Keratin Glue

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

In the daily deluge of suggested purchases from Ali came this:

Tsitsi Best Quality 200-1000PCS Italian Keratin Glue Granule/Beads/Grain With Glue Melting Pot For Human Hair Extension and DIY
SPECIFICATION:

Quantity: 200/400/600/800/1000 PCS

Material: EVA

Melting Point: 270℉ to 340℉

Curing Time: 10 to 15 seconds

Cooling Time: 5 to 10 minutes
WHY CHOOSE US?

1000pcs keratin extensions kits with strong adhesion is enough to solve many adhesion problems in your daily life.
Our keratin glue for hair extension made of non-toxic and harmless materials, is safe to use and won’t harm your hair.
You can use these keratin hair extensions to decorate manuals,cartons, toys, shoes, ceramics. All keratin glue beads will provide you convenience during DIY.
REMOVAL GUIDE:

Step 1: Add few drops of acetone on the keratin bonds.

Step 2: Crunch the keratin glue with ridged removal pliers until the keratin beads turn dry and powdery.

Step 3: Comb out powder and wipe hair to make it clean.

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I had never heard of Ketatin Glue, but the stated properties sound useful.

MichaelG.

[Gerard O’TooleParticipant @gerardotoole60348]

Never heard of it until now but a quick internet search seems to suggest it is what was traditionally used as wood glue. As a child my job was to watch the glue pot as it was heated to melt the glue when my father was doing any cabinet making. Not sure I would ever want to put it in my hair.

What is advertised seems to be a very refined version of this old traditional glue.

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

Sounds right to me Gerard, traditional wood glue came in semi-translucent beads whuch you heated in a special glue pot – Inner pot for glue which sat in a larger outer pot for hot water. It had a unique smell – which I agree seems an odd choice to go anywhere near your hair

My understanding was that it was made from animal waste (Hair, hooves etc) which is what Keratin is.

Mike

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Isn’t it just the old “animal glue” given a fancy name so as not to put people off.

Also used in some paints

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Michael — It does sound interesting reading the script you have copied in but like Mike & Jason it sounds to me to be the traditional glue used for woodwork until the plethora of modern adhesives appeared.

I recall using it in the school woodwork classes in the 1950’s and the unique smell, never used it at home probably because we didn’t have the kit to melt it thus used Cascamit [?spelling]

Don’t fancy it in my hair — but then not into such things as hair extensions etc etc big believer in accepting and enjoying whatever mother nature bestowed upon us !

John

[peak4Participant @peak4]

My real query is their description “Material: EVA”
It’s not EVA if it’s Keratin glue.

” Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate, a versatile copolymer known for its rubber-like qualities”

A more familiar name in The UK  for “Keratin Glue” might be Pearl Glue, still used by cabinet makers & luthiers etc.

Lots of UK suppliers without going to Ali, this is just one of many
https://restoration-materials.co.uk/product/pearl-glue-500gms/

Bill

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

I think it, or something similar, is still used today when a reversible bond might be required.  Just heat the joint to soften the glue and seperate the joint.  The name “hide glue” springs to mind.  Often used for veneering if I recall.

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Yes John, “Cascamite, I think.   It was the only glue I ever found to be any use. Used to be sold by a company named “Borden” as I recall. Are they still around ?

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Cascamite is Urea Formaldehyde. I’m not a chemist but that doesn’t sound like animal glue. Please correct me if I’m wrong

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Cascamite is powdered resin and sometimes marketed as Extramite. The present version doesn’t seem to be so effective as the original. Not a glue you would use by choice today really.

The two part Urea Formaldehyde glue is Aerolite – very smelly stuff.

Both are still used in specialist applications but epoxy or PVA is the norm now.

Keratin is indeed animal glue, they used to boil down horse’s hooves. It is still used in traditional cabinet making and carpentry. As mentioned above, the joint can be disassembled and remade if necessary.

Colin

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

As I recall Cascamite was invented in WW2 and made from Milk somehow – desperate measures using what was available.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Correction to above, Cascamite is indeed Urea Formaldehyde. but only requires water to set it. Aerolite also has a powdered resin but uses a hardener to speed setting time.

It is Casein glue that has milk protein as a basis although there seem to be other recipes.

Colin

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Most of the musical instruments I’ve made are held together with hot hide glue.  Great stuff, completely reversible so you can try, try and try again until you get it right.  Incidentally, a babies bottle warmer keeps it at just the right temperature – no need to buy a £200 electric glue pot.  I guess the reason to use it for hair extensions is that it will wash out easily.  Mind you, the smell is an aquired taste.

My completed projects

Rod

[MichaelRParticipant @michaelr]

The joiners shop where I served my time (1951) we used a powdered glue called Casco it was just like powdered Horlicks the hot drink powder. when Cascamite came on the market we used that.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Glad to have half-awakened some memories

Born 1949 … I distinctly remember the glue-pot warming in our woodwork classes.

MichaelG.

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I cannot in any way endorse the advertiser’s claims … I simply quoted verbatim.

MichaelG.

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[Adam MaraParticipant @adammara]

I  grew up in a flat above an ironmongers shop,  and started work there in 1956. In one of the draws under the tool counter was “Scotch” glue,  a slab brown material, about 6″ x 4″ x 1/4″, which was broken up and melted down in a pot  (still have the pot!). later on it was joined by “Pearl” glue, which was easier to deal with.  I was told it was made from animal bones. it stank, whatever!

Richard

[MichaelRParticipant @michaelr]

One of my boyhood hobbies was making “Micro Models” the card models of that time, I used a glue called Seccotine from what I remember about that glue was the peculiar smell it had.

https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Seccotine

[Julie AnnParticipant @julieann]

Duncan is correct; Cascamite is an urea/formaldehyde resin glue for woodwork and is synthetic. Another UF glue is Kaurit, widely used in Schleicher wooden gliders. Unfortunately Kaurit glue does not age well if conditions are not right. Schleicher wooden gliders in the UK are now subject to mandatory inspection under British Gliding Association rules, and may need to be scrapped if significant glue failure has occurred.

The glue made from milk is casein; widely used for general woodwork and many pre-war aircraft and gliders. However it it prone to deterioration in hot and humid conditions. Being a natural material it also makes a tasty meal for insects.

For this reason synthetic glues were developed for aircraft before, and during, WW2. The two best known synthetic wood glues for aircraft are Aerolite and Aerodux.

Aerolite is a urea/formaldehyde resin glue, which oddly doesn’t seem to have quite the same degredation characteristics of Kaurit. Aerolite comes as an off white powder which is mixed with warm water to form a paste. The paste is put on one part to be joined and the other part brushed with a thin liquid, which is an acid hardener. The parts are then mated and clamped. The acid hardeners are coloured depending on the speed of curing. Aerolite was developed just before WW2, in Cambridge, and was widely used for wooden aircraft manufacture in WW2.

Aerodux is a phenol-resorcinol resin developed, I think, by Ciba-Geigy in their factory near Duxford, hence the name. Aerodux is a brown liquid resin which is mixed with a liquid hardener to form a thickish brown liquid which is applied equally to both parts to be glued before assembly.

Personally I prefer Aerodux for aircraft repairs as it is less prone to degredation than Aerolite and, as long as it is mixed properly one can be confident that a sound joint has been made.

Julie

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

And what is keratin? So far we have learnt the adhesive was once made from boiled hooves.

It comes in different forms but is a fibrous protein common to many animals (including us) for making hair, nails, claws and hooves, scales, the outer layer of the skin, and similar components, according to creature.

It is extremely insoluble in water… as one might expect, I suppose.

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