Human Hair Fiber as a Reinforcement Material in Composite Structures

In the last century, there has been an ever-increasing demand for novel materials namely known as composites. Biological fibers are reinforcement materials of composite structures owing to their economic and ecological advantages. Among these fibers, plant fibers are mostly preferred as reinforcement materials. However, studies using animal fibers are also noteworthy. Human hair, which considered as a waste material, is a favored biological non-degradable fiber in the field of advanced engineering materials in recent years. Their low cost, elasticity, smoothness and tolerable mechanical properties ascended their usage rates in composite structures. In addition to the utilization in thermoplastic and thermoset resins, human hair fiber also used in concrete materials. In this study, brief information about human hair fiber and its usage in composite materials are given and general information about the previous studies about human hair reinforced composites are discussed.