A Letter.--Trials of a Plain Woman.--The Best Husband in the
World.--Burdock Wash for the Hair.--For Children’s Hair.--Oil of Mace
as a Stimulant.--To Restore Color to the Hair.--Sperm-oil a Powerful
Hair Restorer.--The Cheapest Hair-Dye.--Cure for Chilblains.--Loose
Shoes the Cause of Corns.--Pyroligneous Acid for Corns.--Turpentine
and Carbolic Acid for Soft Corns.
Among inquiries not seldom repeated is an urgent demand for a
prescription to keep the hair from coming out. The following letter
will be acceptable to many readers.
“I was emphatically one of the ‘ugly girls,’ being of a very large
figure, and inheriting thin hair; otherwise I suited myself well
enough. But oh! the agonies I have suffered through my personal
deficiencies. Now, with a happy home of my own and the best husband in
the world, I can smile at the old distress. Yet it was no less real,
and I can pity the ugly girls as nobody but one who has ‘been there’
can.
“My hair began coming out when I was just in my teens, and has
always been the trial of my life. I have been up and down the whole
scale of restoratives, with all manner of recipes volunteered by
sympathizing friends. Last fall, after returning from a two months’
stay near Saratoga, where I had undergone a severe course of treatment
for sundry physical ills, my hair came out frightfully, till I was
almost without any, and nothing seemed to check it. A relative, an
old lady, told me to use burdock-root tea. I tried it, and it worked
like a charm. My hair has never grown as it does now, and it has
absolutely ceased coming out--something that has not been the case
for fifteen years. Something of this may be due, as far as growth is
concerned, to a receipt given me by a friend a month or so ago. It
is a family receipt, and something of a family secret. The ladies of
the house, who use it, have magnificent hair, which they attribute to
this receipt. It is a queer conglomerate, as you see: One pound of
yellow-dock root, boiled in five pints of water till reduced to one
pint; strain, and add an ounce of pulverized borax, half an ounce of
coarse salt, three ounces of sweet-oil, a pint of New England rum, and
the juice of three large red onions, perfumed at pleasure--(a quarter
of an ounce of oil of lavender and ten grains of ambergris would be
efficacious in overcoming the powerful scent of the ingredients).
“My little girl has magnificent hair, but it troubles me by coming
out this winter. As she is only five years old, I have hesitated
about putting any thing on. I wish you would some time say if it is
best to doctor a child’s hair, or let nature take its course. I have
learned that to shampoo the head with cold water every morning is an
excellent thing, as is an occasional thorough washing with soap-suds,
not rinsing the soap out completely. I have sometimes checked the fall
of hair by such means. The burdock root was also used by steeping it
in boiling water till a strong tea was made and used as a wash two or
three times a day, then at longer intervals.”
In answer to the query in the excellent letter above, it may be said
that it is always well to cure where there is disease. Simple remedies
aid nature. A child’s hair is too valuable to lose. One teaspoonful
of ammonia to a pint of warm water makes a wash that may be used on a
child’s head daily with safety. It does not split the hair, as soap
will do if left to dry in.
One of the most powerful stimulants and restoratives for the hair is
the oil of mace. Those who want something to bring hair in again are
advised to try it in preference to cantharides, which it is said to
equal, if not to surpass, without the danger of the latter. A strong
tincture for the hair is made by adding half an ounce of the oil of
mace to a pint of deodorized alcohol. Pour a spoonful or two into a
saucer; dip a small, stiff brush into it, and brush the hair smartly,
rubbing the tincture well into the roots. On bald spots, if hair will
start at all, it may be stimulated by friction with a piece of flannel
till the skin looks red, and rubbing the tincture into the scalp. This
process must be repeated three times a day for weeks. When the hair
begins to grow, apply the tincture once a day till the growth is well
established, bathing the head in cold water every morning, and briskly
brushing it to bring the blood to the surface.
When the hair loses color, it may be restored by bathing the head in a
weak solution of ammonia, an even teaspoonful of carbonate of ammonia
to a quart of water, washing the head with a crash mitten, and brushing
the hair thoroughly while wet. Bathing the head in a strong solution
of rock-salt is said to restore gray hair in some cases. Pour boiling
water on rock-salt in the proportion of two heaping table-spoonfuls to
a quart of water, and let it stand till cold before using.
The old specific of bear’s grease for the hair is hardly found now,
and one can never be sure of getting the real article; but an equally
powerful application is discovered in pure sperm-oil, of the very
freshest, finest quality. This forms the basis of successful hair
restoratives, and will not fail of effect if used alone. It is,
however, procured in proper freshness only by special importation from
the north coast of Europe.
In the list of hair-dyes, one agent has long been overlooked which is
found in the humblest households. It is too common and humble, indeed,
to excite confidence at first; but it is said that the water in which
potatoes have been boiled with the skins on forms a speedy and harmless
dye for the hair and eyebrows. The parings of potatoes before cooking
may be boiled by themselves, and the water strained off for use. To
apply it, the shoulders should be covered with cloths to protect the
dress, and a fine comb dipped in the water drawn through the hair,
wetting it at each stroke, till the head is thoroughly soaked. Let
the hair dry thoroughly before putting it up. If the result is not
satisfactory the first time, repeat the wetting with a sponge, taking
care not to discolor the skin of the brow and neck. Exposing the hair
to the sun out-of-doors will darken and set this dye. No hesitation
need be felt about trying this, for potato-water is a safe article
used in the household pharmacopœia in a variety of ways. It relieves
chilblains if the feet are soaked in it while the water is hot, and is
said to ease rheumatic gout.
Inquiries have been made after a cure for corns. It is not always the
case that they come from wearing tight shoes. I have seen troublesome
ones produced by wearing a loose cloth shoe that rubbed the sides of
the foot. It is best always to wear a snugly fitting shoe of light,
soft leather, not so tight as to be painful, nor loose enough to allow
the foot to spread. The muscles are grateful for a certain amount of
compression, which helps them to do their work.
When corns are troublesome, make a shield of buckskin leather an inch
or two across, with a hole cut in the centre the size of the corn;
touch the exposed spot with pyroligneous acid, which will eat it away
in a few applications. Besides this, a strong mixture of carbolic
acid and glycerine is good--say one half as much acid as glycerine.
Of course, only a very small quantity will be needed, and it must be
kept out of the way, for it is a burning poison. In default of these,
turpentine may be used both for corns and bunions. A weaker solution of
carbolic acid will heal soft corns between the toes.