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Hairdressing Both for Men and Women: Strain

Or into 1 gallon of new milk put 2 quarts of the green tendrils of the grapevine. Add 2 pounds of honey and a handful of rosemary. Simmer slowly until the bulk is reduced about one half. Strain through a linen cloth and apply to the hair frequently.

An excess of lime in the system is said to have a tendency to make the hair brittle and cause it to split and crack. This, by admitting air to the hair, is the most common cause of Hence hard water for grayness. drinking purposes should be avoided, or softened by means elsewhere recommended.

Walnut Hair Dye.-Press the juice from the bark or shells of green walnuts. Add a small quantity of rectified alcohol and a little allspice or a few cloves. Let the mixture stand for a week or ten days and shake occasionally. Filter through a linen cloth and add a small amount of common salt as a preservative. Keep in a cool, dark place.

Yellow Hair Dye. - Boil 1 or 2 ounces of pure annotto in 1 pint of soft or distilled water, adding a pinch of baking soda. This gives the hair a golden yellow, which, however, varies according to its strength and the original color of the hair. Washing the hair in a solution of alum water deepens the color. The application of a solution of lemon juice or vinegar after the use of this dye reddens the hair or gives it an orange color.

Black or Brown Hair Dye.-Boil 2 ounces of black tea in 1 gallon of water. Strain through a linen cloth. Add 2 or 3 ounces of glycerin, ounce of tincture of cantharides, and 1 quart of bay rum. Let the mixture stand 48 hours, shaking occasionally, and perfume with any essential oil preferred.

Black Hair Dye.-Mix juice of green walnuts as above described with neat's-foot oil, using about 1 part of the oil to 4 parts of walnut juice according to the amount of natural oil present in the hair.

Red Hair Dye. - Make a strong decoction of safflowers or of alkanet by boiling either in water to which a small amount of baking soda has been added. This gives the hair a brightred or reddish-yellow color, according to its strength. When the hair is dry after this application, wash with a solution of lemon juice or vinegar mixed with an equal quantity of water.

Or, to darken red hair, mix 1 dram each of oil of nutmeg and rosemary, 1 ounce of castor oil, 2 drams of tincture of cantharides, and 8 ounces of French brandy. Work a teaspoonful or more of this into the hair each day with a moderately stiff brush, brushing 12 to 20 minutes. OTHER HAIR TOPICS Superfluous Hair. - There is no known method which is entirely satisfactory for removing superfluous hairs. Among the various methods recommended are shaving, plucking out the hairs with tweezers, the use of the electric needle, and various depilatories. The active principle in these compounds is usually chloride of lime, quicklime, or sulphide of arsenic. These cause the hair shafts to fall out, but do not affect the root of the hair, and hence must be frequently repeated. These substances are strong irritants and unless handled intelligently may create ugly ulcers.

Shaving stimulates the growth of che hair and by thickening it increases the discoloration caused by the ends of the hair shafts showing through the skin. Plucking the hairs perseveringly by the roots, the skin having been previously softened and prepared by the application of a suitable toilet emulsion, is perhaps the most satisfactory method.

A competent operator supplied with the proper apparatus can remove superfluous hair permanently by means of the electric needle. The electrode from the positive pole of the battery is attached to the back of the patient's neck or other convenient spot. A three-cornered electric needle with sharp cutting edges is attached to the negative pole of the battery. This is inserted into the skin, alongside the hair, care being taken not to penetrate too deeply.

When the current is applied the needle becomes hot and causes bubbles of froth te appear at the point where it is inserted. The needle is then turned so that the sharp corners scrape the adjacent surfaces, and the process is continued until the hair is loosened and destroyed. The resultnoticeable, and if the operation is ing scar is so slight as to be hardly properly conducted the results are sure and permanent. The following are standard recipes for depilatories.

These are severe remedies, and should be employed only with caution and due regard to what has been said above.

Spread equal quantities of galbanum and pitch plaster on a piece of soft chamois leather. Lay it smoothly on the superfluous hair and let it remain three or four minutes. It may then be pulled off, hair and all. The inflamed skin may then be rubbed with olive oil.

Or pulverize finely in a mortar 1 ounce of fresh limestone and 1 dram of pure potassa. Soak the parts for 10 minutes in warm water, so as to soften the superfluous hairs. Form a paste of the above powder with warm water, apply with a brush, and remove after 5 or 6 minutes or as soon as the skin begins to be inflamed. To remove this paste, wash it away with vinegar. This softens the skin and neutralizes the alkali.

Or mix equal quantities of sulphuret of calcium and quicklime pulverized to a fine powder. Apply precisely as for the preceding. The action is quicker. Hence it should be removed after two or three minutes in the same manner as the last.

To Curl the Hair. - Preparations recommended for curling the hair are usually based upon various more or less adhesive substances, as gum arabic, quince mucilage, beeswax, spermaceti, and the like, mixed with va- 'rious oils and diluted with alcohol or water. They may be perfumed according to taste. Specific curling properties are claimed for beeswax, oil of origanum, mastic, and carbonate of potassium. It is also said that when the hair is clipped, as is sometimes done with children or after a serious illness, if the head is shaved "against the HAIRDRESSING BOTH FOR MEN AND WOMEN 597 grain" the hair will come in curly or wavy. The use of the egg shampoo elsewhere recommended also has the same tendency.

The following recipes are recommended: