The effectiveness of microwave-assisted extraction of proteins from human hair samples was evaluated. Extractions were performed from 2-mg hair samples in an extraction solution consisting of 25 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5), 2.6 M thiourea, 5 M urea, and 5% mercaptoethanol. During extraction, samples were exposed to microwave radiation (600 W) for a specified incubation period (5-120 min). The extraction efficiency of samples that had been incubated for 60 min was similar to that of samples that had been heated at 50°C for 24 h using the conventional Shindai method.