Human hair is considered a waste material in most parts of the world and its accumulation in waste streams causes many environmental problems; however, it has many known uses. Preventing waste of such a material requires both addressing the problems in the current usage and developing its utilization systems at locations where they are missing. With focus on developing systematic utilization of human hair waste, this paper first reviews the possible uses of human hair gathered from large scale trades, local/traditional knowledge, upcoming innovations, and scientific research; along with the socioeconomic systems that have evolved around the known uses. Concerns and gaps in these systems are identified and possible directions to address these gaps are discussed. For expanding hair utilization to new contexts, important considerations such as knowledge, skill, and technology requirements and potential markets are discussed. Finally, a policy framework for socially and environmentally healthy utilization of human hair is outlined. This study shows that human hair is a highly versatile material with significant potential in several critical areas such as agriculture, medical applications, construction materials, and pollution control. Moreover, these uses are diverse enough for entrepreneurs ranging from unskilled to highly technical individuals and for the wide variety of human hair waste available in different locations. 1. Introduction Human hair is a material considered useless in most societies and therefore is found in the municipal waste streams in almost all cities and towns of the world [1]. In rural areas or areas with low population density, the hair is thrown away in nature where it slowly decomposes over several years, eventually returning the constituent elements, namely, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and so forth, to their respective natural cycles. In urban areas or areas with high population density, it often accumulates in large amounts in the solid waste streams and chokes the drainage systems, posing a multifaceted problem. Due to slow degradation, it stays in the dumps/waste streams for long occupying large volumes of space. Over time, leachate from these dumps increases the nitrogen concentration in the water bodies, causing problems of eutrophication. Burning of human hair or the waste piles containing them—a practice observed in many parts of the world—produces foul odor and toxic gases such as ammonia, carbonyl sulphides, hydrogen sulphides, sulphur dioxide, phenols, nitriles, pyrroles, and pyridines [2]. Open dumps of hair generate
References
[1]
S. Kumar, J. K. Bhattacharyya, A. N. Vaidya, T. Chakrabarti, S. Devotta, and A. B. Akolkar, “Assessment of the status of municipal solid waste management in metro cities, state capitals, class I cities, and class II towns in India: an insight,” Waste Management, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 883–895, 2009.
[2]
M. Brebu and I. Spiridon, “Thermal degradation of keratin waste,” Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 288–295, 2011.
[3]
UN Comtrade, Import values are based on HS2007 codes 050100, 670300, and 670420, 2012.
[4]
E. Vijayalakshmi, “Hair pollution hits Karnataka. Down to Earth,” 2003, http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/13180.
[5]
M. Cohen, “India’s export of human hair to China is a booming business but it is also entangled in issues of respiratory diseases and child labor. The Standard,” 2007, http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=31&art_id=50482&sid=14602467&con_type=3.
[6]
I. Malik, “Human hair trade: environmental hazards,” Tech. Rep., Vatavaran, New Delhi, India, 1998.
[7]
C. R. Robbins, Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair, Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 5th edition, 2012.
[8]
G. Biddle-Perry and S. Cheang, Eds., Hair: Styling, Culture, and Fashion, Berg, Oxford, UK, 2008.
[9]
M. Muto, T. Isobe, K. Ramu et al., “Contamination of Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) in human hair from e-waste recycling site in Vietnam,” in Interdisciplinary Studies on Environmental Chemistry—Environmental Pollution and Ecotoxicology, M. Kawaguchi, K. Misaki, H. Sato et al., Eds., pp. 229–237, 2012.
[10]
J. S. Cox, “The construction of an ancient Egyptian wig (c. 1400 B.C.) in the British Museum,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 63, pp. 67–70, 1977.
[11]
J. Turner, Brushes: A Handbook for Artists and Artisans, Design Books, 1992.
[12]
V. D. Zheljazkov, “Assessment of wool waste and hair waste as soil amendment and nutrient source,” Journal of Environmental Quality, vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 2310–2317, 2005.
[13]
M. Sharma, M. Sharma, and V. M. Rao, “In vitro biodegradation of keratin by dermatophytes and some soil keratinophiles,” African Journal of Biochemistry Research, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–6, 2011.
[14]
AAA, “Ropes made of human hair,” Ann Arbor Argus, 1898, http://oldnews.aadl.org/node/153517.
[15]
L. Shiming, “The utilization of human excreta in Chinese agriculture and the challenge faced,” EcoSanRes, 2002, http://www.ecosanres.org/pdf_files/Nanning_PDFs/Eng/Luo%20Shiming%2010_C11rev.pdf .
[16]
P. Subbiah, “Human hair as fertilizer,” Communicator: Sathavu, M. Nam Vazhi Velanmai (Tamil Version of Honeybee), 1998.
[17]
P. Oudhia, “Revised version of selected Botanical.com articles,” Part 2, 2010, http://pankajoudhia.com/.
[18]
V. D. Zheljazkov, J. L. Silva, M. Patel et al., “Human hair as a nutrient source for horticultural crops,” HortTechnology, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 592–596, 2008.
[19]
J. Schaffer, “Urbanna Salon offers ‘Earth Hair’,” Down to Earth NW, 2011, http://www.downtoearthnw.com/stories/2011/jun/08/urbanna-salon-offers-earth-hair/.
[20]
A. Bhatta, “No hair-raising experience this,” Down to Earth, 2008, http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/4928.
[21]
K. R. Yadav, R. K. Sharma, M. P. Yadav, and R. M. Kothari, “Human hair waste: an environmental problem converted into an eco-friendly plant tonic,” Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 491–496, 1995.
[22]
M. M. Rahman, “Fertilizer from hair!!,” ChE Thoughts, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 20–21, 2010.
[23]
S. O. Oh, A. Yun, and D. H. Park, “Effects of physicochemically hydrolyzed human hairs on the soil microbial community and growth of the hot pepper plant,” Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 746–754, 2011.
[24]
S. Facknath and B. Lalljee, “Indigenous/traditional knowledge adopted in Mauritius for sustainable agriculture,” in Sustainable Agriculture: Issues in Production, Management, Agronomy, and ICT Applications, A. Bandopadhyay, K. V. Sundaram, M. Moni, P. S. Kundu, and M. M. Jha, Eds., pp. 147–164, Northern Books Center, New Delhi, India, 2005.
[25]
MOFF, Package of Organic Practices from Maharashtra for Cotton, Rice, Red Gram, Sugarcane and Wheat, Maharashtra Organic Farming Federation, Pune, India, 2006.
[26]
J. D. Scott and T. W. Townsend, “Methods used by selected Ohio growers to control damage by deer,” Wildlife Society Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 234–240, 1985.
[27]
H. Siddhi, “Hair hinders rhinoceros beetle,” Honey Bee, vol. 8, no. 2, p. 8, 1997.
[28]
M. K. Deka, M. Bhuyan, and L. K. Hazarika, “Traditional pest management practices of Assam,” Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 75–78, 2006.
[29]
T. F. Negrete, “Human hair market growing fast,” Herald Tribune, 2008, http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080106/NEWS/801060309.
[30]
C. S. Gupta, “Clay-traditional material for making handicrafts,” Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 116–124, 2008.
N. M. Heymans, “Archaeology, experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology on bread ovens in Syria,” Civilizations, vol. 49, pp. 197–221, 2002.
[33]
P. Allen and N. May, “Clay plasters,” 2003, http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/clayplaster/clayplaster.htm.
[34]
B. A. Jubran, S. M. Habali, M. A. S. Hamdan, and A. I. O. Zaid, “Some mechanical and thermal properties of clay bricks for the Jordan valley region,” Materials and Structures, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 364–369, 1988.
[35]
R. R. Pillai and A. Ramanathan, “An innovative technique of improving the soil using human hair fibers,” in Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Construction in Developing Countries, pp. 4–6, Bangkok, Thailand, July 2012.
[36]
M. M. Al-Darbi, N. O. Saeed, L. O. Ajijolaiya, and M. R. Islam, “A novel oil well cementing technology using natural fibers,” Petroleum Science and Technology, vol. 24, no. 11, pp. 1267–1282, 2006.
[37]
J. N. Akhtar and S. Ahmad, “The effect of randomly oriented hair fiber on mechanical properties of fly-ash based hollow block for low height masonry structures,” Asian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 221–228, 2009.
[38]
R. M. Thompson, “Hair-based composite,” US Patent 20100178842A1, 2010.
[39]
Studio Swine, 2012, http://www.studioswine.com/hair-glasses.
[40]
D. P. Michael, S. Harish, A. Bensely, and D. M. Lal, “Insulation characteristics of sisal, human hair, coir, banana fiber composites at cryogenic temperatures,” Polymers from Renewable Resources, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 47–56, 2010.
[41]
Z. V. P. Murthy, G. Kaushik, and R. Suratwala, “Treatment of oily water with human hair as a medium: a preliminary study,” Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 220–226, 2004.
[42]
B. D. McCrory and P. A. McCrory, “Device for containing and absorbing oil spills on water-,” US Patent 5453191, 1995.
MSNBC, “Hairy idea: clippings used to absorb oil spills,” msnbc.com news service, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14584306/ns/world_news-world_environment/t/hairy-idea-clippings-used-absorb-oil-spill/.
[45]
K. Gustafson, “How to clean the oil spill? Hair and mushrooms!,” 2010, earth911.com/news/2010/05/03/how-to-clean-the-oil-spill-hair-and-mushrooms/.
[46]
R. Ziemba, “Fungi vs. the BP oil spill,” 2010, http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=11629.
[47]
A. R. Talaie, M. Bagheri, S. Ghotbinasab, and M. R. Talaie, “Evaluation of formaldehyde wastewater adsorption on human hair,” Health Systems Research, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 735–743, 2011.
[48]
F. A. Banat and S. Al-Asheh, “The use of human hair waste as a phenol biosorbent,” Adsorption Science and Technology, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 599–608, 2001.
[49]
T. C. Tan, C. K. Chia, and C. K. Teo, “Uptake of metal ions by chemically treated human hair,” Water Research, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 157–162, 1985.
[50]
S. S. Krishnan, A. Cancilla, and R. E. Jervis, “Waste water treatment for heavy metal toxins using plant and hair as adsorbents,” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 267–273, 1988.
[51]
D. Malliga, G. P. Jeyanthi, and V. Bhuvaneswari, “Adsorption of nickel(II) and chromium(VI) from synthetic metal solutions using powdered human hair as adsorbent,” Journal of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Monitoring, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 39–50, 2010.
[52]
B. J. Ha, S. M. Kim, C. R. Kim, and O.-S. Jung, “Porous morphology and selective metal-adsorption of burned human hairs,” Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 1459–1460, 2010.
[53]
Sigma-Aldrich, Prod. no. A7250, CAS no. 616-91-1, http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/etc/medialib/docs/Sigma-Aldrich/Product_Information_Sheet/a7250pis.Par.0001.File.tmp/a7250pis.pdf.
[54]
D. Winterman, “From food to fashion, the thriving market in human hair, BBC News Magazine,” 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8753698.stm.
E. Brand and N. Wiseman, Concise Chinese Materia Medica, Paradigm, 2008.
[58]
H. Xie, M. S. Kim, and C. Chrisman, “Herbs to stop bleeding,” in Xie’s Chinese Veterinary Herbology, H. Xie and V. Preast, Eds., Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, Iowa, USA, 2010.
[59]
S. K. Dash and S. Padhy, “Ethno-therapeutic importance of the human body—1. Medicaments of physical and physiological origins,” Studies on Ethno-Medicine, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 55–58, 2007.
[60]
R. D. Forrest, “Early history of wound treatment,” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 198–205, 1982.
[61]
G. C. Sood, D. K. Sen, and L. D. Sota, “Human hair sutures in ophthalmic surgery,” British Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 335–337, 1970.
[62]
I. Sri-Skanda-Rajah-Siva, “Autotrichograft sutures in cataract surgery,” British Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 138–143, 1973.
[63]
T. V. Sivanandan, “A breakthrough in use of hair as suture material,” The Hindu, 2000, http://www.hindu.com/2000/07/13/stories/0413210n.htm.
[64]
L. Ero？lu, E. Güneren, H. Akba？, A. Demir, and A. Uysal, “Using human hair as suture material in microsurgical practice,” Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 37–39, 2003.
[65]
A. Nakamura, M. Arimoto, K. Takeuchi, and T. Fujii, “A rapid extraction procedure of human hair proteins and identification of phosphorylated species,” Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 569–572, 2002.
[66]
T. Fujii and Y. Ide, “Preparation of translucent and flexible human hair protein films and their properties,” Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 1433–1436, 2004.
[67]
Y. Hirao, K. Ohkawa, H. Yamamoto, and T. Fujii, “A novel human hair protein fiber prepared by watery hybridization spinning,” Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, vol. 290, no. 3, pp. 165–171, 2005.
[68]
V. Verma, P. Verma, P. Ray, and A. R. Ray, “Preparation of scaffolds from human hair proteins for tissue-engineering applications,” Biomedical Materials, vol. 3, no. 2, Article ID 025007, 2008.
[69]
S. Wang, F. Taraballi, L. P. Tan, and K. W. Ng, “Human keratin hydrogels support fibroblast attachment and proliferation in vitro,” Cell and Tissue Research, vol. 347, no. 3, pp. 795–802, 2012.
[70]
M.-C. Lenoir, B. A. Bernard, G. Pautrat, M. Darmon, and B. Shroot, “Outer root sheath cells of human hair follicle are able to regenerate a fully differentiated epidermis in vitro,” Developmental Biology, vol. 130, no. 2, pp. 610–620, 1988.
[71]
A. Limat and T. Hunziker, “Use of epidermal equivalents generated from follicular outer root sheath cells in vitro and for autologous grafting of chronic wounds,” Cells Tissues Organs, vol. 172, no. 2, pp. 79–85, 2002.
[72]
B.-Y. Yoo, Y.-H. Shin, H.-H. Yoon, Y.-K. Seo, and J.-K. Park, “Hair follicular cell/organ culture in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine,” Biochemical Engineering Journal, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 323–331, 2010.
[73]
J. Xu, C. Hu, Y. Ji, and S. Hu, “Ultrathin gold film deposited on human hair: derivation from nanoparticles and applications as microsensors,” Electrochemistry Communications, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 764–767, 2009.
[74]
C. C. Trowbridge, “The use of the hair hygrometer,” Science, vol. 4, no. 81, pp. 62–65, 1896.
[75]
N. T. T. Ha, D. K. An, P. V. Phong, P. T. M. Hoa, and L. H. Mai, “Study and performance of humidity sensor based on the mechanical-optoelectronic principle for the measurement and control of humidity in storehouses,” Sensors and Actuators B, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 200–202, 2000.
[76]
O. G. Tod, The Joy of Handweaving, Dover, New York, NY, USA, 1977.
[77]
S. Amber, “How to recycle dog, cat, and human hair,” 2008, http://voices.yahoo.com/how-recycle-dog-cat-human-hair-860385.html.
[78]
G. K. Ghosh and S. Ghosh, Indian Textiles: Past and Present, APH, New Delhi, India, 1995.
The Sunday Morning Star, “Human hair cloth used as oil filter,” Wilmingdon, Del, USA, 1926, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VaBbNeojGYwC&dat=19260207.
[82]
H. H. Windsor, Ed., Long Ropes Made of Human Hair, Popular Mechanics Magazine, 1914.
[83]
L. S. M. Curtin, “Art and industries,” in By the Prophet of the Earth: Ethnobotany of the Pima, Reprinted 1984, University of Arizona Press, Tuscon, Ariz, USA, 1949.
[84]
T. Schumer, “Observations on the hair rope mecate,” High Minded Horseman, 2011, http://www.highmindedhorseman.com/2011/05/09/observations-on-the-hair-rope-mecate.
[85]
Chinaculture, “Hair embroidery,” Ministry of Culture, 2008, http://www1.chinaculture.org/library/2008-01/22/content_46519.htm.
[86]
Wenzhou Portrait Embroidery Institute, Zhejiang, China, http://www.wdfxw.com/en/about.asp.
[87]
S. Harran and J. Harran, 1997, http://www.hairwork.com/remember.htm.
[88]
H. Sheumaker, Love Entwined: The Curious History of Hairwork in America, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 2007.
C. Talavera-Gonzales, G. C. Lacia, C. V. Cipriano et al., Mapeh in Action II, Rex Book, Manila, Philippines, 2008.
[91]
A. L. Kishore, http://www.indiamart.com/alkishores/cutting-human-hairs.html.
[92]
P. Mehra, “Hair and how,” The Hindu, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article2897596.ece.
[93]
A. Rowland, The Human Hair, Popularly and Physiologically Considered with Special Reference to Its Preservation, Improvement and Adornment, and the Various Modes of Its Decoration in All Countries, Pipee Brothers, Cornell University Library, London, UK, 1853.
[94]
J. Greenwood, “The human hair market,” in In Strange Company: Being the Experiences of a Roving Correspondent, Henry S. King & Co., London, UK, 2nd edition, 1874.
[95]
A. E. Kramer, “For Russia’s poor, blonde hair is snippet of gold,” New York Times, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/business/global/22blond.html.
[96]
Indian Hair Industries, http://indianhairs.com/process.htm.
[97]
N. N. Srinivas, “Earn more $, just let your hair fall,” Economic Times, 2004, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2004-09-18/news/27397334.
[98]
D. McDougall, “Trade in hair forces India’s children to pay the price,” The Observer, 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jun/25/india.theobserver.
[99]
A. Myers, “Portable material culture and death factory Auschwitz,” Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, vol. 18, pp. 57–69, 2007.
[100]
N. Nelson, “Ministers refuse to stop imports of human hair taken from foreign prisoners and mental patients,” The People, 2011, http://www.people.co.uk/news/politics/2011/05/08.
[101]
A. Fisk, The human hair trade, http://adrianfisk.photoshelter.com/.
[102]
C. J. Bell, Answers to Questions about Old Jewellery, Krause, Iola, Wis, USA, 2009.
[103]
A. H. K. Topu, “Making a living with waste hair,” Star Insight, vol. 5, no. 33, 2011.
[104]
S. S. Gowd and B. Kotaiah, “Groundwater pollution by Cystine manufacturing industrial effluent around the factory,” Environmental Geology, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 679–682, 2000.
[105]
SEPA, “Announcement 25 by Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the General Administration of Customs and the State Environmental Protection Administration,” 2002, http://www.asianlii.org/cn/legis/cen/laws/cocftifbatfb655/.
