Questions about a human hair braclet of all things

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I've heard of jewelry and bracelets made from human hair before, but I have no actual experience with them. I know they were popular during the 18th (maybe 19th) century, but a lot of people have never even heard of them in these modern times. I don't ever intend to make such a thing or wear one, but I'm thinking of using one in my story. The tale itself is set in a dystopian future Earth where most of humanity has been enslaved by a malevolent race of aliens. Anyway one of the characters had a twin sister who was extremely close to her, but who unfortunately passed away a number of years before the events of the story (I'm thinking maybe 5-10 years, but I haven't specified an amount of time). I had this idea that the character in question would wear a braided bracelet made of her sister's hair in order to honor the memory of her sibling.

I know this is a rather odd request, but I have a faint hope that someone might have some practical knowledge regarding the subject or in the very least hair in general. I grew frustrated with google and was unable to find the answer I was looking for. I have two questions the first being: After being separated from the head for a long period of time does hair become brittle or deteriorate? And secondly, Would a bracelet made from human hair require any special care or maintenance?

Thanks in advanced! :D

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What you want to do is

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What you want to do is research horsehair rope. Braided horsehair is still used for some things. Also, you can look at natural hair brushes.

Hair does become brittle - it's just a protein structure, after all. However, keep in mind that the hair on your head is dead too. It doesn't degrade very quickly, and would effectively last forever with natural skin oils, as long as you don't keep abusing it with weird chemicals. Weaving it together increases the strength so you don't end up stretching all the hairs until they break.

If you're looking at DNA, however, that's only found on the follicle, and it would tend to degrade over time, even if the entire hair was used (with follicle).

There _was_ a fad of sandwiching hair between glass or crystal and using that as a locket. That might be more what you're looking for. It's often baby hair to remember an infant.

I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Jewelry made from hair

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Jewelry made from hair is what I typed into Yahoo search and one of the entries I got was Hair Jewelry on Wikipedia.

And in answer to hair deteriorating, no, hair is actually a very long-lasting substance. Consider that the best wigs are made from human hair.

Yes they are - but they still

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Yes they are - but they still have to be cared for. They only 'last' better because they aren't directly attached to the scalp to pick up dander, oils, and smegma. You still have to clean them eventually :)

Hair itself does become brittle as it loses the oils that allow flexibility. It just doesn't disintegrate quickly (thus the corpses that are basically bones and hair).

My wife actually gave a bunch of her hair (combouts and from haircut) to someone at Greenfield Village, who turned it into a braided keychain. (My wife has gorgeous naturally red hair that's extremely thick. The keychain wasn't for her - the guy she gave it to wanted it for himself/herself (I don't remember if it was a man or woman)

BW

I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Lasts a very long time.

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The Egyptology records show that many of the mummies have human hair wigs that had not decomposed. Hair from mastodons Ice mummies still is of high quality.

Would those Aliens be from the planet Federal Reserve and the race are called Bankers.

Just a question?

huggles
Michele

With those with open eyes the world reads like a book

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Good Aliens

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I am fond of writing about good aliens. One aspect of your story could be that good aliens could eventually find their way to your protagonist and if there were a couple of follicles woven into the bracelet, perhaps they could recreate, or make a clone of the lost sibling?

Just a thought. :)

Gwendolyn

Google

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Daniela Wolfe's picture

If you read my original post you will note that I mention I did a google search before asking here. I did find some sites that did have information about hair jewelry, but did not turn up any that answered the specific questions that I asked. Which is why I came here.

Have delightfully devious day,

Thanks all

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Daniela Wolfe's picture

Thanks all for the helpful responses (including the one I received via PM!).

Hope you all have a delightfully demented day. :D

Have delightfully devious day,

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