ABSTRACT
This chapter assumes that hairs have been recovered/collected at the scene of an alleged crime, or items submitted to the forensic laboratory for examination that may include hairs as a physical material, including reference or known samples of hair. Based on the shaft profile, it is often possible to quickly separate human and animal hairs. The shaft profile of human scalp hair is generally quite uniform with only moderate variation in shaft diameter along the length of the hair shaft. Whilst non-scalp hairs from humans do show greater variation in diameter and shaft profile, they do not display the typical shaft profiles seen in animal hairs. Notwithstanding, care needs to be taken when examining a sample of hairs of mixed animal and human origin especially if non-scalp hairs or hairs from non-Caucasians are present. Some straight animal hairs may also not be readily distinguished on visual examination.
