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Hairdressing Both for Men and Women: Cantharides

Tinc. of Cantharides 1 lb. ...

Vinegar of Cantharides..

Glycerin...

Alcohol...

Oil of Bergamot.. 2 oz. 2 oz. 20 dr. 11 pt. 10 d. 1 pt. 1 pt. 10 m.

OZ.

OZ 66 Cinnamon.. 66 Citronella.. oz. 60 Civet. ... 3 gr.

Cloves..... oz.

OZ. 04 Fennel..... 2 oz. 64 Jasmine.... 3 oz. 66 Lavender Lavender 1 oz. oz. 1 oz. 1 m. as Myrbane... oz. 2 dr. 66 Nutmeg 6 d. 12 d. ... 1 m.

Origanum...

Rose 3 d. ....

Rosemary.. " Sassafras...

Thyme..... oz. 241414 OZ. oz. 11 d.

OZ.

OZ. first melted together with gentle heat.

Next add coloring matter, if any is desired. Now put in remedial agents, add spirits, if any, mix while warm and allow to cool before adding perfumes.

To Color Hair Oil.-Any desired color may be imparted to oils for the hair by treating the fixed oil used as a base before the other ingredients are added. To accomplish this the olive, cotton-seed, or other oil which is used in the largest quantity in the mixture should be warmed with gentle heat, the coloring matter added, and the whole simmered without boiling, until the desired color or a little stronger tint is obtained. This may require from one to two hours. The oil should then be poured into a closed vessel and kept in a warm place for a day or two so that it may be evenly tinged with color. Finally it should be warmed and strained through coarse linen to remove the dregs and to give it brilliancy and luster.

For red, pink, or rose, use alkanet root-about 2 drams to a pint. The trouble of straining the oil may be avoided by putting the alkanet root in a muslin bag and suspending it in the oil, but the former method is to be preferred.

For yellow or orange, use a little annotto or palm oil.

For green, use a little green parsley, or lavender in the same manner, or dissolve 2 or 3 drams of gum guaiacum in each pint of oil as above directed. Perfumes for Hair Oils. - Instead of taking the trouble to measure the exact quantities of different perfumes directed to be used in various recipes, many persons select a particular perfume for their own use, or blend two or more essential oils to produce an individual perfume suited to their taste. The combinations of essential oils that may be made up are, of course, countless; but the ones recommended elsewhere will serve as suggestions to those interested. An ounce or two of any of these perfumes added to a pint of rectified spirits produces an agreeable perfume or "cologne" for personal use. HAIR DYES Dyeing as a means of changing the normal color of the hair is now very little resorted to, except by a small number of thoughtless girls and women who are misled by ignorant or interested persons. This practice is regarded by all intelligent persons as an unmistakable mark of vulgarity.

Even the young men themselves, who are supposed, if any are, to be deceived and attracted by this process, have coined the expression "chemical blonde" and "peroxide blonde" to define a woman who has been deluded into following this silly fad, and boast themselves able to recognize such an individual at sight.

There is more justification for the use of hair dyes in case of premature grayness and especially in those peculiar cases where irregular patches of gray hair make their appearance.

The causes of these conditions are not fully understood. It is well known that the hair may turn gray suddenly as a consequence of extreme emotion, fright, pain, and the like.

Patches of gray hair are sometimes attributed to fungous growths at the roots. Even in these cases, however, it is usually better to avoid taking a plunge into the unknown. The difficulties connected with dyeing the hair are many, and the injurious consequences are inevitable. Such a substance as a harmless hair dye is not known, all claims to the contrary notwithstanding. Neither is it possible to deceive anyone. The natural color of the hair is subtly blended by nature with the tints and shades of the complexion, and any change in the color of the hair will produce an unnatural disparity which the practiced eye readily detects. Men might perhaps be deceived, but women never. And the man or woman who adopts the use of hair dyes speedily becomes the subject of more or less invidious gossip and ridicule. The practice is usually begun with the idea that a single application will be sufficient. This is not the case. The hair grows at the rate of about one twentieth of an inch each day; hence in a few days a new growth appears and a fresh application of the dye becomes necessary. Meantime the dye has injured the hair and in many cases the scalp, brain, and nervous system. All preparations of lead, silver, and other mineral substances are distinctly and often fatally injurious. We have excluded from this book all preparations of this character, but in deference to the wishes of those who have a legitimate reason for wishing to darken the color of the hair, we give a number of recipes which are as efficacious as any that can be recommended with safety.

Hair Dyes. A careful examination of more than 100 counted recipes for hair dyes recommended in otherwise reputable books of household recipes discloses none which do not contain injurious mineral substances, except those we give. below.

Recent chemical analysis of widely advertised hair dyes and washes for bleaching, darkening, or otherwise changing the color of the hair discloses the presence of these mineral agents in practically every instance, notwithstanding the fact that in all cases the proprietors announce that the preparations are "harmless."

Among the injurious substances recommended are the following: Nitric, muriatic, and sulphuric acids; bismuth; lead, as litharge and the acetate or sugar of lead, etc.; antimony, silver (usually the nitrate), potassium, baryta, iron, tin, copper, etc. These metals are recommended in the form of various salts, as sulphates, acetates, chlorides, and the like. They are each and all HAIRDRESSING BOTH FOR MEN AND WOMEN 595 vicious in principle and injurious in practice, and those who knowingly or unknowingly recommend them should be regarded with suspicion. ones.

To Prevent Gray Hair. - A preventive against grayness of the hair has already been mentioned, i. e., the yolk of egg. Preparations containing neat's-foot oil are also beneficial for darkening the hair. The action of hair dyes in pomades is necessarily slow, and they must be used daily or frequently until the proper results have been secured. Compounds containing vegetable ingredients are better than those containing mineral Among materials which are relatively harmless are stains from walnut shells and green walnuts, which gradually dye light hair to dark-brown shades. These have to be used constantly, as the color is not durable. These stains cannot be used in the form of pomades. Henna and indigo powders produce various shades from yellow to dark brown, and other compounds and substances mentioned below. "Chemical blondes" wash the hair with greatly diluted hydrogen peroxide. When dyes are applied to the hair it should first be thoroughly cleansed of its natural oils and other foreign substances. This may be done by washing the hair with a mixture containing one fourth part of chloroform and three fourths of alcohol. Gloves should be worn, and the dye worked into the hair with a comb and a clean toothbrush. are Or mix 1 part of bay rum, 3 parts of neat's-foot oil, and 1 part of French brandy by measure. Use this as a hair wash daily. Shake well before applying.