If a girl was recently playing with her hair when talking to you then you might be wondering why she did it or you might just want to know in general.
This post will help you understand why she might have been playing with her hair while talking to you and why other girls might do it as well in the future.
So, what does it mean when a girl plays with her hair while talking to a guy? If she is showing other body language signs of attraction such as holding prolonged eye contact and having more dilated pupils then it would be likely that she’s doing it due to being attracted to him. This would be especially likely if she does it with her palms facing him. It could also be that she is nervous, bored, doing it on purpose or feeling stressed.
Since there are a number of reasons why a girl will play with her hair while talking to you it is important to consider the context of how she does it and the body language that she shows.
By doing so you will be able to get a better understanding of why she would be playing with her hair while talking to you and the way that she feels about you.
Reasons why a girl will play with her hair while talking to a guy
Each of the different reasons why a girl will play with her hair while talking to a guy will likely come with a number of clues in the way that she does it and the body language that she does.
Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a girl might play with her hair while talking to you and the clues that you can expect to see with them.
She is attracted to him
If she plays with her hair while talking to you, she doesn’t do it in the same way with her friends and other guys and if she shows positive body language around you then it would be likely that she does it because of being attracted to you.
It would be even more likely that she does it due to being attracted to you if she flips her hair to the side so that it exposes her neck and if she plays with it with her palms facing you. This is because exposing vulnerable areas such as the neck or that palms is often a sign of attraction.
If she was playing with her hair due to being attracted to you then it would be likely that she would show other signs of being attracted to you in her body language and behavior.
These signs could include things such as:
- Holding prolonged eye contact
- Mirroring your own body language
- Touching you a lot
- Having more dilated pupils than normal
- Pointing her feet at you
- Touching your feet with her feet
- Asking you the most questions when you’re in a group together
- Standing closer to you when talking to you than she does with other people
- Adjusting her appearance when she sees you
- Staring at you then quickly looking away when you notice
- Giggling with her friends when looking at you
- Watching you when you’re with other men
- Uncrossing her arms when she sees you
- Asking your friends about you
It’s important to note that she might be showing a single one of these signs for a number of different reasons. This makes it important to see multiple signs of attraction in order to be confident that she really is attracted to you.
She is nervous
Sometimes girls will play with their hair when they are feeling nervous.
It could be the case that she played with her hair while talking to you because she was feeling nervous.
If that was the case then it might be the case that something was about to happen that would make her feel nervous such as being about to present something. She might have been nervous because of being attracted to you in which case she would likely have shown signs of being attracted to you in her body language when talking to you. Alternatively, it could be the case that she was feeling nervous due to having some social anxiety.
If she was feeling nervous then it would be likely that she would have shown other signs of being nervous which could include:
- Fidgeting
- Coughing
- Dry mouth
- Tapping the fingers or feet
- Self-hugging
- Struggling to hold eye contact
She is bored
The reason that she was playing with it could be that she was bored.
If that was the case then it would be likely that you would have been in a situation together where it was boring such as if you were both in a class that was uninteresting. Alternatively, it could be the case that she was bored because of you.
If she was bored then it would be likely that she would have shown other signs of being bored in her body language which could include:
- Pointing her feet towards the exit
- Glancing towards the exit
- Slouching
- Smiling at the mouth but not with the eyes
- Tapping the fingers and feet
- Resting her face on one of her hands
She is doing it on purpose
The reason that a girl might play with her hair while talking to a guy could be that she is doing it on purpose in order to get something.
This would be more likely to be the reason if she did it when she was trying to get him to give her something or while trying to get him to do something for her.
If this is the case then it would also be likely that she would decline any advances from him and she would be less likely to show more subtle signs of attraction such as pupil dilation or pointing her feet towards him.
She is feeling stressed
Sometimes a girl will play with her hair while feeling stressed.
The reason that she might be feeling stressed when talking to a guy could be that she is stressed about the topic that they’re talking about or she is stressed about something unrelated to the conversation or the guy.
If she is stressed then it would be likely that she would show other signs of being stressed such as:
- Self-hugging
- Rocking on her chair
- Wrapping her feet around her chair
- Wringing the hands together
- Gritting the teeth
Consider if she touches it or flips it
When trying to understand why a girl might play with her hair while talking to you it would be helpful to consider the way that she does it.
If she flips her hair then it would be more likely that she is attracted to you than if she just plays with it loosely. Flipping the hair can also be a sign of attraction when she isn’t talking to you if she does it when looking at you or if she does it when she sees you.
If she plays with her hair with her palms facing you or if she strokes it more intensely then it would also be more likely that she is attracted to you.
Whereas, if she twirls it loosely while talking to you then it would be a less strong sign of attraction and more likely that she is showing boredom.
Think about the way that she reacts to seeing you
When trying to understand why a girl might play with her hair while talking to you or the way that she feels about you it would help to consider the way that she reacts to seeing you.
If she noticeably changes her body language when she sees you then it would be a sign that she plays with her hair around you due to having feelings for you that depend on the way that she changes it.
If she reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:
- Raising her eyebrows
- Smiling
- Pointing her feet at you
- Having more dilated pupils
- Flicking her hair to the side
- Uncrossing her arms
- Sitting upright
- Positioning herself to be nearer to you
- Holding eye contact
Then it would be much more likely that she would play with her hair while talking to you due to being attracted to you.
Whereas, if she reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:
- Crossing her arms
- Squinting
- Pointing her feet away from you
- Avoiding eye contact
- Tensing her jaw
- Tightening her lips
Then it would be a bad sign and more likely that she has negative feelings towards you.
Consider how she interacts with her other friends
It would also be helpful to compare the way that she interacts with her other friends with the way that she interacts with you when trying to understand why she might play with her hair around you.
If she plays with her hair when talking to her friends in the same way that she does it around you and she shows the same body language around them as she shows around you then it would be likely that she does it naturally and it’s more a sign that she’s comfortable with you.
Whereas, if she only does it with you and she changes her body language around you then it would be more likely that she plays with her hair due to attraction provided she changes her body language in a way that shows attraction.
Think about when and where she played with her hair
When trying to understand why she plays with her hair around you it would be helpful to consider when and where she does it.
If she plays with her hair while she is alone with you then it would be more likely that she is showing attraction unless she also shows signs of nervousness, stress or boredom.
If she only seems to do it around her friends then it would be more likely that she does it when she is comfortable or she could be mirroring the behavior of her friends.
Look for multiple clues in her body language
When considering why she might play with her hair while talking to you it would be helpful to look for multiple clues in her body language.
This is because she could show a single body language sign for multiple different reasons making it difficult to accurately understand why she is showing it.
Whereas, if she shows multiple body language signs of the same thing then it would be more likely that she is showing them for that specific reason.
If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.