Plural of Hair

by Craig Shrives

The Quick Answer

"Hair" is singular when it refers to an entire head of hair (e.g., brown hair, blonde hair, curly hair).
When describing individual strands of hair, the plural is "hairs."

The Plural of Hair

When describing an entire head covered with individual hairs, "hair" is treated as a single object or group, which is why it is referred to in a singular form.
  • I washed my "hair" this morning. correct tick
    • (Here, "hair" is refering to the entire head. It is a mass noun.)
  • I found three gray "hairs" this morning. correct tick
    • (Here, "hairs" refers to three individual strands. They are countable.)

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
Type Example of Type Forming the Plural Plural
Most Nouns hair
scythe		 add s hairs
scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z bus
dress		 add es buses
dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o mango
zero
tomato		 add either s or es
(There are no rules for this - you have to know.)		 mangoes or mangos
zeros
tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o patio
ratio 		add s patios
ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y story
penny		 change the y to an i and add es stories
pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y monkey
donkey 		add s monkeys
donkeys
Mass nouns hair
rice 		some nouns do not have a plural form
 hair
rice
Nouns ending f or fe dwarf
knife 		ves and/or s
(There are no rules - you have to know.)		 dwarfs
knives
Exceptions goose
louse 		some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change geese
lice
More exceptions salmon
sheep 		some nouns have their own rules salmon
sheep
Read more about English spelling rules.

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of hair?

Confusion arises because "hair" is typically a mass noun. A mass noun is a noun without a plural form. Mass nouns refer to things that can't be counted (e.g., rice, milk, chalk).

When refering to strands of hair, "hair" can be countable. The plural is "hairs."

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See Also

Unusual pluralsPlural forming table Quirks with forming plurals Forming the plurals of abbreviations Forming the plurals of compound nouns