Cutting your hair is like a symbol that the problem has been resolved or that you want the problem to be resolved quickly, which may be a factor in hair health. If someone is experiencing severe depression, which causes their hair to fall out badly, then it is better to just cut it short to reduce the loss.
Hair and Emotional Trauma: A Cultural Interpretation
In some cultures, cutting one's hair is seen as a way to release past traumas and signify a fresh start. However, it's important to note that this is symbolic and personal, not a universally applicable or scientifically validated concept.
People often cut their hair when stressed or upset for several psychological and emotional reasons: Sense of Control: During times of stress, individuals may feel a lack of control over their lives. Changing their hairstyle can provide a sense of empowerment and control over at least one aspect of their appearance.
Cutting our hair is also an easy way to achieve instant gratification. When everything feels like it's falling apart, we can have some control over our new look. And it acts as a sort of release. “We know it will grow back or we can dye it again in a few weeks,” Hughes says about why we choose to change our hair.
Though cutting one's hair may seem to be a childish and reckless solution for releasing emotions, it can also be a healthy coping method that targets the only area of your body that doesn't feel pain.
We want to free ourselves from intense emotions. Newman says that changing our physical appearance can feel like shedding a layer of skin which makes us feel better. It's normal to go through physical change after stressful experiences.
Because that is one way to bring about a change. If you can't change the mental agony you're in at least you can make a drastic change to your appearance. Maybe you can't get rid of the terrible thoughts and emotions going on inside of you but you CAN make a big change to your appearance by cutting your hair.
Furthermore, scientific findings have illuminated that the simple act of acquiring a new haircut can evoke a surge in feelings of confidence, self-expression, and revitalized energy.
“I've found that people typically have an impulse to cut their hair after they've experienced stressful situations, positive or negative, where things have felt somewhat out of their control,” she says.
Haircut anxiety refers to the fear or stress that some individuals experience before, during, or after getting a haircut. This anxiety can range from mild nervousness to full-blown panic attacks, depending on the person. Haircut anxiety is often linked to a fear of change or the pressure to look a certain way.
"to cut" or to "change something", makes them feel brand new or a brand new person. wanting to change something in the present, like for example they are undergoing a depression, they feel the need for a change. cutting the hair gives them the feeling of being free, feels like freedom.
Possible Link to Mental Disorder: The act of cutting hair, therefore, may be linked to a compulsive mental disorder rooted in the subconscious that hair as a sensory organ can transmit and receive signals on an unknown frequency wavelength.
Sometimes hair loss can be related to mental health. Researchers have found that chronic stress can cause hair loss. Another mental heath-related issue is trichotillomania, or hair-pulling disorder, in which someone has recurring urges to pull out their hair.
Across cultures and spiritual beliefs, cutting hair is often viewed as a symbolic act of release. It represents the shedding of past experiences and emotional burdens, helping individuals move forward with a lighter, renewed sense of self. Emotional Transformation: Hair can accumulate the energy of our experiences.
Traumatic alopecia — This form of hair loss is caused by hairdressing techniques that pull the hair (tight braiding or cornrowing), expose hair to extreme heat and twisting (curling iron or hot rollers) or damage the hair with strong chemicals (bleaching, hair coloring, permanent waves).
A good haircut can make us look and feel better and give us an extra boost of self-confidence. Another positive effect of regular haircuts is lowered stress and anxiety levels. Taking better care of our appearance helps us feel better about ourselves and thus reduces our overall stress levels.
“Trauma and crisis stop us from feeling much more than the scary feelings for a while,” she says. “Making a change like cutting your hair can feel good because you're taking action. When you take action, there's a feeling of accomplishment.
The term "hair depression" highlights how mental health struggles impact self-care routines, particularly hair maintenance. As illustrated in the TikTok video by @astylefactor, many Black women face the dual challenges of navigating depression and managing hair that requires a high level of care.
Age should never be the deciding factor behind a haircut.
You might want a new look, and hair texture does change with age, so you might find a previous style doesn't work for you anymore. You may decide it's time for a new look, and a short style might just offer that.
It can be hard to understand why people harm themselves on purpose. But it's a way some people try to cope with the pain of strong emotions, intense pressure, or upsetting relationship problems. They may be dealing with feelings that seem too difficult to bear or bad situations they think can't change.
The act of cutting or styling hair can provide a cathartic release of emotions. The physical sensation of change, coupled with the symbolic shedding of the past, allows individuals to release negative emotions associated with the breakup.
Trichotemnomania is a very rare disorder which is characterised by cutting or shaving of one's own hairs as a compulsive habit. The condition needs careful and detailed assessment by a team of specialists to identify coexisting psychiatric disorders and offer treatment.
Self-injury, often including cutting, self-mutilation, or self-harm, is an injurious attempt to cope with overpowering negative emotions, such as extreme anger, anxiety, and frustration. It is usually repetitive, not a one-time act.
Cutting your hair is a clear visual transformation that represents an inner process that's always taking place - On a cellular level, we are forever changing. Parts of us are always dying, always growing, always responding to the ever present moment.