Cosmoponics: organic hair products from aquaponics

Jan. 8, 2019

Author: eglash


In January 2019 Dr. Michael Lachney brought together Black hair salon owners, urban growers and other interested citizens for a "Cosmoponics" workshop at the Ypsilanti library in Michigan. Focusing on the CSDT "pH Empowered" they experimented with the ways that Arduino sensors could be used in both testing hair products for health and testing water as a growing medium. Each team then created a prototype for how the sensor would communicate its warning to the users. Cosmetologists, who were interested in growing plants as the ingredients for natural hair products, show off their concept in the image above. Afterwards Dr. Lachney worked with the Ypsilanti librarians to set up a live aquaponics system in the youth programs space, were they are growing mint plants to be used in some hair product experiments by local students.