Fear of having hair cut off in public...?

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

A couple of years ago a lady was shopping at the super market I go to and a man ran up behind her and cut her hair off. He didn't know her or anything like that, it was just a random stranger with a pair of scissors. He cut her scalp too apparently. I think I'll probably be more worried about it when my hair gets longer - I don't feel it's too noticeable at mid-back length at the moment. Has anybody else got this random little fear - or goodness forbid, had something like this happen to them?

[chen bao jun]

Was threatened with it, but it did not happen.
I am unlikely be attacked by hair harvesters whatever my hair length, though, because I am very curly, at a certain point, curly hair is useless for wigs or hairweaves. It tangles up too much or something, they would rather process straighter hair to make it look curly.
The people who threatened me were jealous girls in school, at age 56 I think my problems with these kinds of people are over, so I know its an irrational fear. I still would not wear my hair in either a ponytail or braid in public if it was noticeably longer, though. I would hate to be mugged for my purse or jewelry but to have my hair cut would be devastating.

[Kaelee]

I'm more afraid of rabid mall styling kiosk people, personally.

I don't know where you live, but random haircutting attacks are relatively rare in America. They're common elsewhere in the world though.

[Skade]

Scary. First the Venezuelan hair thieves and now this.. I think I am developing some kind of scissor phobia after reading these kind of things.. :scissors: :run:

[spidermom]

Nope; I usually have my hair braided and bunned or just bunned in public.

[Soltimus]

When I was a kid my best friend's mam had really long hair. I think it was either tail bone or a bit longer. She'd always wear it in a long braid down her back. One night she'd been to a party and someone had snuck up and cut her braid off! She didn't notice it happen at all :( It's such and awful thing to do, but some people are just twats and think it's funny!

[jacqueline101]

I wear mine up and no one can tell how long it is.

[YamaMaya]

What IS it about long hair that brings out the maliciousness in people? These poor longhairs are not harming anyone or doing anything that might offend, so why? Why would you cut off someone's hair they worked so hard to grow? Even joking about it is unacceptable in my book, so doing it is just beyond horrible.

[Night_Kitten]

What IS it about long hair that brings out the maliciousness in people? These poor longhairs are not harming anyone or doing anything that might offend, so why? Why would you cut off someone's hair they worked so hard to grow? Even joking about it is unacceptable in my book, so doing it is just beyond horrible.

I think most of the hair-cutters do it to sell the hair to wig makers, though some probably do it to "get at" the long-haired person either out of jealousy or just because they are jerks...

I've only read of one case of hair being cut against the person's will where I live, and it was by a stupid stylist over a bet with his jerk of an assistant... I think she sewed them (it was a couple of years ago so I'm not sure what came out of it eventually)...
Even though hair-stealing is very uncommon here as far as I know, who knows what may happen... There's still a chance the one jerk hair-cutter in the country ends up being at the same place where I am at the exact same time and decides it's my hair he/she want to cut (unlikely as it is, it does cross my mind...), and who knows when a brainless teenager decides it's so funny to spit a chewing gum into someone's long hair (which actually bothers me more as it's MUCH more likely)...

[Ticky]

I've never heard of anything like that happening where I live, so I'm not concerned. I don't know how often it happens where you live, but if it worries you, you can always bun it or put your braid/pony over your shoulder. I personally wouldn't alter my appearance (change the style/clothes/anything) because of something like that unless it became a serious issue, but to each their own.

Also, I doubt they care about how hard someone worked on their hair or how much assaulting people in any way might harm them. Those people usually aren't the healthiest individuals.

[emilyann]

I doubt it would happen! There are a few malicious or plain psychotic people out there, but you can't worry about them all the time. If someone threatens to cut your hair off, and has scissors or a knife in their hand, file a complaint/police report of harassment or threatening behavior/statements. If someone actually DOES cut your hair off, file a report for assault, because that's exactly what it is. No one can cut any part of your body without your consent.

[samanthaj08]

I have it too. Whenever I have my hair braided, it's always over my left shoulder so that I can see it at all times. My fear originated from a Paramore music video. This girl comes up behind a girl at her locker with a long blonde braid and completely cuts it off. It scarred me for life.

[cmdinoto]

I get nervous around scissors in general. I went to get my eyebrows waxed and she put a scissor to my eyebrows and I freaked out. She just wanted to get the long hairs but I freaked out and told her she can use anything but scissors. She probably thought I was crazy but scissors by my hair by people I don't know freak me out. Once I had one person cut the ends of my hair when my hair was in a pony. I freaked out and started to cry. Luckily she didn't ruin my hair and I just had to get a trim and it was all better but I am scared of scissors. I work in a classroom and I still watch the children very carefully when we take out the scissors. I definitely have a scissor phobia!

[RavenBaby]

When I was a kid my best friend's mam had really long hair. I think it was either tail bone or a bit longer. She'd always wear it in a long braid down her back. One night she'd been to a party and someone had snuck up and cut her braid off! She didn't notice it happen at all :( It's such and awful thing to do, but some people are just twats and think it's funny!

That's unbelievably awful, I never even considered somebody doing this to anyone but luckily it's not gonna happen if your hair is not in a ponytail or braids, unless of course the person holding onto your head against your will which is psychotic and no longer some kind of cruel joke.

[Ashenputtel]

I'm not afraid of that at all. It's the same type of story to me than the poisoned halloween candies.

[dulce]

I wear my braid over one shoulder now and down in front not the back.If loose,if I'm in a line or a elevator with lots of strangers close to me,I just put my loose hair over my shoulder and again in the front.There are lots of weird people out there and with the extension craze,some can see it as easy money.So I don't take chances anymore.

[Eniratak]

It's probably an irrational fear, but I have one.
I wear my hair down sometimes, and I'm always aware of it. If someone is behind me, I pull it around in front.

My main fear is that I'm moving to Savannah this next month for college. When I was visiting a few months ago, my hair was down and a man approached me. He said that I should keep my hair up in the city because there are a lot of wig shops down there that would probably want my hair. He was joking, but I'm not so sure. D:

[Kaelee]

and who knows when a brainless teenager decides it's so funny to spit a chewing gum into someone's long hair (which actually bothers me more as it's MUCH more likely)...

This, too. I tend to wear my hair up at this point because 1) it's more comfortable and 2) it's safe from various and assorted things, malicious or not.

[ositarosita]

Where I live at the moment someone cutting my hair is not my concern, however taking the packed Mexican subway that's another story PEOPLE ARE CRAZY. At the moment I am more afraid of heat tools.

[PolarCathy]

I don't think anyone would want to cut off my hair. I'd probably be 1% more afraid if it were smooth and all. LOL

[sharonluvscats]

Yes, I do have this fear. Someone on LHC posted about a ponytail being cut off in a movie theater and I've been worried ever since. I wear a braid a lot and usually keep it over my shoulder. I put my hair over my shoulder if anyone is behind me. I check a lot to make sure my hair is still there. I don't know how I'd react if someone did it to me. I'd probably wind up getting arrested.

[Nae]

It isn't something I worry about. I think it is like being hit by lightening. I am not worried about it but I do tend to stay inside during storms. I don't worry but I tend to keep my hair up just to keep it out of harm's way. Although I am mostly just worried about more incidental damage. Getting it caught in my seat belt is much more worrisome to me than a rouge pair of scissors.

[Angelica]

Yes I am worried about it and I don't even have great hair, but it is long. I used to wear it in a ponytail but there was one incident when a woman in work pretended to cut off my hair with a scissors she had and everyone in the office was laughing. Fortunately she didn't do it, but now I wear it up all the time.

[Darkessa]

I vow to break the bones of anyone that even threatens me with that... It will only take months for them to heal, it will take years to grow the hair back.

The simple thought of someone doing that to me actually makes me angry.
I had a nightmare about a girl doing that to me for simply having a conversation with her boyfriend....... I broke her nose.

If I saw that happen to someone else, I would most likely side tackle them and call the police.
I just cant even imagine what would posses a person to do that.

[Leeloo]

Yes, I do have this fear. Someone on LHC posted about a ponytail being cut off in a movie theater and I've been worried ever since. I wear a braid a lot and usually keep it over my shoulder. I put my hair over my shoulder if anyone is behind me. I check a lot to make sure my hair is still there. I don't know how I'd react if someone did it to me. I'd probably wind up getting arrested.

I didn’t even think about the movie theatre. You would never notice until it’s cut off. The thought of this being equated to stealing a purse does infuriate me.

[dulce]

I read a newspaper story about someone cutting off a long ponytail in an elevator,so am cautious there if someone's behind me.

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

Just in response to the wig/extension maker stories - I think that's what freaked me out about this when I saw it on the news. He wasn't involved in any kind of 'hair stealing' thing; whilst that's scary too, at least there's some kind of logical reasoning behind it. I'm in the UK, and it really doesn't happen a lot, but it's usually some kind of 'just because I could thing' to the people that do it.

[chen bao jun]

Having been around people who brutalized others for having long hair, I guess I'll always have nervousness about this; you know 'the burnt child dreads the fire.' However, I like what a poster above says about staying inside during lightening storms, even though not consciously worrying about being struck by lightening a lot.
It just makes sense to me to have hair up in a lot of situations mentioned above where you would be defenseless and not even know until too late. Besides elevators, and crowded subways, I heard once of a girl who was drunk and passed out and another girl gave her an unwanted haircut, to the amusement of those present, who did nothing. (there's a lot of other good reasons not to get drunk enough to pass out, of course. People are not nice when you are defenceless and they think they can get away with stuff. 'nuff said). We live in a world where people are used to hearing 'its just hair' and there are enough people out there who just don't get it to take reasonable steps to protect what took you a lot of time and effort to grow, and which is YOURS in a very personal way, whether idiots choose to understand that or not. Cruel idiots, unfortunately.

[Bagginslover]

I can't figure out how people don't notice it being done. I've cut all my hair at once before, and even with sharp hair scissors, it takes more that one snip to take it all off! If someone here had said they'd had their braid cut off without noticing, I'd believe it, but I can't help but wonder if this is more of an old wives tale.

[AcornMystic]

I can't figure out how people don't notice it being done. I've cut all my hair at once before, and even with sharp hair scissors, it takes more that one snip to take it all off! If someone here had said they'd had their braid cut off without noticing, I'd believe it, but I can't help but wonder if this is more of an old wives tale.


All it takes is one snip at a certain point to ruin long hair that could put it back into the bob realm to look somewhat normal. You end up with something totally uneven and you have no choice but to cut the rest off to even it out. Cutting off an entire braid though, I can believe it could be done, but it's not entirely necessary to when the damage is already done forcing you to part with what length you do have left. So in my eyes, they took it all away.

The thought actually makes me extremely nervous, with the craze for extensions and the LOL fanatics. They're idea I'm sure is that you should let the hair go and just get extensions yourself. Give your hair to those that will pay big bucks or those that need it for health reasons.

All I know.. is that I simply don't trust people. People have a habit of seriously overstepping and ruining a good thing. When my hair grows to noticeable lengths, I'm going to watch it like a child I raised. With the amount of time and money I'm putting into my hair, just as well.

[MidnightMoon]

A few stories of people whose hair has been cut in the middle of the street have been published in the newspaper here, so, I am a bit worried.
I usually wear buns when I know I have to walk or something (I barely every do so, though) and only wear ir down when going to college or to a nice place.
They cut ponytails here to sell them to salons and wig makers or as extensions.

[CherrySilver]

As someone with knee-length hair, I'm very conscious about this in public. I suppose I'd vigorously defend myself against someone who was trying to cut my hair. For the record, any injuries sustained in such an act (and requiring medical attention, e.g. stitches) would be considered a "2nd degree (aggravated) assault with a deadly weapon". This could also be considered a felony depending on the circumstances. Punishment varies by jurisdiction ranging from 12 months up to 5 years, previous offenses, etc. Oh, btw, my dad was cop for over 30 years.

[chen bao jun]

When it is a stealth hair stealing (i.e. in movie theatre or on train) the victim has their hair in a ponytail or braid (which is good reason not to wear one in public if you are in an area where this happens). Organized hair thieves who make a profession of it work in gangs and then one will hold a gun on the woman while they take her hair or else members of the gang hold her down. In cases where this is a 'prank' it often happens when the woman is sleeping or is drunk.
I think the majority of people on the board do not live in places where this is an issue but these are definitely not urban legends in some places in South America and Eastern Europe. I lived in an innercity urban neighborhood right here in the US when I was in grade school and middle school where long haired girls did get their hair cut off out of spite from bullies, which is different but jsut as devastating. It happened to my cousin. Also in Africa recently people have had their long dreadlocks sheared off against their will.

[BreeTheBoss]

I was in school, minding my own business cracking jokes like usual, and one of my "friends" had some scissors i was using to work on a project and cut my hair. She tapped my shoulder and showed me the few strands she cut off (sure it was only an inch) but i was so so so mad. I had to leave the room or i wouldve punched her in the face. I did not speak to her again.