An advertisement on a forced haircut has stirred debate and brought back bad memories for many when they were students in Thai schools.

Toiletries manufacturer Dove launched #LetHerGrow campaign on Tuesday to send a message that a forced haircut "takes away more than a girl's hair."

The print and video ads show a girl with a very short haircut and the rest of the hair is seen on the floor.

"It makes her lose confidence and self-esteem," the copy reads.

In the two-minute video, women in different generations express their confidence by choosing their own hairstyle.

The US-based company said on its website that the campaign had been created to promote the freedom of Thai women that could be expressed through hairstyles.

As of Tuesday evening, the post had seen more than 28,000 retweets and drawn support from many Twitter users. They wrote that the ad reminded them of their school days.

A Twitter user wrote the forced haircut on students was equal to a violation of their rights.

The students' confidence was eroded, another user wrote.

A former student wrote that she intentionally failed an admission exam because she did not want to enter a secondary public school that her mother wanted her to attend. She wanted to continue her studies at a private school which allowed longer hair.

Although the Education Ministry lifted regulations governing student hairstyles for both boys and girls in 2020, teachers still have room to interpret them.

According to the current ministry regulation, student hairstyles must be appropriate as deemed by school directors.