I used to rip/rub my clothes - absolutely loved the texture of the hems of a ripped up pair of jeans. It’s socially a little odd to keep a piece of denim in your pocket to fidget with.
But my beard? Always with me. Accessible 24/7. The texture is always changing and interesting. Stroking my beard makes me look like a smart person thinking about things. A+++
As a woman, I’ve recognized recently that I use hair twirling as a stim.
When I was a girl, earrings were fun. Could spin them around, and the backs were interesting.
As a guy with long curly locks, all my adult life, I have wrapped and unwrapped them around my fingers, or corkscrew my finger into one of the tighter ringlets. Before I was an adult, my parents generally managed to convince me to have haircuts/styles that were more popular for our location.
I actually don’t play with my beard as much, but probably would if I didn’t have the hair. Once I hit 18 and was done school, that’s the last day my hair was ever cut. Gone full natural since then, 41 now. It naturally terminates around 2 feet, hair and beard.
I like to wear sweatshirts that have strings.
Same idea I suppose