CARE OF THE HAIR

It is Strange that women have been willing to tamper with this crown of woman's glory, washing it with all sorts of poisons, taking the life

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out of it with withering applications, torturing it with pins, hot irons, and strings ; indeed, some have gone so far as to use liquor to make the hair curl, which contained both quicksilver and aquafortis, and which did make it curl simply by shrinking it up as would the flame of a candle, producing total loss of hair, paralysis, and sometimes even idiocy, thus failing in its purpose — that of enhancing personal beauty !

There are other and more rational methods of improving the hair that if used will repay you tenfold in abundance, length and glossiness for all the care you ever bestow upon it. Above all things keep the head clean, not by washing alone, for a too copious use of water is as dele- terious to the beauty of the hair as its entire neglect. Once a month in summer is quite often enough to resort to the shampooing process. Ladies who spend the summer at the seaside and take the bath on the head as well as on other parts of the body, will discover the invigorating effects of the salt water in the growth and thickness of the hair. Those who have not, may, with safety and profit, make use of the sea salt to be obtained at the druggist's, dissolved in tepid water. After the bath, however, great care should be taken that all the salt is removed from the hair by scrubbing vigorously with dry towels, or thoroughly brush- ing with a stiff brush. The very best wash for the hair is the yolk of an egg beaten into tepid water, the head afterward rinsed in warm water ; then, if it seems harsh and wiry, a small quantity of Macassar oil rubbed on the scalp will soften and beautify it, and under no circum- stance should the daily brushing be dispensed with.

There are sanitary reasons also for keeping the head clean. One of our distinguished physicians who has spent much time at quarantine, says : " Those whose heads are kept thoroughly washed every day rarely take contagious diseases, but where the hair is allowed to become dirty and matted it is hardly possible to escape infection."

Many persons find speedy relief for nervous headache by washing the hair thoroughly in weak soda water, while others find it the greatest relief in cases of cold, the .symptoms entirely leaving the eyes and nose after one thorough washing of the hair.

There is a plan which even the busiest among us may find time to test : At least twenty minutes should be given to brushing the hair each day with a brush of good stiff bristles. Before beginning apply a small quantity of the following : Tincture of cantharides, one-half ounce ; bay rum and cologne, two ounces each, one drachm of oil of rosemary. A oreat improvement will be noticeable in a short time, and those ladies who have red or blonde hair will find it has grown darker. Blonde hair requires different and more care than dark, and the following prepara- tion will prevent its falling out without affecting its color: Aqua- ammonia, two drachms ; bay rum, two ounces ; cologne, one ounce, and rosemary water, three ounces. Brush well into the scalp every

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morning or night. The weak hairs, by this process, grow stronger, and the coarse fait out, causing the hair to become healthy and curly. This every day brushing is worth more than all the curling fluids, and other hke humbugs, ever invented.

Don't commence by pinching, crimping and curling your children's hair, as nothing is so disastrous to its ultimate health. Do not make the mistake of cutting off their soft, glossy, " baby hair," under the impres- sion that the second crop will be richer and more abundant.

The most beautiful heads of hair ever seen are those which scissors have never touched. A woman's hair to be beautiful must be " long, abundant, undulating, fine of texture, and of brilliant surface." Use the scissors and it will never become so, for cutting the hair renders it coarse and far less liable to curl.

Curling-tongs are another abomination, for when the texture of the hair is destroyed by heat it is really destroyed, and all the so-called " restoratives " in the universe could not bring it to life and beauty- again.

Dandruff generally comes from an over-heated or feverish state of the scalp. The cure is simple : Brush it well every day, applying a mixture of bay rum and brandy; avoid much oiling, and wash often with an t'g'g and soft, tepid v/ater.

Avoid all the so-called " hair restoratives," for they are poisonous and filthy, containing every one of them sugar of lead, sulphur, cop- peras, etc. These preparations will darken the hair, but at the expense of health. Those who advertise their nostrums as restoring the growth on perfectly bald heads, advertise falsehoods. If the scalp is gloss}' and no small hairs discernible, the roots are dead and there is no rem- edy. However, if small hairs are to be seen, there is hope. Brush well, and bathe the bald spot every day with cold, soft water ; carbon- ate of ammonia, one drachm ; tincture of cantharides, four drachms; bay rum, four ounces, and castor oil, two ounces.

For those elderly ladies who desire to keep the hair from turning gray, the following is efficient and harmless: Infuse four ounces of the hulls of butternuts into a quart of water for an hour, and half an ounce of copperas and apply with a brush every third day.

All depilatories for the removal of superfluous hair are somewhat dangerous, unless use., with great discretion. There is no way to remove it but by diluted acids or caustics, patiently applied time after time, as the hair makes its appearance. The mildest depilatories known are parsley water, acacia juice and the gum of ivy. It is said that nut oil will prevent the hair from growmg. The juice of the milk thistle^ mixed with oil, according to medical authority, prevents the hair from growing too low on the forehead, or straggling on the nape of the neck. Muriatic acid, very slightly reduced, applied with a sable pencil, will

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destroy the hair ; and to prevent its growing the part may be bathed with strong camphor or clear ammonia. The depilatories sold in the shop are strong caustics, and leave the skin very hard and unpleasant, Bathe the upper lip, or other feature afflic ed with superfluous hair, with ammonia or camphor as strong as can be borne, and the hair will die out in a few weel<s. Moles, with long hairs in them, should be touched with lunar caustic repeatedly. Care should be taken to brush the back hair upward from childhood, to prevent the disfiguring growth of weak, loose hairs on the neck. Fine, clean wood ashes, mixed with a little water to form a paste, make a tolerable depilatory for weak hair, without any pain. Strong pearlash washes also kill out poor hair.

Pale hair shows a want of iron in the system, and this is to be sup- plied by a free use of beefsteak, soups, pure beef gravies and red wines. Sandy hair, when well brushed and kept glossy with the natural oil of the scalp, changes to a warm, golden tinge. The eyelashes may be improved by delicately cutting off their forked and gossamer points, and anointing with a salve of two drachms of ointment of nitric oxide of mercury and one drachm of lard. Mix the lard and ointment well and anoint the edges of the eyelids night and morning, washing after each time with warm milk and water. This, it is said, will restore the lashes when lost by disease. The effect of black lashes is to deepen the color of gray eyes.