Human Hair Cordage

I've noticed that a lot of the bird nests I found around were lined with hairs: dog hairs, deer hairs, etc. So, for a while, instead of throwing the hair accumulating on my hairbrush in the compost, I would go out and deposit my hair at the foot of a tree, hoping it would be useful to a little creature. It was so important to me that, even when I slept away from home and collected my hair, I would put it in my pocket instead of throwing it in the trash so that I could release it outside at a chosen spot.

And then I started thinking: maybe it could still be useful to me! I use quite a bit of cordage over the year but, unfortunately, I don't have an abundance of good cordage plants around me. I have made a fishing line out of horse hair before and am pretty happy with it, but I don't keep horses so it's also a rare resource for me. But I have lots of my own hair (though an ever decreasing amount!) so I've started making cordage out of it.

Hair Cordage

Every couple of weeks I get what's on my hairbrush (it really helps to have long hair), spin it into a good size strand, and twist it with the rest (Click on the following link to see how to make reverse wrap cordage). I can't remember exactly when I started doing it but I already have a string more than 3 feet long and it's incredibly strong!

Mass of hair

Loosely spun strand

You'll inevitably have some wild hairs sticky out of the string, especially where strands were spliced together, so bring them next to a lit candle and the loose hair will burn off. Be very careful not to get too close to the main string though or you'll weaken your cordage!



Doing this also made me think of something. When my wife and I got married we started tying knots to some cordage to mark important events in our lives, after we read some Native groups did that. We didn't keep that up very long but this hair cordage has made me think of something similar. It has some of my hair and some of her hair and if we had kids their hair could be added to it, and then the hair of their kids. It could be passed down from generation to generation, linking everyone in the family. It could be an interesting way to remember your lineage.

 Please enter your email address and click the "Sign up for updates" button below to receive our once-in-a-while newsletter for more sustainable living skills

Email:

We respect your email privacy