The importance of hair in human perception of electric fields - A double-blind repeated measures study

Electric fields (EFs) are an integral part of modern life which might affect humans in terms of conscious perception. Despite their ubiquity, the mechanisms underlying EF perception remain underexplored. To elucidate interindividual variance, this study investigates the influence of human hair on the perception of alternating current (AC) EFs, direct current (DC) EFs, and hybrid EFs using a double-blind repeated measures design. Thirty healthy participants were exposed to various EF strengths while their hair characteristics and environmental conditions were systematically manipulated. The findings indicate that hair plays a crucial role in EF detection, as removal of hair markedly increased detection thresholds for all EF types. Furthermore, correlations were observed between hair moisture content and DC EF sensitivity, as well as between arm hair roughness and AC EF sensitivity. Factors such as environmental relative humidity and the application of mascara directly influenced the EF detection performance. The findings suggest that both the presence and properties of hair notably contribute to how humans are affected in their perceptual experience of EFs, highlighting the need for further research into individual characteristics that influence the EF perception mechanisms.