Why do girls pat their heads?

[TechnoMayhem]

There's this girl that sits at the computer usually a seat away from me, and after an hour the kid between us leaves.

So every 10 minutes I hear *pat pat pat* and I glance over and see her tapping her head, and after an hour, it gets really annoying.

I asked my mom about it and she told me her friend, who is a nurse, said when they do that they usually have lice.

My friends say it's because they're trying to scratch their heads without messing up their hair.

._.

So, is it a health thing? And should I steer clear of people who do it?

[Silent_Wolf]

Personally, I do actually scratch my head. It's a very bad habit and I've got the marks to prove it. >_< If she's a seat away (and on the off-chance she has lice), you don't have to worry about it.

[Miranda_]

I doubt that every single person who pats their head has lice. That's like saying that every single person who scratches their arm has fleas. I expect it's just a nervous habit of hers.

[nikkolai]

I know a lot of people that pat their head because they want to make sure they're hair is still straight, most common for people who have their hair tied back.
My head itches a lot and its nothing to do with lice, just a condition and force of habit these days. But I agree on the off chance...i'd stay away.

You could always ask politely why she does it?

[Silver_Wolf_Kitty]

It may be lice or even dandruff, but also certain hairstyles(such as weaves) will prompt girls to pat instead of itch. Itching can mess the hair up, which is actually why I pat my head instead of scratch it. No reason to avoid the girl since chances are at your age its not lice.

[Miranda_]

I also wouldn't air your suspicions as spreading that kind of rumour can have a devastating effect. I expect she either doesn't want to mess her hair up and is just scratching an itch. You get those all over your body; does not mean that a person is infested with parasites just cuz they're scratching an itch. It could also be a nervous habit; one of mine is playing with my hair or jewelry.

[NotYourPrincess]

Actually, if she's african-american she's probably patting her head cos it itches.

They don't wash their hair as frequent, and the stuff they put in their hair makes it itch.

[FlowersFall]

Yeah a lot of my african-american friends pat their head when it itches. I was told by my friend that its cause they dont wanna mess up thier hair if the got waves, sew ins or anything else, and the hair and chemicals that get out in can make thier hair ich. Some white people I know do it out of habit of seeing other people do it. Even I started doing it for a short time XD