extra long scarf to cover it would be a hassle. Not only could the scarf slip, which would cause more distraction, but also it would add weight. With hair down to the waist or below, it would not be possible to find such a scarf unless one were to wear a religious veil.

We should be thankful that young girls do wear scarves, even if those scarves do not cover their hair, back, and waist. The wearing of a scarf is a sign of humility.