Human hair works as nutrient, study finds

STARKSVILLE, Miss., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Human hair, normally swept and tossed from barber and beauty shops, can be used as a nutrient source for container plants, U.S. researchers said.

A study indicates human hair cubes could, in some instances, support plant growth in horticulture crops as the plants' sole source of nutrients, the American Society for Horticultural Science said Monday in a news release.

The study by Mississippi State University researches studied productivity lettuce, wormwood, yellow poppy and feverfew. They reported finding crops receiving hair waste cubes had increased yields when compared with the control group of untreated crops, but were lower than yields receiving inorganic treatments.

Once hair waste starts to degrade, "it can provide sufficient nutrients to container-grown plants to ensure similar yields to those obtained with the commonly used fertilizers in horticulture," researcher Vlatcho Zheljazkov said. "However, it takes time for the hair to start degrading and releasing nutrients, as is reflected in lower yields in the hair treatments relative to the inorganic fertilizers for lettuce and wormwood."

Because of possible health concerns, the researchers said more study was needed to determine whether human hair waste is a viable option as fertilizer for edible crops.