Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet Treatment of Human Hair Fibers

In 2015, a study explored the impact of atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatments on human hair fibers, using helium, helium/oxygen, argon, and argon/oxygen plasma jets, and compared the effects to those of hydrogen peroxide treatment. The plasma treatments, applied for 10 minutes at 20 W power, were found to effectively remove organic residues and create oxidized functional groups on the hair surface. Helium plasma provided a mild cleaning effect, while argon/oxygen plasma showed the strongest corrosive effect, which could potentially restore dyed hair fibers and replace peroxide treatments. The study, which utilized scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for analysis, concluded that plasma jet treatments could be a viable alternative for hair care and treatment, with potential applications in cleaning hair surfaces for analytical purposes and forensics.