Hair pulling

I’ve got two little boys (3 and nearly 1) and they’re big, long and physically demanding (love them as I do!! ❤️) - but the one thing that tips me over the edge is their obsession with my hair. My eldest has always loved my hair but it’s like aggressive affection - he pulls it and twists it round his fingers and all the little hairs get caught and it’s so painful. He’s old enough to know I don’t like it and he says he’ll be gentle but it’s never gentle enough. And my youngest now also seems obsessed with my hair - as soon as I pick him up he just grabs fistfuls of it and either yanks it or stuffs it in his mouth. This happens whether my hair is up or down - it’s almost worse when it’s up as he gets the tiny hairs underneath. I’m losing my mind a bit - whenever we have a cuddle (and they’re v affectionate little boys so this happens a lot and I don’t want to stop that!) it comes with a level of pain because they grab/yank my hair every time. Has anyone experienced similar? Is it a boy thing? Is there anything I can do to stop it? It’s really getting me down.