If anyone dies very suddenly beside the Nazirite and he defiles his consecrated head...
Numbers 6:9

He has not sinned by merely being in the presence of a dead body, however, the head covering formed by his hair has been tainted. He is to let the tainted hair grow out away from his scalp and then shave it completely off on the 7th day. On the 8th day, he is to bring a blood offering as a substitute covering, implying that there is more to long hair than mere symbolism, that there is a real spiritual dynamic involved in the wearing of both long hair and fabric head coverings.