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Preparation of a Whole Mount Hair Slide

1. Pluck a hair from your head so as to obtain the root as well as the shaft. 

2. Since the hair may possibly be longish, we will use an oversized (24mm x40 mm) cover slip.

3. A mounting medium with a refractive index similar to that of glass will be used so as to maximize the microscopic lighting. 

4. Wet a small surface of the slide with the mounting medium. Place the hair sample in the wet area to secure the hair in place. In order to observe long hairs, place the specimen on the slide in a figure eight pattern and use three areas of tacking, as shown blow. Make certain that the ends and the shaft are restrained enough to be completely covered by the cover slip. 

5. Holding the cover slip horizontally in one hand, add the mounting medium to the cover slip. 

6. Holing the cover slip horizontally in one hand, add the mounting medium to the cover slip. (Use about 4 drops) Quickly invert the cover slip onto the slide starting at one edge and pivoting the other edge down as illustrated below. This helps eliminate air trapped in the hair mount.

7. If the mounting medium does not completely fill the cover slip, add more along the side, as illustrated below. The medium will be pulled under the cover slip by capillary action. 

8. Observe the slide under low and high power. Examine the root, scan the length of the shaft from proximal to distal (tip) ends. Record diagrams and your observations on the next page. Estimate the diameter of the shaft. (Do you recall how the microscope can be used as a tool of measurement?)

9. Examine the slides of three other classmates whose hair appears to be morphologically different from your own. Diagram these samples under high power.