meteor
March 13th, 2016, 06:44 PM
Hey, guys! :D
I've been thinking about how to make it easier to measure individual hair strand thickness without having any special tools. It seems like many people (myself included) have problems identifying their hair strands as F/M/C, let alone getting a very specific micron measurement. Sure, there are great methods out there: with rulers (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/is-your-hair-fine-medium-or-coarse-how.html) (but it is really hard to keep all strands from overlapping each other), or raw fiber measurements, for example, but that's before those fibers are turned into threads (multi-strand plying structures, twists and wraps all change the measurement), and most of us can't access raw fibers.
So here's an easy way I came up with to get a good approximation.
For this method, you'll need only:
- a ruler or a measuring tape (calibrated to at least millimeters);
- a thick book or multiple books or notepads or a stack of paper for printing (preferably new, not too ruffled).
Steps:
1. Look at the page count (we are assuming that all the pages are still there!)
2. Press down on the book/stack of pages (use a paper weight, if needed).
3. Measure accurately the thickness with a ruler/tape.
4. Divide the measurement by the page count. Now you have the thickness of the paper (a.k.a. the "caliper" in the paper industry).
5. Compare different strands of your hair to that paper thickness. Take pictures, if it helps figure it out better. (Most people will have a combination of different thicknesses growing on different parts of the scalp, so try a few strands).
6. You can continue this procedure with different types of paper to get more and more precise measurement (for example, magazines, postal cards, arts books tend to have thicker caliper)
1 millimeter = 1,000 µm, i.e. micron (a.k.a. micrometer)
Ranges:
There isn't a standardized approach for this, since hair is organic matter and can have pretty different structures even on the same head.
I'm going to suggest Science-y's breakdown (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/is-your-hair-fine-medium-or-coarse-how.html), though there are many others out there (*):
< 40 µm -> very fine (**)
40 - 60 µm -> fine
60 - 80 µm -> medium
> 80 µm -> coarse
Additionally, there can be an even more detailed (***) breakdown for coarse hair:
80 - 95 µm -> slightly coarse
95 - 110 µm -> moderately coarse
> 110 µm -> very coarse
* e.g. 17 - 181 microns (http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/BrianLey.shtml)
58 - 100 microns (http://www.hair-science.com/_int/_en/topic/topic_sousrub.aspx?tc=ROOT-HAIR-SCIENCE^PORTRAIT-OF-AN-UNKNOWN-ELEMENT^WHAT-WE-DO-SEE&cur=WHAT-WE-DO-SEE)
< 40 microns = fine; 70 microns = medium; > 110 = coarse (http://www.philipkingsley.co.za/hair-types)
** From a sample Goosefootprints report (https://www.etsy.com/listing/165203245/mini-hair-physical-analysis?ref=shop_home_active_2)
*** From this post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128902&p=2919724&viewfull=1#post2919724)
Additional note for coarsies:
Another thing worth comparing to is a toothbrush bristle. (It's easier to compare if you cut a small piece of hair the same size as a tooth brush bristle and lay them next to each other.)
Different sources give different measurements for tooth brush bristles, for example:
- 300 microns (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/wasco/sites/default/files/smallfarms/featured-articles/pesticides/DriftManagement0904.pdf);
- 200 (soft bristle), 300 (medium bristle), or 400 (hard bristle) (http://www.ijdr.in/article.asp?issn=0970-9290;year=2006;volume=17;issue=4;spage=167;epage=1 70;aulast=Sasan)
But despite the variation, all the measurements I've seen are still way above the threshold for coarse hair, so if your hair is comparable to a toothbrush bristle, it's probably very coarse. ;)
Additional note for fineys:
And if your hair is more on the really fine side of the spectrum, spiderweb from a garden spider might be worth a look. :)
Garden spider's silk is on average 3-4 microns (http://web.mit.edu/3.064/www/slides/Ko_spider_silk.pdf), so 10 times as thick as silkworm's silk (http://www.earthlife.net/chelicerata/silk.html)
This electron microscopic study (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr07/luke/) contains a very cool picture (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr07/luke/HAIR3.JPG) (and this one (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr07/luke/TWOHAIR.JPG), too) that shows how tiny a spiderweb silk fiber is when it's placed on top of coarse (80 microns) hair: the measurement in this case for spider silk was only 1 micron.
Basically, if the hair is even somewhat comparable to spider silk, it's probably very fine.
Hope this can help someone who may be having problems figuring out their hair strands' thickness! :flower:
I've been thinking about how to make it easier to measure individual hair strand thickness without having any special tools. It seems like many people (myself included) have problems identifying their hair strands as F/M/C, let alone getting a very specific micron measurement. Sure, there are great methods out there: with rulers (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/is-your-hair-fine-medium-or-coarse-how.html) (but it is really hard to keep all strands from overlapping each other), or raw fiber measurements, for example, but that's before those fibers are turned into threads (multi-strand plying structures, twists and wraps all change the measurement), and most of us can't access raw fibers.
So here's an easy way I came up with to get a good approximation.
For this method, you'll need only:
- a ruler or a measuring tape (calibrated to at least millimeters);
- a thick book or multiple books or notepads or a stack of paper for printing (preferably new, not too ruffled).
Steps:
1. Look at the page count (we are assuming that all the pages are still there!)
2. Press down on the book/stack of pages (use a paper weight, if needed).
3. Measure accurately the thickness with a ruler/tape.
4. Divide the measurement by the page count. Now you have the thickness of the paper (a.k.a. the "caliper" in the paper industry).
5. Compare different strands of your hair to that paper thickness. Take pictures, if it helps figure it out better. (Most people will have a combination of different thicknesses growing on different parts of the scalp, so try a few strands).
6. You can continue this procedure with different types of paper to get more and more precise measurement (for example, magazines, postal cards, arts books tend to have thicker caliper)
1 millimeter = 1,000 µm, i.e. micron (a.k.a. micrometer)
Ranges:
There isn't a standardized approach for this, since hair is organic matter and can have pretty different structures even on the same head.
I'm going to suggest Science-y's breakdown (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/is-your-hair-fine-medium-or-coarse-how.html), though there are many others out there (*):
< 40 µm -> very fine (**)
40 - 60 µm -> fine
60 - 80 µm -> medium
> 80 µm -> coarse
Additionally, there can be an even more detailed (***) breakdown for coarse hair:
80 - 95 µm -> slightly coarse
95 - 110 µm -> moderately coarse
> 110 µm -> very coarse
* e.g. 17 - 181 microns (http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/BrianLey.shtml)
58 - 100 microns (http://www.hair-science.com/_int/_en/topic/topic_sousrub.aspx?tc=ROOT-HAIR-SCIENCE^PORTRAIT-OF-AN-UNKNOWN-ELEMENT^WHAT-WE-DO-SEE&cur=WHAT-WE-DO-SEE)
< 40 microns = fine; 70 microns = medium; > 110 = coarse (http://www.philipkingsley.co.za/hair-types)
** From a sample Goosefootprints report (https://www.etsy.com/listing/165203245/mini-hair-physical-analysis?ref=shop_home_active_2)
*** From this post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128902&p=2919724&viewfull=1#post2919724)
Additional note for coarsies:
Another thing worth comparing to is a toothbrush bristle. (It's easier to compare if you cut a small piece of hair the same size as a tooth brush bristle and lay them next to each other.)
Different sources give different measurements for tooth brush bristles, for example:
- 300 microns (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/wasco/sites/default/files/smallfarms/featured-articles/pesticides/DriftManagement0904.pdf);
- 200 (soft bristle), 300 (medium bristle), or 400 (hard bristle) (http://www.ijdr.in/article.asp?issn=0970-9290;year=2006;volume=17;issue=4;spage=167;epage=1 70;aulast=Sasan)
But despite the variation, all the measurements I've seen are still way above the threshold for coarse hair, so if your hair is comparable to a toothbrush bristle, it's probably very coarse. ;)
Additional note for fineys:
And if your hair is more on the really fine side of the spectrum, spiderweb from a garden spider might be worth a look. :)
Garden spider's silk is on average 3-4 microns (http://web.mit.edu/3.064/www/slides/Ko_spider_silk.pdf), so 10 times as thick as silkworm's silk (http://www.earthlife.net/chelicerata/silk.html)
This electron microscopic study (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr07/luke/) contains a very cool picture (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr07/luke/HAIR3.JPG) (and this one (http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr07/luke/TWOHAIR.JPG), too) that shows how tiny a spiderweb silk fiber is when it's placed on top of coarse (80 microns) hair: the measurement in this case for spider silk was only 1 micron.
Basically, if the hair is even somewhat comparable to spider silk, it's probably very fine.
Hope this can help someone who may be having problems figuring out their hair strands' thickness! :flower: