The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-05-08
L Chat about Hair and Hard yeing.

sufficient quantity, TO abolish the need of 9TH
er protection in any temperate climate. II
men wear hats and women bonnets, it is the
result of custom and fashion. The ladies are
good enough to illustrate this in respect of
themselves by the absurdly minute head
dresses with which they are now pleased to
adorn themselves. For warmth or anything
else bearing upon health, these patches of lace
can have no service.
There can be no doubt that much covering
Injuries the hair. In France and Germany,
where peasantgirls rarely wear bonnets or
any substitute for bonnets, the women gener-
ally display crops of hair of luxuriance that
rarely falls to the lot of German and French
ladies. Conversely, how few English barris-
tiers does one meet with who can show such a
good head of hair as German lawyers and pro-
fessors How does this happen? Why are
they SO bald Is it because Of the fervor of
their brain struggles, or the closeness of their
studies? Hardly, I think. There are men
OF professions other than the bar who cooitate
no less deeply than barristers, yet, l fancy,
you will not find a community in which so
large apropoortion at the same age are bald
The wig, in my humble opinion, often causes
the difference
Moisture, too is said to have an injurious
effect on the growth of hair, making it weak,
thin and tending to badness. Ireland is al
together moister climate than England, and
Ilshmen, in greater proportionate number
than EngIlshmen, have been stated to be sub
ject to badness. Little can be said, however,
positively On this point Even if statistics
were obtained, there are may differences on
| the two sides of the Channel, besides greater
or less humidity of climate.
Women of the British Isles, speaking in
general, have hair of very fine silky quality,
but not in great proluSion. The sickness in
question, however, is condition of weakness
AS result of this weakness, not of general
constitution, but of the capillary covering, it
happens that the hair of English women is
more ractable than that of female foreigners
more docile under the hair-dresser's disci-
pline.
Curls have now almost gone out Of fashion,
but there was time when they predomi mated
in Eng land, bands being rare. Foreign la
dies were never much addicted to curls. Not
because they did not like them on the con-
trary, the boucles anglaises were much ad-
mired and celebrated abroad but the hair of
foreign ladies. as a rule, is ntractabe under
curling discipline. Being overstrong, it per-
petua y evidences the seIf-assertion Of the ex-
uberant life within it.
By comparison with men, women are less
prone to badness, which scientific people ac-
count for by telling us women's hair grows
on, so to speak, more exuberant soil than
that of man. On the outside of the female
skull there is more fat more flesh, or rather
more cellular tissue, than serves to invest the
masculine Uranium. Thus the hair has more
nutriment. For similar reason it seems to
be that women are less frequently and prema-
turely gray than men.
The distinctive color Of hair is impaired by
coIoring matters Of the nature Of oils, and it
is readily comprehensive that in proportion as
the bed of growth is rich and deep, so is the
supply of coloring oil more abundant. The
chemical constitution of hair was first made
known 10 Mr.. Hatchett, who found it to consist
chiefly of inundated albumen-the same as
boiled white egg-together with little ge-
lathe, or matter akin to it. Soft, delicate and
very flexible hair is said to contain most gela-
tine. The discovery of the peculiar oily mat
ter in hair, and to which casual reference has
been made. is due to the French chemist Vau-
que)in. He proved that hair contains two
kinds of oily matter, the one white and bland,
common to all hair, the other colored, and to
the presence of which the distinctive color of
hair is referable. The same chemist also
proved the existence of various mineral bodies
in hair. In light-colored hair he discovered
magnesa in black and dark-colored hair,
iron and sul phur. Subsequent experimenters
have demonstrated the presence of sui phur in
all hair, and the reader may confirm this de-
monstration by very easy experiment. All
that is necessary for this purpose is to boil a
little hair in solution of potash, holding a
little oxide of lead combined. The result of
this operation will be that the hair dissolyes,
and the solution is blackened. Inasmuch as
nothing besides sui phur will turn ad-oxde
black, therefore the hair subjected to expert
ment is proved to contain sulphur. This ex
pertinent Immediately suggests a possible
means of dyeing hair black; accordingly So
Lutte preparations of lead do happen to have
obtained bad celebrity as hair dyes; bad
for the reason that they are extremely poison
Gus, even when absorbed through the pores of
the skin. From this cause have arisen lament
able instances of lead collie and paralysis.
One of the oldest and most generally used
hair-dyes consists of litharge Gan oxide OF
lead mixed with powdered lime. If this ma
terial be made into a paste, with water or
milk, and applied to light hair, then the hair
covered over night with an oil skin or cabbage
leaf, next morning the once light hair, when
washed and brushed from powder, will be
found either black, Or brown approaching
blackness.
was on the point of censuring the habit
of using any sort of har-dye, when the pur
port of certain conversation that took place
on certain day, between me and a certain
hairdresser, came to my memory. He had
been shaving me; passing bis keen razor
with delicate care over and among certain
deep burrows which mark my face, disfgurng
Or embelshing me according to peoples fan
cy. He had been dressing my ragged nous
ache, and taking heed lest the grizzly beard,
which is my good pleasure to wear, should
be curtailed of its normal proportions, when l
found his two gray eyes lingering with a sort
IF deprecating look upon the many tinted hues
If the said beard, notified with various colored
1airs, in which white predominates.
g could make you ten years younger"
aid he at length. elf you would only let me.
Nv ri, arra is onf " II, roo nd CT