According to Lady Gaga, the melody of "Hair" resembles the work of metal bands Kiss and Iron Maiden, and is also influenced by Bruce Springsteen.

The song is an uptempo club record inspired by Gaga's experience as a teenager, when her parents forced her to dress in a certain way.

She personally wanted Clemons to play saxophone on the song, which he did by recording his part at a Manhattan studio at midnight, after he had just flown there from his home in Florida.

Gaga performed the song on Good Morning America as part of their "Summer Concert Series", on Paul O'Grady Live in the United Kingdom, and on The Howard Stern Show.

[2][3] On The Graham Norton Show, Gaga explained the origin of the song, which involves the analogy of her hair with freedom, and how that is the only part of her body she can change without anyone judging her.

[4] According to a press listening in February, "Hair" draws inspiration from Pat Benatar's "We Belong", while thematically focusing on empowering lyrics similar to those of "Born This Way".

[2][6][11] Later on in the same day, Gaga tweeted the line: "The Born This Way Itunes Countdown will release my song HAIR 2moro 1pm PST.

[16] In January 2011, Clemons was putting together an exercise machine in his Florida house when his wife told him that Gaga's representatives were on the phone, and they wanted him to play on her upcoming album.

[17] "Hair" was recorded mostly while Gaga was on tour in Europe, but the mixing was done by Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering in Burbank, California.

[18] It is a disco song[2] that begins with Gaga singing the line "Whenever I dress cool, my parents put up a fight/ And if I'm a hot shot, Mom will cut my hair at night/ And in the morning I'm short of my identity/ I scream, 'Mom and Dad, why can't I be who I want to be?"

"[2] Matthew Perpetua from Rolling Stone called it a mixture of yearning romantic melodrama of "We Belong" with the hard industrial metal edge of Broken-era Nine Inch Nails.

An hour before starting the final leg of The Monster Ball Tour, Gaga sent four tracks to Rolling Stone, including “Hair”, "Scheiße", "You and I", and "The Edge of Glory", for a preview.

Matthew Perpetua wrote a positive review of "Hair", describing it as another inspirational song in the mold of "Born This Way", but felt that it was a bit weirder.

"[21] Jody Rosen from the same publication felt that "although Gaga is not the first singer to create a connection between self-esteem and liberation to free-flowing coiffure, she seems to be the most committed to the idea.

Although he described some of the lyrics as "trite", Jonze opined that "these weaknesses can also be strengths, and there's something admirable about the way the [track] address confused teenagers in search of their identity.

[27] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine gave a mixed review stating that the song is a "derivative but perfectly serviceable club track about highlights that's turned into a dumping ground for every bad idea Gaga's had in the last 12 months: schmaltzy piano-woman melodies, overwrought choruses, inexplicable sax solos.

"[28] Rick Fulton, while writing in the Daily Record, called "Hair" a "great tune" and a "Europop high-energy epic", while giving it four out of five points.

"[30] The Independent writer Andy Gill compared the song to those by guitarist David Crosby, and described it as a statement of rebellious individuality.

Dedicating the song to her mother, Gaga sang an acoustic version of "Hair", which Sheila Marikar from ABC News reviewed positively, saying that it "really brought the house down.

"[44] Christian Blauvelt from Entertainment Weekly was also impressed with the acoustic version, saying that "at a keyboard, Gaga's never better at injecting enough passion and commitment to sell even the corniest lyrics about follicular empowerment.

[47] Ryan Love of Digital Spy had a preview of the recording of the show, and commented that when "it's just GaGa [sic] on the piano, you can't help but be impressed.

"[46] Cynthia Robinson from The Huffington Post theorized that Gaga pretending to be bald was not a "fashion statement", instead she was "saying something about shedding that skin, that costume, that barrier that she created with all of her vaunted costumes—at least so that people know what she is inside before putting it back on.

She appeared in the show in a long turquoise blue wig, that was attached to a replica of the Eiffel Tower, with the word "Paris" written on her chest.

"[49] At the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 24, 2011, Gaga dedicated a performance of "Hair" to deceased teenager Jamey Rodemeyer, who had committed suicide after being constantly bullied by his peers at school for being gay.

[51] To Kwaak Je-yup of The Korea Times was positive about the performance of the song during the tour saying that, "The highlight of the night was her first slow jam 'Hair,' which she introduced as her favorite track on the 'Born This Way' album.