Morphology of Human Scalp Hair used for Wigs

Abstract

Recently, many types of hair wigs have been widely used for hairdressing, hair restoring and medical use. Therefore, the hair materials from wigs can be recovered as physical evidence at crime scenes in addition to natural hairs of victims and suspects. As materials used for manufacturing wigs, in general, human scalp hair and artificial hair made from materials such as nylon, polyester and acrylic fiber have been used. In this study, we examined the cuticle morphology of wig hairs under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The cuticles of human hair are removed by chemical treatment to reduce tangles. The surface of wig hairs after chemical treatment is smooth. In addition, if an unique cuticular trace lines along the hair axis can be observed on the hair surface, it will help to identify the hair wig manufacturing company. Material samples from wigs hereafter may be useful for forensic hair comparison.