Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi I'm planning to do a science project on hair, and the effects of different hair product on the hair.

I know I should use a microscope, but I don't know which one to use.
I want to get a decent picture like this one -> https://www.sciencebuddies.org/Files/27 ... img018.gif
(copy and paste url)

Would I use a TEM microscope? Assuming I have access to college labs, is it really hard and expensive to operate one? Because, I would have to see a lot of different products...

Thank you so much for you help!!

In forensic labs, usually examinations of human hairs is conducted through the use of light microscopes. In the picture you linked, I think (b) would be an image you would see through the a compound microscope, but I am not sure about (c).

Here is a page that talks about hair microscopy:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensi ... Microscopy

If you are still interested in using a TEM, I don't know how much it will cost or if it is suitable for hair. I think using a light microscope will be sufficient.
Basic training for inexperienced TEM users requires a minimum of three four-hour sessions. Specimen prep for TEM requires more time and effort than for most other characterization techniques since a TEM specimen must be approximately 1000 Å or less in thickness in the area of interest and the entire specimen must fit into a shallow 3mm diameter cup.
Here is a page about a TEM facility, training, etc.:
http://web.stanford.edu/group/snl/tem.htm

Also, there is a previous thread on this forum that involving decomposition of hair over time. I think it might be helpful for your experiment (things to look for).
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... =28&t=2807

Hi there,

It really depends on what your question is, and what differences you expect to see in the hairs that have be treated with different hair products. What is your experimental setup and hypothesis? If you give us more details, we can give you more helpful advice. However, since you mentioned EM, electron microscopy is not easy to do. First of all, it takes a lot of training to learn how to process the samples, mount the samples, and then use the microscope to look at your samples. Second of all, the more difficult thing is interpreting the samples. For people who don't have much experience with electron microscopy, it will be extremely difficult to figure out if there are actually any observable differences between your samples. I've had a colleague who had an EM expert help him look at and image his samples, and he mentioned to me that he interpreted his images in the complete opposite way that the EM expert did. So unless you had an expert help you with the imaging, and in addition know enough about hair microscopy and how hair should look like normally by EM, I think it would be very difficult to do this on your own. Of course, I myself do not have much experience with electron microscopy (I just know people who have done EM before), so if I am totally off on this, experts please correct me.

Best,
Connie

Hi thank you all for your help! I decided to turn the question a little bit. My question for the experiment is, "How does different hair color and perm products damage hair" I was planning to put hair in different pH and examine the difference under a microscope.

(My dad is a doctor and he has worked with TEM before, so I'm sure he can help. )

Would it be a nice question to experiment on? How can I improve my experimental procedure?

Thank you!

Hi Silvia,

I think that is a good idea, but you should have some way to measure the "difference" between the samples. Also, you should keep the hair you are using uniform, like from one person so that variable does not change at all.

That will be great if you have access to TEM, but I think you could even do it with a light microscope, which would be easier to access and interpret the results. When I was looking this up myself, I found scientific papers that used light microscopy to look at the differences in hair. It might be difficult to get through, but I will give you the link if you want to take a look at Table 1 that explains some of the specific appearances of the damaged hairs.

I hope that helped a bit. Good luck!