Why this hair style on statues of the Buddha? http://9gag.com/gag/arOnzn5 says that the Buddha's "hair" on this statue represents snails.



I thought Buddha shave his head like all his disciples. And there is a claim that his hair are actually snails.
The question isn't just whether the hair represent the snails, but what do the 108 snails present. Recall that Buddhism heavily utilize symbolism to convey it's message. It doesn't mean that the historical Buddha actually had snails on his head.

The number 108 represents the 108 mental afflictions.

http://mrob.com/pub/epist/buddhism.html


  In traditional Buddhist thought, people are said to have 108
  afflictions or klesas. There are six senses (sight, sound, smell,
  taste, touch, and consciousness) multiplied by three reactions
  (positive, negative, or indifference) making 18 "feelings." Each of
  these feelings can be either "attached to pleasure or detached from
  pleasure" making 36 "passions", each of which may be manifested in the
  past, present, or future.
  
  which corresponds to: {sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and
  consciousness} × {positive, negative, indifferent} × {attached to
  pleasure, detached from pleasure} × {past, present, future}    =
  6×3×2×3 = 108


In this sense the snails and their hard shells essentially represents mindful concentration which guards against all these afflictions.