Why do I like to play with my hair?
"We often play with our hair unconsciously. It can be when we are bored, deep in thought, nervous or stressed — hence the term 'tearing out your hair,'" says trichologist Anabel Kingsley of Philip Kingsley. “Hair pulling may be used as a coping mechanism, and as a way to initially alleviate feelings of anxiety.”
Hair twirling can escalate from a nervous habit or a childhood distraction to a body-focused repetitive behavior. There's also a belief that hair twirling habits can lead to trichotillomania. This is a mental health condition that causes an overwhelming urge to pull out your own hair.
What is Compulsive Hair Touching? Compulsive touching is one of the lesser-known groups of symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Compulsive hair touching may be a ritual to help reduce stress or anxiety usually brought about by obsessive thoughts.
According to the experts, playing with your hair is usually just a nervous tic, self-soothing tactic, or a mindless habit. That said, sometimes this nervous tic might verge on a larger issue, depending on the extent to which you do it.
It can sometimes speed up hair loss
Due to your frantically touching your locks, your hair can sometimes get weakened, even at the roots. Without wanting to be alarmist, in very rare cases your hair can end up falling out. This can also happen when excessively brushing your hair, causing even healthy hairs to fall out.
Regardless of gender, hair-playing is a very common example of body language in people. There are a lot of different things it could mean when a woman plays with her hair, but the most common reasons are anxiety, boredom, self-consciousness, confidence, and even flirting.
To "tousle someone's hair" is to play with someone's hair...
| Trichotillomania | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Trichotillosis, hair-pulling disorder, hairs-pulling disorder, compulsive hair pulling |
| A pattern of incomplete hair loss on the scalp of a person with trichotillomania | |
| Pronunciation | /ˌtrɪkəˌtɪləˈmeɪniə/ TRIK-ə-TIL-ə-MAY-NEE-ə |
| Specialty | Dermatology, psychiatry |
Trichotillomania can be related to emotions: Negative emotions. For many people with trichotillomania, hair pulling is a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.
Your scalp is covered with nerve endings that make it super-sensitive to touch. Rubbing your scalp may help release tension. Massage may also trigger the release of feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin.
Why can't I stop playing with my hair?
Playing with your hair can be a sign that you feel anxious or bored, which means it's important to deal with the cause rather than take it out on your hair. If you're feeling anxious, there are many calming techniques you could try. Talking to someone who will lend an ear, will help you process your feelings.
"Some people touch their hair, play with their fingernails, or rub their arms, as a way to psychologically and physiologically calm themselves when they're feeling anxious, uncomfortable,or stressed," Blanca Cobb, body language expert and author of Method of the Masters, told GoodHousekeeping.com.
Over Grooming: Touching and pulling your chronically can certainly cause significant hair loss and combing through it while it is wet is also a bad idea as it might lead to weak and brittle hair. A build up of hair styling products, such as gel, wax, spray, can block the pores and hinder hair growth.
Females playing with their hair can mean a lot of things, such as she's grooming herself, it makes her feel comfortable, or she's flirting with you. Have you met a female who seems to play with her hair all the time when she's talking to you? You've probably heard it's a sign that a woman is attracted to a man.
When a woman tosses her hair, it's typically a sign she's trying to lure you in. “Women tend to preen or groom themselves subconsciously when they're attracted to someone, by flipping back their hair to fluff it, smoothing down their hair or clothes, or checking their lipstick in a compact,” Wood explains.
Tics are repeated, involuntary muscle move- ments. Common examples are frequent eye blink- ing or twitching of the mouth; many other types are possible. Some habits (such as thumb suck- ing or hair twirling) are similar to tics but don't develop as suddenly.
Trichotillomania (often abbreviated as TTM) is a mental health disorder where a person compulsively pulls out or breaks their own hair. This condition falls under the classification of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The wet mop haircut is a modified bowl cut... Also nicknamed “the TikTok haircut", it's the 2022 men's hair trend that is all over the internet. This wet mop hairstyle, typically worn by men, has long hair on the top (usually messy, wavy or curly) and short hair on the sides and back of the head.
- repetitive pulling of their hair, often without any awareness.
- a sense of relief after pulling out hair.
- inability to stop hair pulling, despite repeated attempts to stop.
- anxiety and stress related to hair pulling.
The Rapunzel syndrome is an unusual form of trichobezoar found in patients with a history of psychiatric disorders, trichotillomania (habit of hair pulling) and trichophagia (morbid habit of chewing the hair), consequently developing gastric bezoars. The principal symptoms are vomiting and epigastric pain.
Why do I pull my pubic hair out?
Trichotillomania is a hair-pulling disorder that presents with an irresistible urge to pull out one's own hair from different areas of the body with the most common being from the scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Hair-pulling may involve other areas such as pubic hair, chest hair, limb hair, and underarm hair.
Scalp tenderness is a fairly common complaint, linked with several medical conditions that affect lots of people. Migraines, tension headaches, and autoimmune disorders like psoriasis can all cause the scalp to become inflamed, irritated, and painful.
Besides the fact that it's overkill, it can actually cause your hair to shed. Each time we brush or comb, we pull hairs away from their follicles. Using your fingers afterward can cause the hairs to actually fall out before the follicles get a chance to secure their strands again.
Some refer to it as a “brain orgasm.” Have you ever felt a static-like or tingling sensation on the top of your head when someone brushes your hair or whispers to you? The feeling may travel down your arms and your spine, and it likely makes you feel very relaxed.
Over scrunching your hair and touching your hair too much actually causes frizz and breakage. When your fingers touch your hair too much, they can actually steal away essential oils, leading to dry and easily broken hair strands.