Management and Exploitation of Human Hair “Waste” as an Additive to Building Materials: A Review

Recently, biological fibers have become striking topic to researchers, scientists, and engineers as substitute reinforcement, due to their cheap availability, high aspect strength, and appreciable mechanical properties. Human hair fiber (HHF) is one of the unsullied biological fibers. Its accumulation, in the form of waste heaps or in waste stream leads to many environmental problems. All in all, three to four tons of this biological fiber is thrown around like confetti in India annually; posing an environmental challenge. Nowadays, as a commercial application, human hair waste is finding its use in the field of material science. Because of the fact that human hair is strong in tension; it can be used as a fiber reinforcement material. A substantial amount of sulfur is present in human hair because of the presence of “cysteine” amino acid, a major constituent of keratin proteins. Keratin is a primary component of human hair, which is a protein, a polymer of amino acids. Protein “keratin” is incredibly strong, insoluble, and tough. A single strand of HHF can withstand a load of 100–150 gms and on removal of the deforming load, HHF is capable to regain its original position by virtue of its elasticity. This review paper outlines the current scenario of exploitation of HHF as biological composite fiber in various fields of construction. This study shows that HHF is a highly multifaceted material with noteworthy potential in several major areas such as medical applications, cosmetic industry, agriculture, construction material, and pollution control.