St. Landry democrat., 1879-03-29
THE HAIR.
Some Curious Facts In X las;on to Our
EairEute Appendase

1
| EairEute Appendase.
It has sometimes been wondered
where all the false hair comes from with
which the deficiencies of the natural SUP.
ply are eked out. Foreign countries fur
nish the bulk of the material for the
| American market, IS there are few peo.
pie here who, whether from inclination
or necessity, dispose of their locks for
| money. Light hair comes from Ger
many, while Brittany and the south OF
France supply the black ; and it is Gu
Jious sight to see the young peasant girls
being sheared like sheep by men as we'll
As women. The universal custom of
wearing caps which completely conceal
their abundant locks, doubtless accounts
for the readiness OF the French peasant
girls to sell tor song the finest orna-
ment of their sex.
Now and then some story gets into
print about the dangers of wearing false
hair, and the accounts of insects which
have been said to inhabit it are by no
means attractive reading. But these
stories are, as rule, either inventions or
exaggerations, for in every reputable
hair store there is a guarantee of clean
illness which any eye Can be satisfied of.
There are, no doubt, unpleasant associa.
tions connected with what is known in
the trade as "grave yard hair" that is,
the hair which is taken from PERSONS
head alter death; but this kind being
brittle and deficient in the qualities
necessary for daily use, is probably only
found in cheap quarters.
Very curious, as showing the connec-
ton between the emotions and the hair,
are those instances in which terror or
some great mental disturbance has sud-
denly blanched it. Marie Antoinette's
experience in having her head become
gray the night preceding her execution
is sufficiently familiar. Another exam
pie, referred TO by DR.. Wynter as coming
under his own observation, was that of
8 soldier who feigned rheumatism and
fingered in hospital three mon Ia to
escape military service. His anxiety to
keep up this deception caused his hair
to turn gray, although he was quite
young man. These emotional affections
of the hair are supposed to be caused by
the action of some fluid in the blood
upon the pigments. Patches OF white
hair are sometimes, though rarely,
found upon newborn babes, and it is the
absence of pigment which produces the
whiteness so familiar in the Albino.
AS to the causes of badness, they are
to some extent connected with artificial
habits OF life. The larger deposit of fat
in the female scalp, which allows of a
free circulation in the capillaries of the
skin is held by medical authorities to
for the general exemption Of
from badness, as compared with
men. The smoothness of scalp denuded
Of its natural covering, shows a dense-
ness of texture in the Skin caused BY |
the destruction of the bulk of the hair, |
and the closure OF the folliceg--in this
all remedies are useless. The |
silk hat 80 constantly worn by men is |
probably responsible tor much of the |
prevailing badness, and the fact that !
tnis ceases below the place OF contact |
with the head, indicates the mode of op,
Grafton, the exclusion of air and conse-
luent excessive production of heat.
Goddess Of the head is requisite for
healthy growth of hair, which is apt to
come out in fevers and other morbid |
states of the system. Nothing better
IAN be be devised for the benefit of the
lair than the daily use of cold water, fol-
owed by vigorous rubbing.
The use of animal tats is injurious by !.
'eason of their healing properties, and a
light cleansing and gently stimulating
wash is the most which is reeded by way
If artificial application to promote the
health and growth of the hair. The
blood says medical writer, is the only
nacassar OF the hair, the only oil which
IAN with truth be said to 'insinuate its
'slsamic properties into the pores of the
lead The fine network of vessels Oh
which the bulbs of the hair rest is alone
capable of maintaining its healthy exist
nee. The same writer adds: " We do
lot see why internal preparations should
lot be tried, and we are not at all certaiA
hat gelatlne soups and pills made of the
shes OF burnt hair, might not be efect~
|al in badness, as those ingredients
7ould supply to the blood the materials
ecessary for the production of hirsute
rowths." Barring the cremation and
estaurapt suggestions, which are here
connected with hair, it
alght be worth while for persons who
ave grown gray in reading the Times,
r become bald by not reading it, to test
he soundness of these bits of wisdom in
elation to the subject. Il
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