structural:summarization
Indication of status

Healthy hair indicates health and youth (important in evolutionary biology). Hair color and texture can be a sign of ethnic ancestry. Facial hair is a sign of puberty in men. White or gray hair is a sign of age or genetics, which may be concealed with hair dye (not easily for some), although many prefer to assume it (especially if it is a poliosis characteristic of the person since childhood). Pattern baldness in men is usually seen as a sign of aging that may be concealed with a toupee, hats, or religious and cultural adornments; however, the condition can be triggered by various hormonal factors at any age following puberty and is not uncommon in younger men. Although pattern baldness can be slowed down by drugs such as Finasteride and Minoxidil or treated with hair transplants, many men see this as unnecessary effort for the sake of vanity and instead shave their heads. In early modern China, the queue was a male hairstyle in which the hair at the front and top was shaved every 10 days in a style mimicking pattern baldness, while the remaining hair at the back was braided into a long pigtail.

A hairstyle may be an indicator of group membership. During the English Civil War, followers of Oliver Cromwell cropped their hair close to their head in an act of defiance against the curls and ringlets of the king's men, which led to them being nicknamed Roundheads. Recent isotopic analysis of hair is helping to shed further light on sociocultural interaction, giving information on food procurement and consumption in the 19th century. Having bobbed hair was popular among the flappers in the 1920s as a sign of rebellion against traditional roles for women. Female art students known as the Cropheads also adopted the style, notably at the Slade School in London. Regional variations in hirsutism has caused practices regarding hair on the arms and legs to differ. Some religious groups may follow certain rules regarding hair as part of religious observance. The rules often differ for men and women.

Many subcultures have hairstyles which may indicate an unofficial membership. Many hippies, metalheads, and Indian sadhus have long hair, as well many older hipsters. Many punks wear a hairstyle known as a mohawk or other spiked and dyed hairstyles, while skinheads have short-cropped or completely shaved heads. Long stylized bangs were very common for emos, scene kids, and younger hipsters in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Heads were shaved in concentration camps, and head-shaving has been used as punishment, especially for women with long hair. The shaven head is common in military haircuts, while Western monks are known for the tonsure. By contrast, among some Indian holy men, the hair is worn extremely long.

In the time of Confucius (5th century BCE), the Chinese grew out their hair and often tied it, as a symbol of filial piety. Regular hairdressing in some cultures is considered a sign of wealth or status. The dreadlocks of the Rastafari movement were despised early in the movement's history. In some cultures, having one's hair cut can symbolize a liberation from one's past, usually after a trying time in one's life. Cutting the hair also may be a sign of mourning.

Tightly coiled hair in its natural state may be worn in an Afro. This hairstyle was once worn among African Americans as a symbol of racial pride. Given that the coiled texture is the natural state of some African Americans' hair, or perceived as being more "African", this simple style is now often seen as a sign of self-acceptance and an affirmation that the beauty norms of the (eurocentric) dominant culture are not absolute. African Americans as a whole have a variety of hair textures, as they are not an ethnically homogeneous group, but an ad-hoc of different racial admixtures.

The film Easy Rider (1969) includes the assumption that the two main characters could have their long hairs forcibly shaved with a rusty razor when jailed, symbolizing the intolerance of some conservative groups toward members of the counterculture. At the conclusion of England's 1971 Oz trials, the defendants had their heads shaved by the police, causing public outcry. During the appeal trial, they appeared in the dock wearing wigs. A case where a 14-year-old student was expelled from school in Brazil in the mid-2000s, allegedly because of his fauxhawk haircut, sparked national debate and legal action resulting in compensation.