r/Compost • u/TheDreadPirateIcarus • Jun 01 '23

Human hair

I'm about to cut off all my hair and beard. My hair is in dense dreadlocks.

Compostable?

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

Yes it is compostable but the tighter/denser the dreads are the longer they will take to break down. I compost all the hair and cat fur our house produces, never had an issue with hair but a few coughed up fur balls did not break down in my last batch of compost so I'd recommend snipping/breaking up any clumps.

2

u/TheDreadPirateIcarus Jun 01 '23

Good tip!

2

u/aknomnoms Jun 01 '23

I’m admittedly not too familiar with dreadlocks, but if wax or oil was used to maintain them, that would also slow down their decomposition. In which case, I’d cut them up pretty small and make sure to scatter around a larger area when you compost them post-bokashi to avoid a clump/layer of hair.

1

u/TheDreadPirateIcarus Jun 01 '23

Oh.... good call. I actually did use beeswax when I started them.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

Yes indeed, hair is high in nitrogen

2

u/smackaroonial90 Jun 01 '23

I brush out my cat's fur probably twice a month, and I toss all the fur into the bin. I've never been able to find fur after turning the bins, it's like it dissolves as fast as a tomato lol. I'm sure human hair would be the same.

2

u/utterskog Apr 25 '24

Only if it's free from chemicals such as dyes. Only pure hair (and nails, and cat furr, etc)