Plural of Hair

What Is the Plural of Hair?

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."

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.

mass noun

I found three gray "hairs" this morning.

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

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."