Hair and Fiber

1. History of:

• Hair Analysis- In December 1995 the Society of Hair Testing was founded to promote the research in hair testing technologies in forensic, clinical and occupational sciences, to develop the international proficiency tests, to organize meetings and workshops and to encourage the scientific cooperation and exchanges among members. Ever since then, hair analysis has evolved into a forensic science which helps prove a suspects guilt or innocence. It can be compared to the hair found at the crime. Hair can also tell much about the person who it came from. It leaves evidences of drugs for a number of years.
• Fiber Analysis- Fiber analysis has been used for many years. A known fiber can be compared under a microscope to the sample found at the crime scene. If it matches, it is likely that the suspect is guilty. There are many different types of fibers; Clothing, Cotton, String, Flax, Etc. These different types of fibers help provide tangible evidence to use in court.

2. Techniques Used to Identify:

• Hair- Hair can be looked at under a microscope to help see it better. Each persons hair has different qualities. For example, a human hair has a line down the middle, but an animal's hair is solid throughout. Color and thickness is also used to compare hair samples.
• Fiber- Fiber also can be look at under the microscope. Each fiber has their own components that help make them what they are. For example, the picture to the left shows an unknown fiber under a microscope. Because of the picture, we know that it is a type of rope that is twisted together.

3. Pictures and Analysis of Pictures From Lab

In lab, we looked at several different hair and fiber samples. We had a white male hair, black male hair, asian hair, color treated hair, dog hair, cat hair, and synthetic hair. We looked at each of them under a microscope. We were then asked to draw and describe what we saw. Then, we used the information we had gathered to figure out what the unknown sample was.

4. Guesses/Justifications of Lab Findings

My group decided that the unknown sample was a white male hair. We came to this consensus because both the white male hair and the unknown had a "road" going down the middle with about the same thickness.