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The spell says:
Strangling Hair
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration concentration, up to 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
Your hair animates and extends to grapple and constrict an opponent. Make a grapple check against the target using your caster level as the base attack bonus plus a bonus equal to your Intelligence bonus (if a witch or wizard) or Charisma bonus (if a sorcerer). This grapple check does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If your hair succeeds in grappling a foe, that creature takes 1d6 points of damage or your unarmed strike damage, whichever is greater, and gains the grappled condition. Your hair receives a +5 bonus on grapple checks made against opponents it is already grappling, but cannot move foes or pin foes. Each round that your hair succeeds on a grapple check, it deals an additional 1d6 points of damage. The CMD of your hair, for the purposes of escaping the grapple, is equal to 10 + its CMB.
Once you choose a target, your hair continues to attack that target independently of your own actions. You may designate a new target as a move action, which causes your hair to release its current target (if any) and attack the new target that round. Your hair cannot be targeted as a separate creature, but it can be dispelled.
So it says that once you choose a target your hair goes on its own, but the spell has a duration of concentration... so which is it? Does it attack on its own while you do other things? Or is the 'other things' limited to concentrating on maintaining the spell?
The hair goes on its own but you must concentrate on the spell. That takes a standard action, choosing a new target is a move action which would only leave you a 5 foot step and swift action on any round that you switch targets on.
Well, that is crappy.
It might be a remainder of some previous version of this spell. Maybe it was originaly meant to have duration of one round/level and was later changed to concentration. If you concentrate on a spell to maintain it cannot be said that it acts on its own, unlike, for example, spiritual weapon which acts on its own while the caster takes his action.
I'll mark it for FAQ/errata.
I'd like to know as well. Any clarification on this at all?
I'm guessing "no response required".
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You need to maintain your concentration.
It is very simple to see why that is required:
1) simply the spell text, when it say Concentration the spell requires you to maintain your concentration;
2) the spell gives you a free grappling check every round while removing several drawbacks from grappling (you aren't grappled, you do it at a range, it doesn't provoke an AoO). So giving the spell an action cost was only reasonable on the part of the Devs.