AbstractMonitoring the wetting force exerted on a single fiber while the fiber is slowly and continuously immersed in a liquid and then withdrawn can provide several kinds of information about the physicochemical heterogeneity of the fiber surface. This method for scanning the fiber surface with an appropriate liquid has been found useful for studying the distribution of materials deposited on the surface of human hair to improve hair assembly properties, such as cationic polymers used in hair conditioners. It is shown how wetting force vs. immersion depth curves can reflect not only the average distribution of the material on the surface, but also the degree of uniformity of the deposit; further, wetting force curves for multiple immersions of the same treated fiber indicate the ease of desorption of the surface material. The results for the systems studied, which include mildly oxidized hair and smooth nylon fibers for comparison, show how the relation between the critical surface tension of the fiber and the surface tension of the treating solution influences distribution and substantivity. Finally, data on the difference between advancing and receding wettability indicate how this hysteresis is related to the nature of the surface and to surface coverage by treating agents.
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