What does it mean when a guy runs his fingers through his hair?

If you have recently noticed a guy running his fingers through his hair you might be wondering what it might mean.

This post will try to help you figure out why he might have run his fingers through his hair and to help you to make sense of it when it happens in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy runs his fingers through his hair? It could suggest that he is attracted to you especially if he does it immediately upon seeing you. He might also be nervous, stressed, frustrated or he might disagree with what is being said.

Since there are a number of reasons why a guy might run his fingers through his hair it is important to consider the context that he does it in and the body language signals that he shows when he does it.

By doing so you’ll be able to get a better idea of the motivations that he has behind doing it.

Possible reasons why a guy will run his fingers through his hair

Each of the different reasons why a guy will run his fingers through his hair will likely come with a number of different clues in his body language.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy might run his fingers through his hair along with the body language signals to look for.

Attraction

One reason that a guy might run his fingers through his hair is that he is attracted to you.

If, when he notices you, he adjusts his hair and his clothing then it would suggest that he is doing it to look good so that you’ll be more likely to find him attractive.

If he does it while he is talking to you then he might be trying to make his hair look good but it would also be a sign of nervousness. If he is nervous then he would likely show a number of signs of nervousness that I will mention in the section below.

However, if he is running his fingers through his hair due to being attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show a number of other signals of attraction in his body language.

These signals can include:

• Having dilated pupils when talking to you
• Pointing his feet at you even when he’s not directly in front of you
• Touching you more than others and finding excuses to touch you
• Regularly glancing at you and quickly looking away when you notice
• Talking to you more than other people in the group
• Holding eye contact with you for longer than he does with everyone else
• Standing close to you when talking to you
• Getting anxious when you’re with other men
• Positioning himself to be near you
• Getting defensive when other men are around
• Making plans based around you

Nervousness

If a guy runs his fingers through his hair it would often be a sign that he is feeling nervous.

It might be that he is nervous because he finds you attractive or it might be that he is nervous about something or someone else in the environment.

If he is nervous then he would likely show it in a number of other ways that I will mention below:

• Rubbing the face, neck, arms or legs
• Tapping the fingers up and down
• Speaking at a higher pitch
• Speaking more quickly
• Dry mouth
• Struggling to maintain eye contact
• Fidgeting
• Nervous laughing
• Breathing more quickly

Stress

It could be that he runs his hands through his hair as a way to calm himself down due to stress.

If he is doing it due to stress then he would likely show it in a number of other ways such as:

• Slouching
• Squinting
• Frowning
• Tightening the lips
• Pupil constriction
• Wrinkling at the forehead
• Rubbing behaviors
• Redness of the face
• Self-hugging
• Hand wringing
• Wrapping the feet around the legs of his chair

Frustration

When people are feeling frustrated they will also often run their fingers through their hair.

If he is doing it due to frustration then he would likely do it after something that would cause him to get frustrated. Examples could be, losing at a game, getting a bad grade or braking something.

If he is frustrated then he would likely show it in other ways in his body language.

These ways can include:

• Redness of the face
• Scratching the hands, neck or face
• Tapping his hands on his lap
• Shaking his feet
• Tightening of the muscles
• Clenching the jaw or fists
• Increased visibility of the veins on the forehead

He disagrees with what’s being said

Running the fingers through the hair could be a signal that he disagrees with something that is being said.

If that is the case then he would likely do it right after someone says something that he might find disagreeable.

He would also likely show it in some other ways such as:

• Tightening the lips
• Constricting the pupils
• Gulping
• Coughing
• Looking away
• Touching the face

Consider who else is around

When trying to figure out why he might be running his fingers through his hair it would be helpful to consider who else is around when he does it.

If he tends to do it when a particular person enters the room then it would imply that he has an emotional reaction to that person. It could be that he doesn’t like the person or even that he finds the person attractive. It would be necessary to think about how else his body language changes when that person is around.

If you don’t notice that his body language changes when certain people are present then it would be more likely that you are the one that he is having an emotional response to for one of the reasons already mentioned above.

Consider when he does it

It would also be helpful to consider the timing of when he runs his hands through his hair.

If he did it after you said something then it could be that he has positive or negative feelings about what you said.

If he does it as soon as he sees you then it would be more likely that he finds you attractive.

Consider his normal behavior

It would also be helpful to consider what his normal behavior looks like.

If he tends to run his fingers through his hair when he is with other people then it could be something that he naturally does. It’s not uncommon for men to be quite self-conscious about what their hair looks like.

Whereas if he only tends to do it around you and his body language changes when he notices you then it would be more likely that he does it for one of the five reasons mentioned above.

Draw conclusions from clusters of body language

When trying to make sense of body language signals it is important to do it based on clusters of body language signals and not single body language signals.

There is usually a wide range of possible reasons that someone might show one particular body language signal.

Whereas if someone shows multiple body language signals at the same time that point towards the same meaning then it would be a much more reliable indicator about what he is thinking.

Related

What does it mean when a guy touches his hair? It could mean that he is feeling nervous, stressed, frustrated, that he disagrees with what was said or even that he is attracted to you. To figure out the exact reason it would be necessary to consider his body language when he is around you and to consider the context of when he does it.