Hair and Fiber Collection Techniques

Recover all hair present. If possible, use the fingers or tweezers to pick up hair, place in paper bindles or coin envelopes which should then be folded and sealed in larger envelopes. Label the outer sealed envelop.



If hair is attached, such as in dry blood, or caught in metal or a crack of glass, do not attempt to remove it but rather leave hair intact on the object. If the object is small, mark it, wrap it, and seal it in an envelope. If the object is large, wrap the area containing the hair in paper to prevent loss of hairs during shipment.



Fibers and threads can also be compared with suspects clothing to determine whether or not they could have come from this clothing.



 If threads or large fibers are found, they can often be picked up with the fingers and placed in a paper bindle, then in a coin envelope, which can be sealed and marked. Never place loose fibers directly into a mailing envelope since they can be lost from this type of envelope.
If the fibers are short or few in number, and if it is possible to do so, wrap the area or the entire item containing the fibers in paper and send the whole exhibit to the Laboratory.
Pick up fibers on tape only if the laboratory in your jurisdiction allows it and gives you its requirements. When fibers or threads are recovered, always send all clothing of persons from which they might have originated to the Laboratory for comparison purposes.
 




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