People Who Feel The Need To Constantly Touch Their Hair

Have you ever been out and observed people who feel the need to constantly

touch their hair?  They will often stroke their hair;  flick it around or stand admiring themselves in a glass reflection while posing for selfies.

As a hairstylist, we are often exposed to people who feel the need to constantly touch their hair.  “But,

why is this a problem?” you may ask.  There are a number of reasons hairstylist’s are cautious with these people, such as:

• We may be doing a haircut and you move the hair, causing the section we just cut to disappear into the masses.
• If the hairstylist is cutting, it is not the time to be playing with your hair.
• Moving around changes the angle of your head, so we have to keep repositioning it.
• Appointments take a longer time.
• Constantly touching the hair will mess up a blow dry style or braids before it gets completed. 

In the salon, we see many people feel the need to constantly touch their hair.  Unfortunately, this can

be an indicator that the person is having an issue, which could include:

• anxiety/stress
• Compulsive pulling or twisting the hair causing breakage in an area of the head, such as in the back of the nape e.g while studying.

While this condition could be solved by cutting the hair very short or using hair extensions to cover it, sometimes people who feel the need to constantly touch their hair have to consult with a specialist if it is hard to stop.

By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design

Books:  “Talking Hair”, “Filling My Head” & “Dreadlocks – A Hairstylist’s Manifest.