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joanie_pomseed

Human Hair

joanie_pomseed
12 years ago

I accidentally posted this to Organic Gardening the first time.

Is hair one of those animal products that require special care or an extended process to compost, or can I just toss it in the pile like table scraps? I don't imagine there would be any harm in that; I mean, a lot of people here compost bird feathers without any extra trouble, right?

Can hair be cold-composted? I've seen videos of insects eating it.

Comments (10)

  • lazy_gardens
    12 years ago

    I had problems with hair from an Akita, but that's probably because they have oily undercoats.

    Toss it in and see what happens.

  • jonas302
    12 years ago

    I say toss it in as always everything in moderation just fine for a hair trim probably not a great idea with trash bags full

  • annpat
    12 years ago

    Pile it on. I warn you, though, it can clump and every time you come upon it in a garden, you will, if you're anything like me, imagine that you've just unearthed a corpse.

  • Kimmsr
    12 years ago

    Hair is keratin, a protein. Human hair can be added to your compost pile as long as not too much is added at any one time since it does tend to mat. I would be careful of hair from a source where it is bleached, dyed, and sprayed heavily.

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    12 years ago

    I don't have a problem with hair in the compost...it's the teeth and bones that are tough. ;-)

    tj

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    12 years ago

    I once had a link to one of the men's hair coloring products which said it contained arsenic. I would post it to any hair composting threads just to be a brat. None of the hyper-vigilant seemed to mind if there was arsenic in their compost.

  • Kimmsr
    12 years ago

    Arsenic is present all around us everyday. In large enough quatities it is a poison while lower levels may cause many health problems. Some of our food plants appear to uptake Arsenic to aid in controlling insect pests. In the 1700 and 1800 years women deliberately took Arsenic to improve their complexions, sometimes with really bad results.
    Like Lead Arsenic is today all around use so knowing that and that small quantities probably are not all that harmful is part of what should be our knowledge base.

  • joanie_pomseed
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, everyone. I agree with Kimmsr about the arsenic--"toxicity is quantitative. Anyone remember this from last decade?

    I don't use dyes or bleach, anyway, which is why, as I've very recently learned, my hair is the color of my soil. Whether that's a good thing or not, I suppose I'll find out. (Ann, if by 'corpse' you mean a present from my neighbor's cat, I'm inclined to agree. O_O)

  • oliveoyl3
    12 years ago

    Toss it in as long as there aren't hair products on it.

    I've also spread it as mulch or on plants or fencing when I want to discourage deer.

    Yes, to cold composting & haven't had a problem with using Pomeranian dog hair or human hair from our home haircuts.

  • toxcrusadr
    12 years ago

    I would think it's very unlikely that any product you can put directly on your body is going to cause toxic effects once filtered through the compost and mixed (read: diluted) into soil in which plants are grown. (Although the thing about arsenic in hair products is intriguing. The exposure would be much higher when using the stuff, and if it's safe for that, well.

    Keratin is the same stuff of fingernails and will break down VERY slowly.

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