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After a haircut, our hair is typically swept away and thrown into the garbage, seemingly gone forever. However, some innovative individuals have discovered extraordinary ways to repurpose this human hair.
While some of these uses are practical and beneficial, others are downright quirky. Regardless, they showcase creativity and challenge our perceptions of hair. Below is a list of 10 bizarre ways human hair has been utilized throughout history.
10. Chair Made from Hair
Human hair surpasses fiberglass in strength, and one innovator harnessed this strength to craft a practical consumer item. Ronald Thompson, a former celebrity hairstylist, designed the “Stiletto Chair,” primarily constructed from human hair. He collected discarded hair from London barbershops and salons to bring this unique creation to life.
The prototype chair utilized 2 kilograms (4.5 lb) of hair. Thompson envisions this unique material as a viable substitute for fiberglass in products like footwear, apparel, and marine components. “It’s adaptable, waterproof, non-conductive, resistant to corrosion and fire, robust, durable, and can rival materials such as medium-density fiberboard, fiberglass, polymers, and aluminum,” Thompson explained.
The bronze-coated prototype chair was priced at $15,000. However, Thompson aims to develop more affordable versions in the coming years.
9. Hair-Based Jewelry
The Victorians expressed grief in a distinctive manner by crafting jewelry from the hair of deceased loved ones. Following the death of her husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria wore a locket containing his hair. Brooches and pendants with intricately woven hair were common during this era. While hair jewelry may seem unusual today, it was once a cherished and stylish way to remember the departed.
Hair jewelry not only symbolized a bond with someone who had passed but also served as a token of connection to living friends, children, or spouses. Numerous examples of such jewelry are displayed at Leila’s Hair Museum in Missouri.
Leila’s Hair Museum, the only one of its kind globally, houses over 2,000 pieces of hair-based jewelry. Each item narrates a story, often inscribed with the name, birth date, and death date of the person whose hair was used.
8. Hair-Infused Soy Sauce
A Chinese company introduced powders and liquids derived from human hair as a novel ingredient for soy sauce. Rich in protein, similar to soybeans, wheat, and bran, the hair-based products contained amino acids essential for soy sauce production. These ingredients were distributed to soy sauce manufacturers nationwide.
Employees at the company sorted human hair from unclean bags, processed it without washing, and turned it into powder and liquid. Health authorities cautioned that using hair in this manner could pose serious risks. Government experts highlighted that human hair contains toxic elements like lead and arsenic, which can damage the liver, kidneys, and bloodstream, and may even lead to cancer.
7. Boosts Agricultural Growth
Human hair has also been utilized as a fertilizer and a natural weed repellent. Its effectiveness has been likened to chemical fertilizers. Smart Grow, a company, produces hair mats that serve as organic growth enhancers when placed near plant roots and as weed barriers when used aboveground. This innovative approach helps farmers avoid synthetic fertilizers and herbicides.
The company was established by Phil McCrory, a former hairstylist, who sought a practical use for the hair he collected at work. While his idea is innovative, the practice of using human hair as fertilizer dates back to ancient Chinese farmers, who combined hair with excrement to nourish their crops.
6. Hair-Based Incense
Anyone who has encountered the odor of burning hair knows it’s far from pleasant. Yet, in ancient India, human hair was a key component in crafting incense.
To appease demons and spirits, they combined human hair with ginger, fragrant leaves, or aromatic resins to produce a soothing scent. This practice was employed when spirits engaged in activities deemed unfavorable by the ancient Indians.
Another variation of incense involved blending human hair with less appealing substances, such as pig manure, to create a foul odor intended to drive away malevolent spirits.
5. Natural Pest Repellent
For centuries, human hair has served as a natural pest repellent in the United States, India, and China. Beyond its use as a fertilizer, hair can also prevent animals from invading gardens. It effectively repels snails, rodents, rabbits, and deer. To deter other animals, cheesecloth or nylon bags filled with unwashed hair can be tied to posts near or within garden areas.
The scent of hair used for pest control fades after two weeks, requiring regular replacement. Mixing dog or cat hair with human hair can enhance its effectiveness in gardens. If you’re seeking a simple and cost-effective solution to protect your garden from pests, hair is an excellent choice!
4. Hair-Based Clothing
While it might seem uncomfortable, human hair has been used to craft clothing. Bill Black, a barber, repurposed hair collected from his clients to create unique items, including a bikini resembling a standard B-cup size.
His wife modeled the bikini but found it too itchy—unsurprisingly. Black also designed penny loafers, underwear, hats, shirts, and vests using human hair.
A more unconventional approach came from Sarah Louise Bryan, 28, who fashioned a top and skirt from pubic hair, attempting to sell them for approximately $13,000.
The project took six months to complete. She began with a thin steel base, attaching the hair with hot glue. Fortunately, she sterilized the hair using hot water to eliminate any bacteria.
3. Hair-Based Musical Instruments
Among the Mangyans, the indigenous people of Mindoro in the Philippines, one notable musical instrument is the gitgit, a three-stringed violin that uses human hair for its strings.
This instrument was traditionally played by men to serenade a female love interest, signaling their arrival at her home. While many historical instruments used human hair strings, modern artists have also explored innovative uses of hair in music.
Tadas Maksimovas, an experimental artist, created a unique performance piece called Hair Music (The Experiment), where he uses his own hair, still attached to his head, as part of the instrument.
He bonds his waist-length hair into fibrous strands, attaching them to a violin’s tuning pegs and stretching them like traditional strings. Musician Eimantas Belickas then plays the instrument by drawing a bow across Maksimovas’s hair. While the project is fascinating, Maksimovas sacrifices his long hair at the end, a small price for his artistic expression.
2. Artistic Creations from Hair
For centuries, human hair has been utilized in artistic expressions across the world. Beyond Victorian-era jewelry, as showcased in Leila’s Hair Museum, hair has been crafted into wreaths, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, hat pins, cufflinks, buttons, and more. While hair art peaked during the Victorian era, it continues to inspire contemporary art today.
A striking example is a massive banner made of human hair displayed at Dartmouth College’s Baker-Berry Library. Measuring 24 meters (80 ft) by 4 meters (13 ft), the artwork incorporated 190 kilograms (420 lb) of hair gathered from 42,000 haircuts.
The hair was collected over several months from Dartmouth students, faculty, staff, and local residents. Titled “green house,” the banner’s green lettering symbolized money, highlighting the intertwined relationship between education and capitalism.
1. Oil Spill Cleanup Using Hair
Phil McCrory, the former hairstylist who developed hair mats for fertilizing plants, also pioneered the use of hair to address oil spills. Inspired by the 1989 Alaska oil spill, where he observed oil clinging to an otter’s fur, he wondered, “If animal fur can trap oil, why not human hair?”
To test his theory, McCrory filled his wife’s pantyhose with 2.2 kilograms (5 lb) of human hair, tying the ends to form a ring. He then poured water into his son’s wading pool and added used motor oil to the center.
By pulling the hosiery ring through the water, the oil adhered to the hair, forming layers on its surface. This allowed the oil to be easily collected and reused, demonstrating the effectiveness of hair in oil spill cleanup.
McCrory collaborated with NASA to evaluate his invention in controlled lab settings. Results revealed that 4 liters (1 gal) of oil could be absorbed in under two minutes using his technique. Additionally, the method proved cost-effective for cleanup operations. McCrory’s innovative approach to repurposing human hair showcases his ingenuity.
