What Happens To Your Hair After You Die?

Hair resists decay even after death due to keratin, a structural protein. The structure and chemical composition of keratin make it difficult for organisms to break it down.

Hair outlasts most other soft tissues due to the insoluble and stable structure of keratin. Its chemical composition makes it difficult for proteolytic enzymes  enzymes that break down proteins  to break down hair. In particular, the amino acids histidine, arginine and lysine are abundant in hair keratin, as is the amino acid cysteine. The bonds between the amino acids lead to a 3-D structure that makes keratin very resilient and hair difficult to break down.