Analytical Solutions
Hair

Forensic study of human hairs can provide evidential tools and helpful intelligence for the investigation of a wide variety of crimes.

For example, they may be pulled out by a victim in a struggle with an assailant; transferred through intimate contact in a sexual assault; left as traces in clothing, on tools, vehicles or points of entry at a crime scene; or impacted on a vehicle as a result of a road traffic accident.

Valuable DNA information can be obtained from the follicle or root sheath, potentially enabling the owner to be identified through comparison checking with the National DNA
Database. Examination of a hair can also reveal whether it has been shed naturally, or pulled out.

FSS’s work in this field extends to detecting and identifying animal hairs and analysing hair that has been singed or burned to help define the circumstances surrounding a fire or arson.

Fine details of hair colour and structure can be obtained through comparison microscopy, information that can help exclude individuals as suspects in an investigation. High power microscopes are also used to distinguish hairs from textile and vegetable fibres.

Traces of recreational or date-rape drugs can be detected in human hair, up to about four weeks after the substance has been taken or administered.