Whether you consider yourself Dr Sex or a tad vanilla, everyone has their sexual kinks and quirks. You only have to scroll the categories on any pornography website to understand the wide breadth of what these could be, from foodplay to feet and robots to rope – there’s something for everyone. But trichophilia, or hair fetishism – specifically head hair – is a sexual fantasy that predates contemporary porn. 

There’s no denying that the sanctity of hair has been around for centuries, both in reality and fiction. You have the likes of Samson, whose strength was in his hair, Rapunzel, made famous by the Brothers Grimm fairytale, and Lady Godiva, who rode through the streets on horseback entirely naked, covered by nothing but her long wavy tresses. And in a multitude of faiths, hair is also considered to be a very important physical trait. Some Muslim women cover their hair to maintain modesty and privacy from men, while Pentecostal Christians refrain from cutting their hair entirely, as they are taught that long hair is a sacred gift and part of a women’s glory… the list goes on. 

Hair fetishist Josh, a 37-year-old from Manchester, is particularly interested in slick, straight hair, ideally waist-length or longer, and preferably brunette. “I’ve now decided to accept that it is who I am and that I am someone with a hair fetish,” he explains, saying that seeing his ideal hair profile can offer instant arousal. “The blood starts pumping, the heart rate goes up, I get a boner, and so on. Hair is extremely sexual for me, and seeing beautiful long hair on the street will turn me on. Of course, I’d wonder how it smells, what kind of shampoo she’s using, and how it would feel on my skin. The softness of hair is otherworldly for me, and there is nothing that can compare to the feeling.” He can’t remember the moment that his hair fetish clicked for him, but remembers “falling in love” at the age of eight with his classmate who had the longest hair in school. 

Beyond the arousal, there are also ways in which hair can become an active sexual tool in the bedroom. For some, the mere opportunity to stroke, brush and wash the hair can be immensely titillating, but hair can also be utilised as a device in many niche sex acts. In some instances, braids can be used in place of hand ties or blindfolds or it can be used as a device to tickle, but the crowning jewel of the hair partialist is the hairjob, where the hair is wrapped around the penis and tugged in order to induce orgasm. Bunfucks are utilised to similar effect, but don’t require much explanation… 

With the rise of OnlyFans and ManyVids, there’s more access to long-haired porn performers than ever before who are happy to create this kind of content, like 24-year-old Ekaterina from Santiago. Despite a fairly modest following, her loyal fanbase are allowing her to make a generous income from her hair-specific material. The content creator is inundated daily with messages from people with hair fetishism asking for bespoke content or live chats in order to feel fully connected with her luscious locks. “The most popular requests are hairjobs, bunfucks, and hair-pulling,” she explains. “They prefer to see my hair loose or styled in a specific way. My fans ask me to show myself naked, playing with my hair, braiding it, smelling it, or putting it in my mouth. It works well because I can always turn their hair fantasies into a reality.”