Q: (Initially posted 9-26-05) FROM STUDENT MEMBER JOSIE K. IN GA
I am doing another Science Fair experiement for my
AP Biology class. My topic this year is on hair dyes and harmful
consequences of the former. I have so far developed the thought that I
could use a lab pro force sensor to measure the force before and after
I dye the hairs, and find the percent change in force, and from that
data, I can conclude whether or not the hairs were affected. More
specifically, my question is which color of hair will hair dye affect the most. I
have the four basic categories - black, red, brown, and blonde. My question
is, do any of the mentors have any advice on *where* to find human
hair, and if it is feasible. An addendum, if I cannot find human hair, would
horse hair be close enough to human hair for me to be able to test
that?
Thanks in Advance!

A: FROM MENTOR NATALIE GIVANS
Josie,
My daughter also did some experiments in her class concerning human
hair - we went to a professional beauty supply store in our area where we
could buy 6 to 8- inch long sections of human hair about enough to fit in
between your thumb and your forefinger when they touch each other -
normally these sections are for making wigs, but also perfect amounts
for these experiments.

Have fun!