Hair tonic

“ It is worth adding here, as women patients frequently say that during their illness the hair has become thin or shown a great tendency to fall, that daily firm finger-tip massage of the head for ten or twelve minutes, followed by rubbing into the scalp of a small amount of a tonic, either a bland oil or if need be of some more stimulating material, will in a great majority of the instances where loss of hair is due to general ill-health perfectly restore its vigor and even its color. ”

“ Preparations of iron and sulphur, taken internally, are supposed to supply certain elements of growth and pigment-forming power to the hair.
A solution of iron for external application to the hair, calls for two drams each of citrate of iron and tincture of nux vomica, and one and one-half ounces each of cocoanut oil and bay rum. It may be mentioned here, that faithfulness in treatment means even more than the tonic applied. To gain any real benefit, one must be persistent in application. ”

“ While I was shaving him I tried to think what the ingredients were that I had written down for him to use, but I couldn’t remember the quantities or half the things I had used. I knew that I had accidentally struck upon a tonic that would make the hair grow, and I knew furthermore that that formula was worth a million dollars to any man if it would do the work. Making hair grow on bald heads, if it could be done, would be better than any gold mine ever worked. ”

“ Massage the scalp to keep it loose
and flexible. Use electricity, a good tonic, and occasionally singe the
split ends.
If this process is commenced at the right time, the result will be fewer
cases of baldness in men and thin, poor hair in women.
The hair should also be worn loosely, forming a soft frame for the face,
which is always more becoming than tightly drawn hair. Many women drag
their hair out by the roots by tying back too firmly.
CARE OF THE SKIN.
A beautiful skin is smooth, soft and clear ”

“ Many of the hair tonics and shampoos on the market not only are not beneficial, but are dangerous. An ordinary egg shampoo, which may be prepared at home, is perhaps the best, for it not only cleanses but nourishes the hair. ”

“ Some heads require grease, others do not having sufficient naturally to nourish the hair, and I have given several recipes for hair washes and hair tonics, all of which are good and can be used in safety, but nothing will improve or make the hair grow if it is not well brushed, say for ten minutes each night and morning. ”

“ We also had the Fog poster adapted to a kilted Briton in a misty Highland scene.
Under the shadow of our great leading line we were presently taking subsidiary specialties into action; “Tono-Bungay Hair Stimulant” was our first supplement. Then came “Concentrated Tono-Bungay” for the eyes. That didn’t go, but we had a considerable success with the Hair Stimulant. We broached the subject, I remember, in a little catechism beginning: “Why does the hair fall out? Because the follicles are fagged. What are the follicles?...” ”

“ Of its cause nothing is known. It is very common in girls when about fifteen years old, but it may occur at any age. The hair always grows again on the bald places, but it may not do so for a year or more. Painting the bald spot with a tincture of iodine is as good as anything, but it is Nature, and not drugs, that cures the affection.
The colour of the hair is extremely variable, and not uncommonly it changes from one colour to another in a very short time. The hair, like every other coloured organ in the body, obtains its colour from the iron in the blood. ”

“ Partial baldness among the female sex is not uncommon, but this defect can well be concealed by coverings specially made for the purpose. These pieces of ingenious workmanship, be they frontlets, scalpettes, fringes, partings, twists, chignons, curls, plaits, or what not, are easily and securely attached to the natural hair-growth, while a ribbon-bow, feather, flower, lace, cap, or other decoration lends a charm, and completes the coiffure. ”

“ Another symptom dependent on disordered nutrition of the skin is the rapid or slow falling of the hair that occurs in some patients. However much hair restorers and scalp tonics may be used in these cases, the hair, once having commenced to fall, will continue to do so until the general health improves. When the drug has been stopped a free falling out of the hair occurs, followed by a new and luxuriant growth. Indeed, sweeping out and rebuilding seems to be the rule in every tissue. Change in color of the hair has been noted in some cases. ”

“ Any woman who has ever found herself suddenly bereft of a nice fluffy bang, and in its place a stubby little burned-off fringe, will say that this is true, while those numerous hair-crimping girls who have known the humiliating and painful experience of having a hot curling iron do frolics down their backs can add startling testimony, and, what is more, show disfiguring scars as proof.
If the iron is used carefully and at proper heat, the hair is not injured. But certain it is that when the iron is smoking-hot it kills the life and lovely texture of the hair. ”

“ He found a bottle of something that smelled of alcohol and belonged in her cosmetics, and began removing most of the mess. By being careful, he got the wax and most of the dye smell off, while leaving his hair darker.
"Better wash up," she called.
There was a razor among the things she had bought. He daubed some of the dye on his upper lip, where the stubble of a mustache was showing. It was easier there, if it didn't wash off in soap and water. ”

“ Avoid irritating the scalp with fine combs or hard bristles, and wash it once or twice a week with a weak solution of ammonia or borax. Hair that is properly brushed is always glossy with its natural oil, and needs no vulgar ointment, offensive to the smell and suggestive of uncleanliness. If with these hygienic precautions the hair refuses to become beautiful, it is time to get medical advice; for the dull colour and dryness of the hair which lead to baldness are often due to constitutional disease. ”

“ Under the new manners, and since the introduction of the graceful lounge, the antimacassar doubtless has saved many ancestral works, but nowadays we wear neither powder nor pomatum. On the contrary, we dye, dry, and frizzle our hair till it might serve as a brush to remove any dust it encountered, and it spoils nothing. ”

“ He rose quickly and tried the knob of the inner door again. He could hear the bell notes lower in pitch as he pressed against the door.
"let me see the thing again, young man. honest to goodness, what difference does it make whether or not i know what it is? it looks like a hairbrush with some do-jigger on the top."
He jumped back to the center of the hall. "This brush is the essential feature of our sensational Hair Relustrifier Kit. The tube screwed to the top feeds the specially developed Brilliancette directly through each hollow bristle to reach every part of the hair." ”

“ One application is all that is needed for any fresh grease spots, but for old or dried a second may be required. For shampooing take a small quantity of the Magic Annihilator with an equal quantity of water, apply to the hair with a stiff brush, brushing into the pores of the scalp, and wash out with clear water. You will be surprised at the silk gloss of your hair. For cleaning silver ware, etc., buy five cents' worth of whitening, mix a small quantity with the magic annihilator, and apply with a rag, rubbing briskly. ”

“ The oil of mace one-half ounce, mixed with a pint of deodorized alcohol, is a powerful stimulant for the hair. To apply it, pour a spoonful or two into a saucer, dip a stiff brush into it and brush the hair and head smartly.
On bald heads, if hair will start at all, it may be stimulated by friction with a piece of flannel till the skin [Pg 392] becomes red. Repeat this process three times a day, until the hair begins to grow, when the tincture may be applied but once a day, till the growth is well established. ”

“ Hereditary baldness is difficult to arrest in its course; but even in such cases much may be accomplished by beginning in childhood to take proper care of the hair. Most persons—especially men—seem to imagine that combs and brushes are made solely for the purpose of arranging the hair in some approved fashion; whereas, if properly used, a brush adds as much to the sensuous beauty of the hair as to its formal appearance. To remove all the dust from the hair, and give it gloss and healthy colour, about fifty daily strokes, or more even, are recommended. ”

“ Either of them, or distilled vinegar alone, may be rubbed into a bald patch with a tooth-brush. The same lotions may also be used if the hair is disposed to become gray too early; as they invigorate the apparatus situated beneath the skin, and enable it to take up coloring matter. Dyeing of the hair is a practice which ought never to be resorted to. Those who are unwilling or unable to discontinue the practice of applying some kind of dressing to the hair, should, at least, content themselves with a simple, yet good material. ”

“ To improve the growth and luxuriance of the hair, when languid or defective, the only natural and perfectly safe method that can be adopted is to promote the healthy action of the scalp by increasing the vigor of the circulation of the blood through its minute channels. For this purpose nothing is so simple and effective as gentle excitation of the skin by frequent continued friction with the hairbrush, which has the convenience of ease of application and inexpensiveness. ”

“ The colouring of the hair depends not only on the pigment, but on the more or less quantity of air in the medulla of the hair, which blends the white and grey tones with the general tint given by the pigment. In the air, the hair fades, becomes less highly coloured, duller. Certain acids of the perspiration render the hair reddish-brown, as for instance, under the arm-pit.
At birth pigment is found in the body in less quantity than in the adult state. Every one knows that the hair of children, often light-coloured at birth and in early years, becomes darker as they grow up. ”

“ From what has been said respecting the growth of the hair, it will be perceived that there are some special points to be attended to, if we would keep it in perfect order. As the hair rises from the bulb above the cuticle, it carries with it a thin pellicle, which adheres for a time to the shaft, and afterwards falls off in minute scales, and forms a kind of scurf in the hair. Now, this is simply a natural process, and not to be mistaken for a diseased state of the skin; the scales of detached film merely require to be removed with the brush and comb. ”

“ And as it ceases to be a living tissue it ceases to be affected by the process of elimination. Hence the arsenic which was deposited in it when it was a living tissue is never removed. It remains as a permanent constituent of that part of the hair, slowly moving up as the hair grows from below, until at last it is snipped off by the barber; or, if the owner is a long-haired woman, it continues to creep along until the hair is full-grown and drops out. ”

“ All the iron salts, with the exception of the chloride, may be used for dyeing the hair. Soluble iron salts by themselves make the hair somewhat darker, but this slow, natural process is not relied on, and a second substance forming dark colored combinations with the iron, such as sulphur, tannin, or pyrogallic acid, is, as a rule, employed. To this class belongs a Turkish hair dye, which, according to X. Landerer, is prepared as follows: Gall-nuts converted to a fine powder are mixed with oil and roasted in a pan until no more empyreumatic vapors and odor are evolved. ”

“ They will strike work at once, and though they will resume their function if the external application is discontinued, it is better not to interfere with them at all. Girls with their long hair, however, need some form of application to keep the hair clean and glossy, and there is no objection to their using a really good substance, if they apply it to the hair itself and not to the scalp. You should never apply anything in the way of oil, grease, or pomatum to the roots of the hair, if it is healthy. ”

“ The popular impression is that the soap is used for the purpose of softening the beard, in which condition it is supposed to be most easily cut. This is a mistake. The soap is used, not to soften the beard, but to produce exactly the opposite effect—namely, to make the hair stiff and brittle, so that they will present a firm and resisting surface to the razor. A hair, as is well known, is a tube composed of a hard fibrous substance, growing from a bulb or root, which secretes an oily matter. ”

“ The efficacy of hair dyes depends as much upon their proper application as upon their chemical composition. If not evenly and patiently applied, they give rise to a mottled and dirty condition of the hair. A lady, for instance, attempted to use the lime and litharge dye, and was horrified on the following morning to find her hair spotted red and black, almost like the skin of a leopard. The mixture had not been properly applied.
1698. Compounds to Promote the Growth of Hair
When the hair falls off, from diminished action of the scalp, preparations of cantharides often prove useful ”

“ It is on the last that their more immediate effect depends. If there be no sulphur in the hair, they will not darken it. After the necessary period of contact, they should be gently but thoroughly removed from the hair and skin by rubbing them off with the fingers, and by the use of the hairbrush, the head being then washed clean with tepid water. Should the tint imparted by them not be deep enough, or be too fiery, it may be darkened and turned on the brown or black by moistening the hair the next day with a very weak solution of sulphuret of potassium, or of hydrosulphuret of ammonia. ”