Use of single fibre fatiguing experiments to understand breakage in textured hair Part I

Abstract Objective Previous publications in this series have illustrated how single fibre fatigue testing makes us think about hair breakage in a very different manner to that suggested by the traditional tensile testing approach. In the current paper, this newer approach has been employed to investigate breakage in very curly textured hair—where breakage is commonly listed as the single biggest hair‐related issue. Methods Single fibre fatigue testing has been utilized to provide insight into greatly differing tendencies for breakage in Caucasian and textured hair. Results Findings illustrate the inter‐related effects of three different sizable contributions to high breakage in textured hair. Firstly, the proclivity for textured hair breakage, relative to straight Caucasian hair, under fatiguing conditions is dramatically more sizable than that seen in standard tensile experiments. Secondly, this hair type can also exhibit a high tendency for premature failure—wherein certain fibres break under very few fatiguing cycles. Finally, it is shown how higher fatiguing forces, produced by notably higher grooming forces, result in exponentially faster breakage. Conclusions Each of the three described factors provides a sizable contribution to a higher propensity for breakage in textured hair; but, in unison, the prognosis is dire. Accordingly, our work provides a simple explanation for this well‐recognized consumer issue.