Hair: Countable or Uncountable? | Mastering Grammar

(Last Updated: 6 February 2025)

Is Hair Countable or Uncountable?

One common source of confusion among English learners involves the word hair. This post explores whether hair is considered countable or uncountable and provides examples to help clarify its correct usage.

When Hair is Uncountable

Typically, hair is used as an uncountable noun when referring to hair collectively; that is, the mass of fibres that grows from the skin:

✅ She has long hair.
❌ She has long hairs.

✅ He noticed that his hair was thinning.
❌ He noticed that his hairs were thinning.

✅ Short hair is much easier to dry and style than long hair.
❌ Short hairs are much easier to dry and style than long hairs.

✅ He admired her long hair as it flowed beautifully in the breeze.
❌ He admired her long hairs as they flowed beautifully in the breeze.

✅ The new student in class has short black hair and bright green eyes.
❌ The new student in class has short black hairs and bright green eyes.

When Hair is Countable

Hair can be used as a countable noun when referring to individual strands. Therefore, it is appropriate to use hairs to indicate multiple strands of hair, or a hair for just a single strand:

✅ There are three grey hairs on my head.

✅ She noticed five hairs on her pillow when she woke up this morning.

✅ I found a hair in my soup, which really put me off my meal.

✅ He plucked a hair from the lens of his camera before taking the photo.

✅ She pulled a hair from her eye, blinking rapidly.

The entry for the noun hair (senses 1 and 2) in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

In summary, when referring to the general mass, hair should be uncountable. However, when referring to individual strands, hairs can be used as a countable noun.

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Examples from the Media

If you go to a restaurant and there is a hair in the soup, that is not a successful bowl of soup. —Toronto Star (2017)

They found that three hairs found on two of the victims and kept in storage matched the DNA profile of a hair found in the car of a known paedophile at the time. —Daily Mail (2012)

Hairstyles go in and out of vogue but despite my life-long love affair with fashion, the one thing I'll never change is having short hair. —The Sydney Morning Herald (2020)

The students, aged 7 to 17, allege that the district's policy prohibiting boys from wearing long hair is based on gender stereotypes that violate the Constitution. —The Washington Post (2021)