Wetting properties of human hair by means of dynamic contact angle measurement

Abstract The interaction between human hair and water occurs continuously in atmospheric air, and even more so, during application of shampoo and conditioner. For this reason the wettability of hair, and how hair care products affect the wetting properties, is of interest to hair care science. In this study, the Wilhelmy balance method is used to measure dynamic contact angle of both conditioner‐treated hairs and those left untreated to study the interaction of hair with water. The method uses a microbalance to measure the force exerted on a single fiber when it is immersed into the wetting liquid of interest. This measured force is related to the wetting force of the liquid on the fiber, and the dynamic contact angle can be calculated. The contact angles of chemically damaged, mechanically damaged, virgin (undamaged) as well as conditioner‐treated hairs and those left untreated are measured and compared. These samples were measured dry, and then also allowed to soak in water before being measured to determine whether a wet environment affects the wetting properties of the hair surface. Additionally, wettability of hairs from subjects of different ethnicities are measured and compared. Further, the mechanisms driving a significant directionality dependence are studied and discussed. The results are also used to explain tribological properties found in previous studies. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:5255–5265, 2006