Many years ago, my grandpa gave me a hairbrush for Christmas. However, this was not your ordinary hairbrush; this particular one claimed that it used ions to help your hair. It was called the "Ionic Hair Wand Pro," and if I recall correctly, it was supposed to make your hair more managable by causing it to tangle less. (At the time, I was about nine years old and didn't like to brush my hair...at all) Although I'm not sure it helped any, I was contemplating electric forces and charges when I remembered this brush. However, I had never known how it worked, but with my new-found Physics knowledge, I've formed a theory about how it works.
One of the parts of hair that makes it tangle is the outer part, which is make up of little plate-like flakes that can stick out and catch on other hairs' flakes, causing hair to become more tangled. So, my theory is this: the hairbrush sends out ions from a small vent in the middle of the hairbrush that come in close proximity to these flakes as the brush travels through the hair. When these charged particles approach the neutral flakes, they will cause them to become charged either by attracting electrons if the ions are positive, or by repelling electrons if the ion is negative (I'm not sure what the brush sends out). When it does this, the flakes will gain a charge, but they will also create an equal and opposite charge in the middle of the hair either by pulling electrons away from it, creating a positive middle, or by pushing electrons into it, creating a negative charge. Thus, the flakes and middle part of the hair will attract, because opposite charges attract with an equal and opposite force. This will then cause the flakes to lay down flat on the hair, keeping them from sticking up and keeping them from catching on to other hairs, causing the hair to be less tangly. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work for me; however, that may have been more the fault of my lack of frequent conditioner use and my tendency to always wear my hair down (even in the wind). I wonder if it still works? I should try it out... :-)
1 comment:
Hmm, sounds possible. I was wondering how an ionic hairdryer (or hairbrush or whatever) works the other day, when my friend used one. If you start to charge up your hair normally, like by touching a van de Graaff generator, then all your hair gets the same charge, repels itself and ends up standing on end.
It all sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but there must be some science behind it. I like this blog, I try to discuss similar things on mine sometimes too. Everyday science is really interesting!
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