Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-28
TWE WIIR 3R5OE,
False Hair and iss substitnecs-HOw
Haie IS Ruined. ~

HAIR IS Buined.
From the Boston Commercial Bulletin.
Strange Is 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 s'invigoratcrs, ''restorers,"
pomades, etc, it not only becomes varie-
gated in color but hard and brittle; render
ing II wholly unfit for use In the manufac
ture of hair work. Indeed, it is found that
the more people stake caren of their hair
the more they injure it, while those Euro
pean peasants who let nature take us
course, and seldom even comb their hair,
produce the finest and most delicate article.
DSfslttz IT'S VALUE. 8 S0-4s-'. 4
In the shape in which the buyer brings Il,
in from the country, this hair is worth about
$50 per pound, In gold. After 1t hiss been
sorted, the different lots vary In value ac-
cording to length and shade, from $t.5O to
500 per ounce. Indeed, il is almost i'm
possible to set limit to the outside price
Of choice lots Of long hair OF desir-
able shade, fer, so difficult are they
TO obtain, so urgent Is the demand from
parties with whom money is a secondary
consideration altogether, that the fortunate
holders can set their own price and be sure
of customer. "a switch of very light
gray hair" said dealer, (" thirty-six inches
long and weighing five ounces, is worth
$1,000, and can rarely be found at that
price,"
& haanTrH SUBSTITUTES 3 eEEAuH 6
In a country like ours, where fashion is a
law TO the poor as well as TO the rich, it
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 weather. sisters
In the adornment Of their heads.
For this purpose several substitutes are
20 use. The first material applied to this
purpose was jute, which, after passing
through several processes, Is reduced to a
long and glossy fiber, which, in general
effect, closely resembles hair, and which,
owing to its comparative cheapness, rapidly
came into general use. By means of dyeing
1t was produce in all possible shades, and
was eagerly bought in the shape of
Switches" waterfalls" etc.
THE INJURY TO THE SKIN.
In the process of adapting jute to this
use, nicotine, the essential principle of to-
bacco, and corrosive sublimate, most
deadly mereurial poison, are used. It 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 cornbing process, act like 80 many
poisoned barbs, which entering the pores,
and held in place, introduce the poison be-
meath the skin, and cause irritation and
liberation. 1t is owing to this that the
idea became current that the jute con-
tanned animal parasites, that bored
into the skin and laid their eggs be-
meath. The most careful examina-
ton has failed to discover any vestiges Of
animal life in jute; but the little barbs we
have spoken of have been distinctly seen
protruding from the pores of the scalp, and
the sores they produce give every evidence
of being the result of mercurial poison.
LINEN AND COTTON.
A 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 it
can be used. Switches of this material are
sold at retail for about one dollar each, a
price at which very handsome profit is
probably realized by the dealer.
SILK AS A SUBSTITUTE.
Probably the best substitute for human
hair yet introduced is silk fiber. It's fine
ness and strength render it peculiarly suit
able, while its brilliant luster adds to its re-
semblance to the real article. 1t is used
both alone and in connection with real hair,
especially in those cases where switch
Just sprinkled with gray is required.
To produce this effect dark hair and
gray silk fiber are taken in unequal
proportions, varying according to the shade
desired, and woven together, the result be-
ing with difficulty distinguished from a
combination Of real hear, yet costing, owing
to the immense price of long gray hair, a
moderate sum comparatively. Bands and
bralds are also made of silk. the exposed
portion only being Of this material, and the
filling of jute or "eembings.e
THE EXTENT OF THEIR TRADE.
Formerly hair work was sold only in q
few Of the leading hair dressing estab-
lishments. Now large and extensive
stores are devoted to its sale IN the large
cities; nearly every dealer in fancy arti-
cles keeps some of the grades Of sO-called
chair goods" and in every country store
neat card board boxes, containing switches,
chignons, and other head gear, are
offered for sale. So long as fashion
holds its present course, every woman in
the land nearly is a customer, and thus an
enormous bulk of business is done, paying
handsome profits to all engaged in it. At
first the percentage or profit was extremely
large, but competition has reduced this ma
terially. But the volume of business has
increased in a like ratio, and the sale of
hair and hair work continues to be exceed
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