However, below are a few ideas for projects involving hair based on studies that professional scientists have done at some time in hair biology history and some they may still do today for cosmetics companies. Examining hair cosmetics Many kids want to do a project on hair cosmetics. The problem with examining the effects of cosmetics on hair is that the changes are very subtle and difficult to quantify. Cosmetics companies look at hair quality by subjecting hair fiber to the cosmetic of interest and then examining the results by electron microscopy or perhaps chemical analysis. Both methods are expensive and not readily accessible to most school teachers.
Companies focus on what shampoo does to the cuticle.
These are subtle changes not easily observed. However, what students could do is mimic the semi quantifiable data collection methods that cosmetic companies use. They can get their friends to each try a different shampoo for a set length of time, ask the users for their impressions and evaluate hair quality from photos or visual examination using arbitrary scales for light reflectance, manageability, feel during application, quality impression by the user, and so on. This is not hard science but it can be made into something that requires a lot of statistical analysis and it requires good interpersonal skills. Ideally such a project would involve many people using the same shampoo to reduce the impact of the users' genetic hair quality.