The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-04-20

The Boston Commercial Bulletin has
the following
Strange as it may seem, the hair which
grows upon the heads Of our fashionable
ladies has no commercial value. Through
much crimping, curling and dosing with
various hair invigorators," restorers,
porades, etc, it not only becomes varie-
gated in color, but hard and brittle, render
ing it wholly unfit for use in the manufac-
ture Of hair work Indeed, it is found that
the more people take care Of their
hair the more they injure it, while those
European peasants who let nature take
its course, and seldom even comb their
lair, produce the finest and most delicate
article.
ITS VALUE.
In the shape in which the buyer brings il
in from the country, this hair is worth
about $50 per pound, in gold. After it
has been sorted, the different lots vary in
value, according to length and shade, from
81 30 to 500 per ounce. Indeed. it is al
most impossible to set limit to the out
side price Of choice lots Of long hair Of
desirable shade for 50 difficult are they 10
obtain, and so urgent is the demand
from parties with whom money is sec
Ondary consideration altogether. that the
fortunate holders can set their own price
and be sure " a customer. - A switch uf
very light gray hair, said dealer, thirty
six inches long and weighing five ounces,
is worth 81 OOO. and can rarely hc found at
that price.
SUBSTITUTES
III country like ours, where fashion is
a law 10 the poor as well as 10 the rich,
1t has been necessary to provide some
cheap substitute for human hair, in order
that factory and shop girls, and others Of
slender means, may vie with their wealth
ier sisters ID the adornment (9 of their
heads
For this purpose several substitutes are
in use. The first material applied to this
purpose was jute, which, after passing
through several processes is reduced to a
long and glossy fibre, which, in general cf-
feet, closely resembles hair, and which,
owing 70 its comparative cheapness, rapidly
came into general use. BY means Of dying
it was produced in all possible shades, and
was eagerly bonght in the shape Of
switches. waterfalls. etc.
ITS ISJURY TO THE SkIN.
In the process of adapting iute to this
tobacco, and corrosive sublimate, q most
deadly mercUial poison, are used. 1t is
also rendered exceedingly brittle. and
breaks as easily as spun glass. The small
PARTICLES find their way through the hair to
the scalp, and their edges being rugged
from the cOmbing process, act like so many
poIsoped barbs. which entering the pores
and held III place. introduce the poison be-
meath the skin, and cause irritation and III
ceration. 1t Is owing to this that the idea
became current that the jute contained an
imal parasites, that bored into the skmand
laid their eggs beneath it, The most care
ful examination has failed t. discover any
vestig,s Of animal life in jute but the lit
tie barbs We have spoken Of have been dis
tinctly seen protruding from the pores Of
the scalp, and the sores they produce give
every evidence Of being the result of mer-
curial poison.
LINEN AND COTTON.
4 more recent and harmless substitute
for human hair is found in fine cotton and
linen thread, dyed to the proper shade and
sized to give it the requisite gloss, and then
made up into the various forms IN which il
can be used. Switches Of this material are
sold at retail for about one dollar each. a
price at which a very handsome profit is
probably realized by the dealer.
SILK As sUBsTIrUE
Probably the best substitute for human
hair yet introduced is silk fibre. Its fine
ness and strength render it peculiarly suit
able, while its brilliant luster adds g. its
resemblance to the real article 1t is used
both alone and in connection with real
Z haIr nanartallxy N fhr,ua w.hnr..
switch Just sprinkled with gray is required.
I To produce this effect dark hair and gray
/ silk fibre are taken in unequal proportions,
varying according to the shade desired, and
woven together, the result being with difh-
Guilty distinguished from combination If
real hair, yet costing, owing to the immense
| price Of gray hair, a moderate sGm com
paratively. Bands and braids are also
made Of silk, the exposed portion only be-
ing Of this material, and the filling If jute
or ''combings.
THE EXTENT or THE TRADE.
Formerly hair work was sold only in a
few Of the leading hair dressing establish
ments. Now large and extensive stores
are devoted to its sale in the large cities
nearly every dealer in fancy articles keeps
some of the grades Of so-called "haiT
goods, and in every country store neat
card board boxes, cOntaing switches, CHG
mons, and other head gear, are offered foI
sale. SO long as fashion holds its present
| course, every woman in the land nearly IL
a customer, and thus an enormous bulk Of
business is done, paying handsome profits
to all engaged in it, At first the per cent
age or profit was extremely large. but com
petition has reduced this materially. But
the volume Of business has increased i'm a
like ratio, and the sale Of hair and hair
work continues to be exceedingly profitable