Does anyone else constantly play with their hair?

[thirstylocks]

For the past few months, I've developed this annoying tick. I always twist and twirl the ends of my hair. I hold up chunks of hair and bend them between my fingers. I think it started when I used to feel my hair to determine which parts were dry and needed oiling and which weren't (my hair has different textures.) Now I'm finding split ends on the ends that I've been playing with the most.

Its weird. I do it all the time. I mean literally, all my friends have noticed. In every candid picture they take, I'm playing with my hair. I look so awkward and obsessive. I can't stop myself - I don't realize it half the time. Am I the only one? Is it really bad for my hair?

[melusine963]

When I was younger and wore my hair down, I would also compulsively play with the ends (and chew them, but let's not go there). The only thing that helped me break the habit and stops me from ruining my hair now is to wear it up all the time. That way my ends are out of sight and out of mind.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I put my hair in a pony tail today for the first time in -forever- and was sitting watching TV. I caught myself playing with my ends ( I had it over my shoulder so it wouldn't be squashed between my back and the couch) and made myself stop. Then I found myself playing with the ends AGAIN, running my fingers through them and bending the ends this way and that and twirling them around my fingers.. When I caught myself doing it for the THIRD time I got so cross with myself I gave up watching TV and came into my bedroom, detangled and hopped on here. At least when I am typing I can't play with Hair, I only seem to do it when it is in a pony tail. So - no more of them for me, lol. Maybe playing with ends is ok but I worry that it will do damage...
ETA: Normally I play with my necklace, at least that can't do any damage.

[jacqueline101]

I started doing that when my ends started having issues.

[imaroo]

I constantly play with my hair. Detangling with my fingers, twisting a chunk of it, and smoothing the ends to check for splits or dryness. I've never noticed any damage from that, but I do probably look a little goofy.

I don't know, to me my hair is something to be enjoyed. I don't want to try so hard to grow it out that I don't enjoy it. I don't want to wear it up every single day. I want to wear it down sometimes and feel it on my back and see it spilling over my shoulders. I don't want to never touch it. The softness of super fine hair is one of its best attributes. Damned if I'm not going to enjoy that!!

For me (I'm only speaking for myself) if I'm not enjoying my hair, then why would I try so hard to have it long?

[CurlyCap]

If my hair is down, I mess with it. My favorite game is breaking up my curls into smaller curls until they frizz. If I'm at work, I stick my fingers into my hair near my scalp and shake all my hair.

I look like Einstein after a few hours. XD People have gotten used to it.

[spidermom]

I think it's a good idea to have it up at work or social occasions so that you aren't playing with it. It causes shed hairs to come out and float around; nobody wants to find somebody else's hair on their keyboard, desk, sofa, or buffet table. Also, it's very distracting to look at. I was once at a party where a woman played with her hair constantly - forming a bun and letting it drop, running her fingers through it, gathering it over one shoulder and partially braiding it, then finger-combing the braid out, on and on and on and ... I wanted to scream STOP! Instead I bundled up and went outside to the fire pit.

[furnival]

I used to do this constantly when I wore my hair down. It made me appear really nervous. I've worn my hair up for the past couple of years and the habit is completely broken, and my hair is in much better condition.

[nobeltonya]

I don't twist, twirl or chew/suck on my hair [I've actually seen girls with their hair in their mouth.. :O] but I do have a bad habit of pulling the ends around my side and looking at them off and on all day.. or touching and feeling my ends.. partly a nervous habit, I suppose, but I also do check for loose hairs.. At least I can't run my fingers through my hair dry.. XD :disco:

[cherry blossom]

I start meddling with my hair when I am studying and I need to concentrate hard or memorize something by heart. Its strange, but its as if hair served as an antena to my brain.. The more I meddle and focus, the better and quicker I can focus and actually learn stuff..

[longcurlygirl<3]

If my hair is down, I mess with it. My favorite game is breaking up my curls into smaller curls until they frizz. If I'm at work, I stick my fingers into my hair near my scalp and shake all my hair.

I look like Einstein after a few hours. XD People have gotten used to it.

haha I am the same at school, thats why I mostly wear my hair up. Especially my hair is so long and I find my ends to be more interesting and twirling them funner than sitting in my math class :p

But why is it bad to twirl the hair? Does this count as well if the hair is wet?

[mz_butterfly]

I constantly run my fingers through my hair, it's very short and it doesn't like to lay down properly, I am always trying to smooth it out.

[pixietail]

If my hair is down I tend to twirl it around the fingers of my left hand while my right hand does whatever. I did it so much that I started getting carpal tunnel in that hand. I decided to stop, but the thing is, the hair on that side of my head is thicker and longer. So I've decided to give my left hand a break and start twirling with my right instead lol.

[HintOfMint]

Me, me, me, I do, I do, I do! *Waves hands*

It's such a bad habit. I have these random kinky hairs that I can't stop playing with! I try to stop but I just can't help it.

[Kaelee]

I do it when I wear my hair down, but I don't wear it down that much (partly so I can't play with it!)

[door72067]

when I'm home and it's down I tend to futz with it a bunch

[KittyBird]

I always end up playing with the tassel of my braid, especially if it's a side braid. I keep twirling it around my fingers, smoothing it and fanning it out. If I'm alone, I tickle my face and neck with it, simply because I like how it feels against my skin. Oddly enough I leave my hair alone if I'm wearing it all down.

[Long_hair_bear]

I braid mine at work when I get bored. :)

[thirstylocks]

YES! I'm not the only one. I also put my hair in braids in the middle of a class (even my classes that have 10 people only). I casually bun my hair, take it down, check for split ends and curl my ends with my fingers all in one lesson. I'm sure my peers/professors think I'm a spaz. I can't help it!!

I also second the braid tassle temptations - I wack myself/tickle myself with it too. Strangely, I only play with my most course hairs. I leave the finer ones alone.

[KwaveT]

I am always running my hands through my hair especially the hair on the back of my head. I guess it helps keep it from tangling up so much but I have to be adding a lot of unnecessary oil to my hair. My hair gets oily enough as is.

[ghost]

I do, and I wish I didn't! Too much handling and my wurls get all fluffy. I also have the bad habit of checking for split ends when I'm nowhere near my hair scissors, so I just get all distraught.

[arcane]

I do! Always have and probably always will (I have no real disire to stop). My left side in the front is slightly shorter as I play with it the most and this causes more damage. Even though I wear it up almost every day I still play with it by taking it down and putting it up again. I love the feeling of people playing with my hair and its the same when I do it. Luckily my hair is pretty strong, it can take mechanical damage like a champ, especially since I stopped bleaching/dyeing and heat styling is rare too (cause I'm lazy).

When I was a kid I chewed on my hair a lot, to the point my after school teacher/baby sitter (she worked for the school but also baby sat me too) used to reward me when I came in and my ends weren't clumped together from being wet. I quickly learned to just break the clumps apart. I still find myself chewing on my hair when I'm doing some serious thinking. It helps me focus.

[redtuss]

I try not to and does a pretty decent job I believe!
Especially at work when there are guys around, it always looks so childish when girls are twirling their hair and playing with it when there are men in the room. This gets really clear when bosses of both gender are in a meeting - the woman who plays with her hair seems like the least influential one.
It looks like if they get nervous and attracted to the men in the company, so to still be professional I refuse to touch my hair when there are men around. Even if we don't think about it and do it for completely other reasons, it gives off the wrong impression and I know for a fact that men generally thinks that when a woman is playing with her hair and/or gets a blush on neck/chest area they think that she is attracted to them. If there are only women in the company and it's a more low-key surrounding (not a meeting or a conversation with the boss etc) I can fiddle a bit with my ends and such, it's soothing and fun and I like to touch my hair whenever I can ;)


So be careful at work ladies, don't give people the satisfaction to feel superior to you just because you are playing around with your hair.

[Sharysa]

I play with my hair a LOT rather absently because I just have way too much energy. If I don't do anything physically, then I get really unfocused and spacey.

Although I've managed to rein it in somewhat by making sure I don't fiddle with my hair too much when it would be rude (formal places, parties, church, etc).

[HadessThera]

I constantly fiddle/play with my hair, always have, it's sort of a nervous habit/OCD thing I guess haha I have a friend who does the exact same thing, it's really funny when we're chatting and start mirroring each other's hair fluffing without realising, I also have a tendency to hold onto a strand or handful of hair and pull on it slightly when I'm thinking or worried maybe it's my way of bringing my head down from the clouds :p

[Zindell]

I twist and twirl my hair. I run my fingers through it and I stroke it. I've also grown addicted to using my Tangle Teezer on it a lot because of the nice scalp massage and how smooth it gets. I should probably lessen up a bit on the latter. :o

I mostly play with my hair when I'm alone though. I don't want to make people uncomfortable hahaa.

[goldloli]

I do, and I wish I didn't! Too much handling and my wurls get all fluffy. I also have the bad habit of checking for split ends when I'm nowhere near my hair scissors, so I just get all distraught.
hahaha :o

I have been known to search for splits on the bus to class, if it's an epically bad one, sometimes i cut it off with my teeth shudder: