Lock of hair

A lock of hair is a piece or pieces of hair that has been cut from a human head, most commonly bunched or tied together in some way.

Locks of hair carry symbolic value and have been utilized throughout history in various religious, superstitions, and sentimental roles.

A primitive belief maintains that owning a lock of hair from another’s head gives one power over that individual, in the same manner that owning a piece of clothing or image of an individual grants the owner such powers.
During antiquity, girls who were about to be married offered locks of hair to the forest god Virbius (Virbio).
A common superstition holds that a lock of hair from a baby's first haircut should be kept for good luck. An old Irish superstition holds that it is unlucky to accept a lock of hair (or a four-footed beast) from a lover.
A lock of Beethoven’s hair, cut from his head in 1827, was auctioned in 1994 through Sotheby's of London.[1] Research on the hair determined that the composer's life-long illness was caused by lead poisoning.