Pele’s Hair

Pele’s hair is a type of volcanic glass formed during an eruption. The name Pele’s hair comes from the Hawaiian deity Pele, who is the goddess of volcanoes and fire. In Icelandic, it is called nornahár, which translates to witch’s hair.  

Pele’s hair is a thin glass fiber made from basaltic lava, often referred to as needles. They form when molten lava stretches into the atmosphere and then cools down very quickly. This can happen when lava is ejected into the air during an eruption or when gas bubbles near the surface of a lava flow burst.  

The fibers, or needles, are very fine and fragile. They are very narrow, usually measuring around 0.001 millimeters. They can also become quite long, with some specimens measured at over a meter in length. Because they are so fragile, you will usually find them in much shorter segments when they fall to the ground. The fibers are also very lightweight, making it easy for the wind to carry it over long distances from the eruption site before they land. The wind will sometimes sweep the strands together into a bundle that resembles human hair. 

Pele's hair occasionally forms during eruptions here in Iceland. This has happened in the most recent eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula over the past several years. As the fibers are very sharp, you should be careful when handling them. It is not advised to touch them with bare skin or breathe them in, as they can quickly become splinters and get stuck.  

You can see samples of Pele’s hair here at the Geothermal Exhibition – our current display was collected from the July 2025 eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula.