Effect of Oil Application, Age, Diet, and Pigmentation on the Tensile Strength and Breaking Point of Hair

BACKGROUND: Hair strength depends on various factors such as nutrition, environmental factors, sunlight, oiling, aging, conditioner, etc. AIM: To compare the tensile strength and breaking point of the hair shaft between (1) vegetarian and nonvegetarian. (2) Those who regularly apply and those who do not apply oil. (3) Pigmented and nonpigmented hair, (4) childhood and elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hair fibers were mounted in tensile strength testing machine Zwick/Roell Z010 and gradual force was administered. The elongation of hair fiber in mm and the maximum force required to break the hair strand were recorded for each fiber. RESULTS: Elasticity of the children's hair was more than the elasticity of adult (P = 0.05) although tensile strength in children hair was not statistically significant (>0.05). Similarly, the tensile strength was more among those who regularly consumed nonvegetarian food but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in other groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Elasticity in children hair is statistically more than elderly hair although there is no significant change in tensile strength.