I
We did our project
on straightening
hair and seeing if it weakens your hair. We
used a force sensor and logger pro to achieve this. We used a commercial heat
protection
straightened
product, coconut oil and olive oil to see if they protected
the hair when
or curled.
We did this project because we like to straighten
and curl our hair.
We wanted to see if we were doing a lot of damage to our hair.
We are Gormlaith Mandai and Lauren Berry, two first year students attending
Moate Community School. I am Gormlaith and I am thirteen.
twelve. We both like playing golf and straightening
our hair. We live in Mount
Temple and have been friends for over three years now.
-2-
I am Lauren and I am
What is hair composed of?
Hair is composedof:
~
~
~
~
~
~
A Hair Follicle
Papilla
Matrix
Root Sheath
Hair Fibre
Bulge
A Hair Follicle:
A Hair Follicle is a skin organ that produces hair.
Papilla:
The papilla is a large structure at the base of the hair follicle. The papilla connects
the hair to the body.
Matrix:
The Hair Matrix surrounds the Papilla.The Matrix produces pigments which gives
us the colour of our hair.
Root Sheath:
This is composedof an internal and external root sheath.
Hair Fiber:
Hair Fiber is composedof keratin. Keratin is the main structural componentof
hair.
Bulge:
The bulge is located in the outer root sheath.
• IlIiI hull
Is it alive?
The hair-outside your scalp is dead; it has no blood, nerves or muscles.
What makes our hair naturally curly/straight? (Properties)
It is knownthat curly hair has a different biological structure than
straight hair. Anyone with curly hair knowsthat this hair type can be
dry, hard to manage,and often frizzy. The good news is that people
with curly hair tend to have fewer split ends than people with straight
hair.
The amount of curl in curly hair is also dependent on the shape of the
hair follicle and shaft. The hair follicle below the scalp has a hooked
end in people with curly hair. The more hook the follicle has, the curlier
the hair is. Those with straight hair have hair follicles with no hooks.
Why do straighteners and curlers damagethe hair?
Straighteners and Curlers work at very high temperatures of 180 200 °C. They break the hair's Hydrogen Bonds and reform them,
thereby makingthe hair curl around the barrel of a curling iron, or
becomestraight by using a flat iron. Continuousbreaking and reforming
of these Hydrogen Bonds can lead to weakeningthe hair.
LQ3Ji'Wm"#i+'¥
Gorm Ialith'S hai
. ht vs Natural
air: Stralgl
10
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Force
10
4
-0.227 N
6
8
TIme(s)
Breaking Point of Gormlaith's Hair:
Gormlaith's
hair
Natural
Straightened
Force 1 (N)
Force 2 (N)
Force 3 (N)
1.73
2.33
1.73
2.26
1.79
3.04
Average
Force
1.75
2.54
10
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11.221 N
Gorrruai
I ith's hai
'ht vs Naura
t
air: StralQI
10
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5
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Force
-0.227 N
1
2
4
6
8
TIIlIe(S)
Breaking Point of Gormlaith's Hair:
Gormlaith's
hair
Natural
Straightened
Force 1 (N)
Force 2 (N)
Force 3 (N)
1.73
2.33
1.73
2.26
1.79
3.04
-10 -
Average
Force
1.75
2.54
10
o-,-
Lauren's
Hair. Straig._h_t_vs_N~a_tu_r_a_'
--;--
-,
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-10'+---~-----------~---+-----r------t-1
o
2
4
6
Time (5)
-11-
-------'
8
10
Laurens Hair: Heat Protection
5H----
TIme: 2.2Bs
Force: -0.276 N
Trme: 3.08s
Force: -0.276 N
TIme:3.0Bs
Force: -0.276 N
TIme: 3.08s
Force. -0.257 N
TIme:3.0Bs
Force: -0.251 N
TIme: 3.0B5
Force: ·0.251 N
Time: s
Force: 0.000 N
-5;+------1
---l--
o
-
-,.---
6
4
2
B
10
Time{s)
(3.06B,-0.46)
Laurens hair'.. Olive Oil
10
I!I
5-1---
I
Time: 2.42s
Force: -0.257 N
Time: 2.00s
Force: -0.257 N
Time: 2.365
Force: -0.257 N
Time: 2.945
Force. -0.251 N
Time: 2.94 5
Force: 0.219 N
Time: 2.945
Force: 0.367 N
With Olive Oil
1/1
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I I
I
I
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j_y-t
l1{me:
s
:~:O.~N
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-5
-
I Natural I
-1 ~
o
(2.945, -0.27)
I
2
I
4
6
Time{s)
-12 -
B
10
Laurens Hair: Coconut Oil
IWith Coconut
~ime:2.76s
Force: -0.244
Time: 3.12 s
Force: -0.251
Time: 2.98s
Force: -0.257
Time:3.12s
Force: -0.251
Time: 3.12 s
Force: -0.010
Time: 3.12 s
Force: -0.251
Time: s
Force: 0.000
Oil
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I
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
V
I Natural I
-1 0
o
2
4
6
10
8
Time (s)
(3.124,4.81)
Breaking point of Laurens hair:
Lauren's Hair Force 1
(N)
Natural
2.268
Straightened 1.134
With Heat
1.256
Protection
With
2.850
CoconutOil
With Olive
1.827
Oil
Force
2(N)
3.368
1.683
0.941
Force
3(N)
2.453
1.926
0.700
2.362
1.581
0.965
2.732
2.146
2.909
3.837
3.257
2.643
-13 -
Average
Laurens hair: Natural vs Strai
(2.323,2.223)
'"14 '"
By doing this project we proved our theory that straightening the hair
makes it weaker than its natural condition. We also found out that:
1. The heat protection product which we tested weakened the
hair instead of its original purpose, to protect the hair from
heat. Therefore the breaking force of the hair with the
heat protection was less than that of the straightened hair.
2. The olive oil that we tested strengthened the hair. We also
found that it felt thicker than the natural hair. Therefore
the breaking force of the hair with the olive oil was more
than that of the straightened hair.
3. The coconut oil that we tested strengthened the hair more
than the olive oil. We also found that it felt stronger and
thicker than the olive oil. Therefore the breaking force of
the hair with the coconut oil is more than that of the
straightened hair.
-17-
When we were measuring the force of each hair we had to keep the
following the same:
~ take the strand of hair from the same area of the head
~ handle the hair in same way while holding it on the sensor
~ pull the hair in the same direction
-16-
This is our method for measuring the breaking force of the hair:
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We set up the sensor for measuring the force to break the
hair to the retort stand and linked it to the Logger Pro
We pulled out a strand of hair
We pulled the strand of natural (unstraightened) hair from
the sensor to measure the breaking force
The breaking force was recorded on the Logger Pro
We did this three times to get consistency
We straightened the hair
We recorded the breaking force of the straightened hair
again (three times)
We did this to see if the hair would be any weaker than the
natural hair
We treated the hair with one of the following: olive oil,
coconut oil and heat protection spray
Each time we recorded the breaking force of the hair
-15 -
From our results, we found that straighteners
made the hair weaker.
Some products like coconut oil seemed to reduce the weakening effect
of the straightening.
We also discovered that some heat protection products did not protect
the hair and may be misleading and misinforming public members such
as ourselves.
We also think that we should have tried out more protection
products
to see if the others are the same as the ones we tested. We would also
like to have used crimpers and other hair style products that may do
damage to the hair.
-18 '"'"