Bad hair day? A team of Irish scientists has investigated why it happens

Knots... split ends... humidity problems... the team at Trinity College Dublin came up with a special machine to test different hair types and reactions to some cosmetic treatments

Splitting of hair, creating ‘split ends’, is a very common problem which has been extensively documented. However, the mechanics underlying the splitting phenomenon are poorly understood. This is partly owing to the lack of a test in which splitting can be generated and quantified under laboratory conditions. So TCD scientists came up with the 'moving loop fatigue machine'. Picture: Alamy

A team at Trinity College Dublin has literally been splitting hairs to find out why we have bad hair days. 

We all have a bad hair day from time to time, and split ends are a common problem. However, the science behind this kind of hair damage is poorly understood, so the Trinity team, led by Professor David Taylor, has been investigating this knotty problem.