Mechanical analysis of elasticity and flexibility of virgin and polymer-treated hair fiber assemblies.

The elasticity and flexibility of virgin and polymer-treated hair fiber assemblies were investigated by employing straight hair tresses or hair shaped into omega loops. Polymer treatment was accomplished by saturating fibers with polymeric solutions, resulting in a deposition of 10-90 mg of polymer per gram of hair. The mechanical testing procedure consisted of subjecting omega-loop-shaped hair or straight hair tresses to multiple bending deformations at 25% strain in a texture analyzer. A total of ten deformations were typically carried out, and elasticity or flexibility parameters were evaluated from data such as (a). the force at 8% deformation, i.e., within the elastic region of bending deformation for hair shaped into an omega loop, (b). maximum force in the first (F(1)) and tenth (F(10)) deformation cycles, (c). elastic modulus in the first (E(1)) and tenth (E(10)) deformation cycles, and (d). the change in hair sample dimensions between the first (H(1)) and tenth (H(10)) deformation cycles. Parameters such as stiffness ratio (1), F(10)/F(1), E(10)/E(1), and H(10)/H(1) were employed to characterize hair tress rigidity, flexibility or resistance to breakage, and plasticity. Untreated hair was found to be almost perfectly elastic and flexible at 50% RH, evident by the linear dependence of force vs deformation. Flexibility parameters F(10)/F(1), E(10)/E(1), and H(10)/H(1) were in the range of 0.95 to 1.0 at low humidity, while the parameters F(10)/F(1) and E(10)/E(1) and were 10% lower at 90% RH. Examination of polymer-modified hair allowed for classification of treatments into categories termed brittle, quite flexible and nonplastic, flexible and plastic, very flexible and very plastic, and very flexible and nonplastic. Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) is shown as an example of a quite flexible and nonplastic material, with its flexibility and stiffness dependent upon its molecular weight. The effect of plasticizers on polymer behavior is also discussed.