British Slang For Hair (7 Examples!)

Hair can be one of the single most distinguishing features a person can have.

Whether they’ve got long, flowing locks, a fine buzzcut, an exotic style or a good old fashioned mullet, it’s one of the first things we look to when we’re trying to describe someone.

With that comes a great deal of slang terms for describing hair and different kinds of hair–so let’s look at a few of the most common ones used in Britain.

In This Article

Mop

First we have “mop,” a very common slang term used in Britain to describe hair.

This one tends to be used for long, messy hair, maybe something that needs a trim or at least a brush and a comb.

It’s used throughout Britain to describe hair and may in some cases just be a stand-in for the word hair no matter what the person’s hair actually looks like. “You need to get that mop trimmed,” for example.

The “mop top” hairdo was very popular in the middle of the 20th Century, having been made popular by bands like The Beatles.

Back then it was a very specific kind of hairdo, whereas today the term “mop” mostly refers to any long, messy hair, particularly on men.

It was, naturally, a reference to the fact it looked like the bristles of a mop.

Wig

A wig, of course, is imitation hair that someone may wear for any number of reasons.

This is the most common meaning of the term, but in British slang it has also come to be another term for hair.

Similarly to mop, this slang term most commonly denotes long, messy and perhaps unkempt hair, although this is by no means exclusive.

Many people simply use the term wig to refer to their hair.

You want to be very careful using this one yourself–you don’t want someone to think you’re implying they wear a wig!

“My wig is getting a bit messy, I think I’ll have a shower,” for example.

The word wig itself is quite old, and wigs have been a common part of British culture for quite some time.

The original full word was “periwig”, though you’re very unlikely to hear this whole phrase now.

It derived from perwycke, a corruption of the term perruck, from French perruque, a peruke being imitation hair, and was in use by at least the 1520s.

Mane

Next we have mane, a slang term that’s a bit more specific but nonetheless widely used in Britain to refer to hair.

It is usually used to refer to very long, thick hair, and more often used about a man’s hair than a woman’s.

That said, it could be used for either in the right contexts.

“Takes me an hour to brush this mane in the mornings,” for example.

Historically speaking, and even today, the standard definition of this word refers to the hair on the back of the necks of certain animals, like horses and lions.

This derives from the Old English word manu, which specifically referred to horses.

When exactly it started being used as slang for a person’s thick hair is not clear, though it could easily date as far back as this early period.

Barnet fair

A much more regionally specific slang term for hair is “barnet fair” or just “barnet”.

This is what’s called Cockney rhyming slang, a cant used in the East End of London and nowhere else.

It works by taking words that rhyme with the word you’re actually saying, and substituting them that way.

Thus, “hair” and “barnet fair”.

“Did you see the guy I was talking about, with the red barnet?” for example.

Barnet fair is a horse and pleasure fair that is held every year in Barnet, which is a market town in north London.

This fair has been held since 1588, so it’s easy to see how it could have seeped into the slang in this way.

Nest

Another common way to refer to messy hair in need of grooming is a “nest”.

This is another very common one that’s used and understood throughout Britain, so you’re likely to be understood wherever you use this one.

That said, once again, you don’t want to imply someone has messy or even dirty hair unless you’re sure they will take it in the right way!

“He’s a really good looking guy but his hair is such a nest,” for example.

This word has been totally unchanged for well over a millennium, as we find nest in Old English with precisely the same meaning of a bird’s nest.

That word derived in turn from the Proto-Germanic nistaz. The development of “unkempt hair” is fairly recent and probably not much older than a century, though it’s hard to say with much certainty.

Locks

A lock of hair is, in standard terms, a way of referring to a single clump of long, thick hair.

Often, the term also is exclusively applied to hair that has been cut from the head.

That meaning has expanded in the slang to be a general word used for the hair on someone’s head.

Again, it’s usually reserved for referring to long thick hair though it may be used as a joke for thinner hair.

“You’ve got some beautiful locks on your head!” for example.

This term also derives from Old English, where locc referred to a curl or tress of hair, which in turn derived from the Proto-Germanic word lukkoz.

Again, the modern sense is a lot more recent than this, probably only arising in the last century or two.

Bed head

Finally we have “bed head,” a common slang term referring to a certain kind of messy hair or simply what anyone’s hair looks like after they get out of bed.

Generally it’s more specific than this, and indeed has become a kind of hairstyle in and of itself. Some may even spend a long time making it look as though they had “bed head”.

The term is not much older than a few decades.

Some people take great pride in their hair–others simply want it to be as easy to take care of as possible.

Whatever your hairstyle, however much care you take of it, there’s a slang term in British English that you can apply to your own nest of hair.

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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