The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-02-13
THE HAIR.
Some Curious Facts In Relation 10 Our
airsute AppeudaGe-BaIdnes

Some Curious Facts In Relation TO Our
airsute Appeudaxe-Baldness.
It has sometimes been wondered
where all the false hair comes from
with which the deficiencies Of the natu-
raj supply are eked out. Foreign coun.
tries furnish the bulk of the material
for the American market, as there are
few people here who, whether from in
clination or necessity, dispose of their
locks for money. Light hair comes
from Germany, while Brittuny and the
south of France supply the black and
it is curious sight to see the young
peasant girls being sheared like sheep
by men as well as women. The univer-
sal custom of wearing caps which COM
pletely conceal their abundant looks,
doubtless accounts for the readiness OF
the French peasant girls to sell for O
song the fl est ornament 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 lnven-
tions or exaggerations, for in every re.
putable hair store there is a guarantee
of cleanliness which any eye can be sat-
isfed of. There are, no doubt, un-
pleasant associations connected with
what is known in the trade as "grave.
yard hair" that is, the hair which is
taken from q persons head after death
but this kind being brittle and deficient
in the qualities necessary for daily use,
is probably only found in cheap quar-
ters. Very curious, as showing the
connection between the emotions and
the hair, are those instances in which
terror or some great mental distul bance
has suddenly blanohed it. Marie An.
toinette's experience in having her head
become gray the night preceding hel
execution is sufficiently familiar. An
other example, referred to by DIR.
WINTER as coming under his own obser.
walton, was that of soldier who feigned
rheumatism, and fingered in hospital
for three months, to escape military SER
vice. This anxiety to keep up the de-
ception caused his hair to turn gray, al
though he was quite a young man.
These emotional affections of the hair
are supposed to be caused by the action
Of some fluid in the blood upon the pig.
ments. Patches of white hair are some
times, though rarely, found upon new
born babes, and it is the absence OF pig
ment which produces the whiteness &c
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
free circulation in the capillaries Of
theskin, is held by medical authorities
to account for the general exemption Of
women from badness, as compared with
men. The smoothness of a scalp de-
nuded of its natural covering, shows q
denseness of texture in the skin caused
by the destruction of the bulk of the
hair, and the closure of the follicles-in
this condition, all remedies are USE
less. The silk hat 80 constantly worn
by men is probably responsible fol
much of the prevailing badness, and
the fact that this ceases below the place
of contact with the head, indicates the
mode of operation, the exclusion Of ai1
and consequent excessive production oi
heat. Goodness of the head is re-
quisite for a healthy growth OF hair,
which is apt to come out in fevers and
other morbid states OF the system. Moth.
ing better can be devised for the benefit
of the hair than the daily use of cold
water, followed by vigorous rubbing.
The use of animal fats is injurious by
reason of their heating properties, and q
Light cleansing and gently stimulating
wash is the most which is needed by
way of artificial application to promote
the health and growth of the hair. The
blood, says q medical writer, is the only
macassar of the hair, the only oil which
can with truth be said to insinuate it's
balsamic properties into the pores of the
head" The fine network of vessels on
which the bulbs of the hair rest is alone
capable of msintaing it's healthy exist.
ence. The same writer adds: "We
do not see why internal preparations
should not be tried, and We are not al
all certain that gelatine soups and pills
made of the ashes of burnt hair, might
not be effectual in badness, as those in.
gradients would supply to the blood the
materials necessary for the production
of hirsute growths." Barring the Gre
nation and restaurant suggestions,
which are here unpleasantly connected
with hair, it might be worth while fol
persons who have grown gray in read.
ing the Times, or become bald by moi
reading it, to test the soundness Of
these bits OF wisdom in relation to the
subject, Times.