Why Does My Hair Get Staticky?

Dry air and wool hats make staticky hair more common in winter.

Sometimes bad hair days really do have a reason for happening. Imagine a cold winter day. When you take off a scarf or a hat, your hair might stick to it and fly away from your head. The reason is static electricity.

Charge Imbalance

The phenomenon of static electricity results from an imbalance in the positive and negative charges of the matter that makes up the objects involved.

Matter

All matter consists of atoms. An atom contains a nucleus with protons, neutrons and orbiting electrons. Protons have a positive charge, neutrons are neutral and electrons have a negative charge. These charges constantly interact.

Attraction and Repulsion

Negative charges and positive charges attract one another. Identical charges, such as two protons or two electrons, repel one another.

Causes

When two charge-balanced articles, like hair and a hat, are brought together, new attachments form between positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons in the two items. These are called chemical bonds. Typically, electrons travel from the substance that holds its electrons more loosely, building up in the other object.

Result

In the case with the hat and the hair, electrons tend to travel from your hair to the wool of the hat. When you pull off the hat, electrons that travelled over to the wool are pulled away too. This leaves your hair with a net positive charge--there are more protons than electrons.

Effect on Hair

After removing the hat, individual hairs have net positive charges. Since like charges repel, your hairs try to get as far away from each other as possible. The hairs also attract additional electrons, gradually dissipating the charge. This happens more quickly when the surrounding air has a high water content, which increases electron mobility.

References

• Science Made Simple: Static Electricity
• The Library of Congress: Everyday Mysteries
• Science Hobbyist: Static Electricity Misconceptions