Health, strength and beauty of hair depends primarily on its nerve vigor and the good circulation of the oily scalp secretion which gives it gloss and luster. Beauty is not so much a matter of color where hair is concerned. If your hair has a fine glow, a rich sheen, is thick and long, it will be beautiful irrespective of its pigmentation. Hair often makes an otherwise plain person beautiful. And practically every woman, if she cares to make the effort, may have beautiful hair.
SOME HAIR HINTS
If you have the least suspicion of a curl in your hair, brushing around rather than straight will
bring it out. Do not worry if you shed your hair. It is natural for the hair to shed — and to keep right on growing in again. Only see to it that the ingrowth is equal to the loss by shedding.
No young girl should use a rat. Metal combs should be tabooed. Keep the hairbrush you use for
dandruff stiff, the "polishing" brush may be softer. Use a hair net that matches your own hair color, and do not get too small a one. Remove snarls and tangles in the hair gently, with fingers, before brushing. The three-weekly or monthly shampoo is a good rule. If you wash your hair too often, it will turn dry and brittle and change color.
The hair should never be worn "done up" constantly. This is injurious because every part of the hair should have frequent air and sun baths. For normal shampoo employ Castile, tar or vegetable soaps, and Green soap for oily hair. A good egg shampoo may be made of an egg, thoroughly beaten, one tablespoon alcohol, four ounces bay rum, a pinch of borax, and four ounces of Castile
soap mixed in a pint of hot water, to be used when cool.
Hair that is blonde or ruddy, as well as gray hair, may be washed with Castile soap jelly plus
a quarter-teaspoonful of borax. Always comb and brush thoroughly, with finger-tip massage. After
shampooing is the best time for scalp massage, hair pulling and skin loosening.
DRY SHAMPOO AND SCALP MASSAGE
The scalp and hair should be cleansed between shampoos. For this purpose the "dry shampoo" is
necessary. It is actually a form of scalp massage. Preparations of orris, corn meal and other dry
shampoo powders are not recommended. They stick, and it is hard to get them out of the hair. A vigorous rubbing of the scalp after the hair has been parted, using a small piece of muslin over the tip of the finger, is best. Hot and cold applications are good, with or without shampoo, especially if the hair is falling. Remember that the hair should not be "hot-air" dried. The hot-air cone used for the purpose in hairdressing establishments destroys
the hair. Human hair should always be dried by hand.
Scalp massage makes the hair grow and prevents many hair troubles. A five-minute finger-tip mas-
sage, night and morning, is the one ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure. The electrical massage by a professional (after a shampoo), the violet ray, and the rubber-disk vibrator are all excellent for the hair. They strengthen and stimulate.
HAIR TONICS
Massage is the first and best hair tonic. Though a good scalp lotion may stimulate circulation, massage always does so more directly. In general it will be wise to remember that tonics are meant for specific purposes of cure for hair disorders, rather than for common use. A little refined beef marrow rubbed gently into the hair roots is a good natural tonic (though an old-fashioned one) and together with plenty of fresh air and sunshine, does more for the hair than all the compounded tonics and "restorers" marketed. Every woman can keep her hair in good condition if she chooses to. If she cannot give it attention in the morning she shoulcf
do so at night.
HAIR TROUBLES
Most hair troubles could be prevented in the start by ordinary good care of the hair, and the
maintenance of the state of general good health. Of course, various diseases affect the hair: fever dries it out and makes it fall; syphilis and other sex diseases poison and destroy it. Some skin diseases have the same effect. In general, if you are healthy, broadly speaking, your hair will be healthy too.
Dandruff—What we have to deal with in dandruff is a horny layer cast off by the scalp. This layer
thickens, closes the pores, diminishes the hair's oil supply, and prevents the perspiration glands from getting rid of waste. Soon the hair loses tone and color, and is covered with whitish powder. Then it starts to itch and fall. In an advanced state of the disease, the hair falls out, and blood crusts form on the scalp as a result of scratching. Digestive disorders, toxic elements in the blood or local irritation may cause dandruff, and it is communicable.
Daily care of the scalp, massage and brushing, if persisted in when the disorder first appears, are very beneficial. The crude oil massage of the scalp, not the hair, is excellent and often effects a cure. A massage every night, using vaseline or olive oil, together with repeated shampoos, also helps to do away with dandruff. Although pomades in general should be avoided, a pomade with a precipitated sulphur base, mixed with glycerine, rose-water, lanoline, and soap, or a sulphur ointment or cream kills the dandruff germ.
There is an "oily dandruff," also, though the disease is most commonly a dry scalp one. Shampoo
with tincture of Green soap should cure this type of the disease in about a week's time. If you have dandruff, observe a regular diet, and stick as much as possible to milk and fresh fruit.
Falling Hair.—An acid condition of the blood encourages the hair to fall. Correct it and you will
have removed the cause of your complaint. The use of the violet ray and the vibrator, which hold
down the tendency to an oily scalp, is also valuable for hair treatment in this connection. So, too, are hot and cold applications.
HAIR DISEASES WHICH SHOULD NOT OCCUR
Favus, the development of yellow scalp crusts, accompanied by severe itching, bald spots and a
musty odor, is a dirt disease, hence inexcusable in a woman, unless as a result of infection. To remove it the scalp must be soaked in olive oil for a few days, carbolic acid being mixed with it in a weak solution, the hair pulled out of the most infected areas, the crusts removed, and the whole scalp shampooed with an antiseptic soap.
Ringworm is usually a gift of those evil things, the "common property" comb and brush, or the
patent hair clipper. Rubbing with sulphur ointment, washing with bichloride soap, or painting
with iodine, to precede the application of a cleansing ointment, is the treatment. It is dangerous since it may result in baldness.
Head lice (which may be cured by saturating the hair with kerosene or crude petroleum at night,
wrapping in a towel to retain fumes, and following by antiseptic soap shampoo) is a most disgusting trouble, and unless communicated cannot occur except as a result of neglect and uncleanliness. The possibility of contagion constitutes the menace of all
three of these diseases.
About the author:
Michael Fortomas is a teacher of Biology and his Free Guide "151 Beauty Tips" is a look at specific tips, old and new, to help women meet the current perception of our societal definition of beauty.
10 Great Hair Care Tips
by: Darla Di Grandi-Aguilera
If you watch the tabloids, you know that even the stars have bad hair
days. It just seems that when the professional stylists are out of the
picture, it is inherently human to have a less than glamorous mane. But
you can do your part to stay ahead of the battle by following these great
tips for hair care.
1. Use a professional conditioner that is formulated for your specific
hair type. While you can skimp a little on the shampoo, a good,
professional conditioner is a must have. Look for products in salons that
are customized for your hair type. For instance: If you have color or a
perm, choose a conditioner that is for chemically processed hair. And stay
away from those all-in-one shampoo and conditioner combos.
2. Choose a cut tailored to your face and body shape. The number one
mistake that people make when choosing a new hairstyle is to pick a style
based on popularity rather than how it will enhance their features. Always
choose a new cut based on how it will enhance or detract from your facial
features and build. If you have broad shoulders, choose a full-bodied cut
over a close cropped head hugging doo.
3. Don’t forget your UV protectants. Just as your skin gets damaged by
wind and sun, so does your hair. To combat this, look for finishing
products such as mousses, gels and sprays that block UV rays.
4. Keep your appointments. Did you know that your hair will split
faster than it will grow? You need to get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks, even
if it’s just a micro trim. A good hairdresser makes them good because they
know what to leave on the head, not take off.
5. Leave chemicals to the professionals. There is a reason why
beauticians need to go to school to learn how to handle chemicals and hair
processes. You can do irreparable damage with these products even if the
package says that it’s way easy. And even if you don’t make your hair fall
out, you could end up looking like a clown and paying a stylist big bucks
to fix your mess. (Note: Most stylists charge double the rate for
corrective color than they do for normal color processes)
6. Get color for interest and body. Every cut needs a little bit of
color to make it truly breathtaking. No matter whether your taste is
subtle or dramatic, you can add interest and volume to your tresses with a
color process. Highlights, lowlights, all over color, gray coverage, you
name it, it’s all good for your look.
7. Do weekly conditioning treatments. Even if your hair is extremely
healthy, it is constantly on the attack from wind, sun, cold and heat.
During the summer months, your hair is battered even more when it absorbs
chlorine and other chemicals from your pool.
8. Get an ionic ceramic flat iron. Instead of frying your hair with a
conventional metal plated flat iron. Straighten your tresses, add shine
and infuse moisture with one of the a negative ionic flat irons. We
personally use T3 irons for all our work.
9. Choose your styling products wisely. Avoid products that leave
build-up on your hair. If you see white gunk, that means that your product
is not water-soluble and may be coating your hair shaft. Build-up causes
limpness, breakage and inability to curl not to mention the white flakes.
10. Did you know that if you use a towel after your shower to dry your
hair you are causing split ends and adding static electricity to your
hair. Don’t rub the towel back and forth over your hair, scrunch the towel
around your hair like your would scrunch crackers in your soup.
While all of these tips won’t make you look like you’ve hired a
personal hairdresser, they will help you look the very best that you can
each and every day. When it comes to hair care, remember that you wear
your hair everyday. Now isn’t it worth the time, effort and money that it
takes to keep it looking spectacular?