1. TO BEAUTIFY THE HAIR.--Keep the head clean, the pores of the skin
open, and the whole circulatory system in a healthy condition, and you
will have no need of bear's grease (alias hog's lard). Where there
is a tendency in the hair to fall off on account of the weakness or
sluggishness of the circulation, or an unhealthy state of the skin,
cold water and friction with a tolerably stiff brush are probably the
best remedial agents.
2. BARBER'S SHAMPOOS.--Are very beneficial if properly prepared. They
should not be made too strong. Avoid strong shampoos of any kind.
Great caution should be exercised in this matter.
3. CARE OF THE HAIR.--To keep the hair healthy, keep the head clean.
Brush the scalp well with a stiff brush, while dry. Then wash with
castile soap, and rub into the roots bay rum, brandy or camphor
water. This done twice a month will prove beneficial. Brush the
scalp thoroughly twice a week. Dampen the hair with soft water at the
toilet, and do not use oil.
4. HAIR WASH.--Take one ounce of borax, half an ounce of camphor
powder--these ingredients fine--and dissolve them in one quart of
boiling water. When cool, the solution will be ready for use. Dampen
the hair frequently. This wash is said not only to cleanse and
beautify, but to strengthen the hair, preserve the color and prevent
baldness.
ANOTHER EXCELLENT WASH.--The best wash we know for cleansing and
softening the hair is an egg beaten up and rubbed well into the hair,
and afterwards washed out with several washes of warm water.
5. THE ONLY SENSIBLE AND SAFE HAIR OIL.--The following is considered
a most valuable preparation: Take of extract of yellow Peruvian bark,
fifteen grains; extract of rhatany root, eight grains; extract of
burdoch root and oil of nutmegs (fixed), of each two drachms; camphor
(dissolve with spirits of wine), fifteen grains; beef marrow, two
ounces; best olive oil, one ounce; citron juice, half a drachm;
aromatic essential oil, as much as sufficient to render it fragrant;
mix and make into an ointment. Two drachms of bergamot, and a few
drops of attar of roses would suffice.
6. HAIR WASH.--A good hair wash is soap and water, and the oftener it
is applied the freer the surface of the head will be from scurf. The
hair-brush should also be kept in requisition morning and evening.
7. TO REMOVE SUPERFLUOUS HAIR.--With those who dislike the use of
arsenic, the following is used for removing superfluous hair from
the skin: Lime, one ounce; carbonate of potash, two ounces; charcoal
powder, one drachm. For use, make it into a paste with a little warm
water, and apply it to the part, previously shaved close. As soon as
it has become thoroughly dry, it may be washed off with a little warm
water.
8. COLORING FOR EYELASHES AND EYEBROWS.--In eyelashes the chief
element of beauty consists in their being long and glossy; the
eyebrows should be finely arched and clearly divided from each other.
The most innocent darkener of the brow is the expressed juice of the
elderberry, or a burnt clove.
[Illustration: JAPANESE MOUSINE MAKING HER TOILET.]
9. CRIMPING HAIR.--To make the hair stay in crimps, take five cents
worth of gum arabic and add to it just enough boiling water to
dissolve it. When dissolved, add enough alcohol to make it rather
thin. Let this stand all night and then bottle it to prevent the
alcohol from evaporating. This put on the hair at night, after it is
done up in papers or pins, will make it stay in crimp the hottest day,
and is perfectly harmless.
10. TO CURL THE HAIR.--There is no preparation that will make
naturally straight hair assume a permanent curl. The following will
keep the hair in curl for a short time: Take borax, two ounces; gum
arabic, one drachm; and hot water, not boiling, one quart; stir, and,
as soon as the ingredients are dissolved, add three tablespoonfuls of
strong spirits of camphor. On retiring to rest, wet the hair with the
above liquid, and roll in twists of paper as usual. Do not disturb the
hair until morning, when untwist and form into ringlets.
11. FOR FALLING OR LOOSENING OF THE HAIR.--Take:
Alcohol, a half pint.
Salt, as much as will dissolve.
Glycerine, a tablespoonful.
Flour of sulphur, teaspoonful. Mix.
Rub on the scalp every morning.
12. TO DARKEN THE HAIR WITHOUT BAD EFFECTS.--Take:
Blue vitriol (powdered), one drachm.
Alcohol, one ounce.
Essence of roses, ten drops.
Rain-water, a half-pint.
Shake together until they are thoroughly dissolved.
13. GRAY HAIR.--There are no known means by which the hair can be
prevented from turning gray, and none which can restore it to its
original hue, except through the process of dyeing. The numerous "hair
color restorers" which are advertised are chemical preparations
which act in the manner of a dye or as a paint, and are nearly always
dependent for their power on the presence of lead. This mineral,
applied to the skin, for a long time, will lead to the most disastrous
maladies--lead-palsy, lead colic, and other symptoms of poisoning. It
should, therefore, never be used for this purpose.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
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