Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I want to see how long it takes for hair to get oily. I want to use observation: the five senses. My dad thinks it would help to look at the hair under a microscope. Does it matter?

Hi Erin,

I think your dad has a good suggestion. I tried to find some examples on the internet for you, but I think you could do a quick test to see if there is a visual difference between normal, dry and oily hair (using the microscope). Look at your hair in its normal state and compare to images online of normal hair. then use some coconut oil ( a little goes a LONG way) to coat your hair, then look again. I suspect all those horizontal lines will be harder to see as the hair is lubricated with the oil.

Let me know if you find that to be true! If so, you have a good method to distibnguish between oily and normal hair - without relyikng on your eyes alone. And you may be able to take pictures.

Good luck!
Tonya

Hi Erin,

I think you have a great experiment started. Have you thought about how you are going to measure the amount of oil in your hair? I think a great way to test your hair to measure oil content is using a brown paper bag. You might know that when you put greasy french fries in a brown paper bag the bag turns a bit translucent. You can rub your hair on the brown paper bag and see how much the bag turns translucent at each stage of your experiment.

Tell me what you think!

Thanks,
Deja