The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1880-06-10
LADIES COLUMN.
ABOUT HAIR.
How It is Procured and Where
Some Interesting Points.
Boston Globe.

Boston Globe.
AS long as people have heads
there will always be a lively inter
est in their covering, whether it be
put on by real or artificial means.
False hair has become so common
in our day as to somewhat prevent
real hair from having its legitimate
influence. Fully three-fourths OF
the ladies Of the United States are
said TO wear false hair, either in
braids, puffs or switches, and in this
city alone the business in false hair
will reach $75, 900 a year. The use
of false hair dates back to Bible
times, and perhaps the first record
ed instance is connected with King
David's hayward son, Absalom, as
stated in the supposed lament of
the former:
cob, AbsalOma Oh, Absalom! Oh. Absalom,
my son!
Hads't thou thou not worn a periwig thou
hads't not been undone."
People who have very little hair
on their heads are natui ally induced
to supply the deficiency by some ar
tifciaI means. The bald head is
alike susceptible to the cold and to
the mosquito bites, and the owner is
not likely to submit to the inflic-
ton when a remedy can be secured
for a trifling sum. Hair is defined
as an elongated, more or less Gym
drical, epidermic appendage, analo-
gous to the feathers of birds and
scales of reptiles. It's essential
structure consists of an assemblage
of epidermic cells at the bottom of
a flask-shaped follicle in the sub
stance of the skin, supplied with
blood by vessels distributed to its
walls; it is made up of root, from
which the hair is developed, and a
stem or shaft connected with it
The growth of hair takes place at
the root by the development of new
cells at the bulb, the old being
pressed forward by the new or be-
coming elongated IN the stem. The
hairs of the head are the longest,
those of the beard the thlckest and
those of the general surface the fin
est. Among women the hair has
been long enough to fall below the
feet and the beard of man OCCASION
ally reaches to the waist. Frequent
cutting and shaving of hairs in
crease their thickness, but not
their numbers. When the chem
istry of the matter is considered,
the constituents of the blood are
found to determine the color of the
hair, the golden variety being
caused by aa excess of sulphur and
oxygen; black to a deficiency In
these materials, while the absence
of coloring matter accounts for
gray. A patient German has taken
the trouble to count the number Of
hairs in the heads of different col.
ors. The blonde had the most,
I40, 900. Next came brown with
100, 440. Then black, 102, 1862, and
last red, S8,740. The bulk of the
hair was, however, about the same
in each case, the firmness of the
blondes and their multiplicity be
ing being balanced by the coarser,
heavier texture of the less numerous
red and black.
The means OF artificially chang
ing the color of the hair have been
employed by the fair sex from
very early period. Even the taste
full Greeks used hair dye, for the
aged sculptor Miron sought to win
Lais by coloring his locks black at
ter she had refused him. Her re-
ply was certainly a model of satiric
cruelty: GLOW can l grant thee
to-day what L refused thy father
yesterday" The composition of
Roman hair dye was, in some ca
ses, more peculiar than agreeable,
if, as is said, the black shade was
obtained from leeches which had
been left to petrify for sixty days.
Even the mode of producing light
color was by no means attractive,
goats fat and ashes being the con-
stituents of the soap used for that
purpose. Then, as now, artificial
pigments were recognized as injuri-
Gus, as we learn from Ovid, and Ia
dies oftener preferred to wear
/ blonde wigs than to risk the "haz-
ard of the dye" Standing in the
sun was another means of procur-
ing a blonde color for the hair, and
the headaches resulting from it
were 20 doubt cheerfully submitted
to. The Venetians also let the sun
brighten the locks which had been
previously stepped in artificial prep
arations IN order to obtain the re
qnired changes. The auriferouS
prescription dictated a combina
ton of two pounds of alum, six
ounces of black sulphur and foul
ounces of honey, distilled in water
Blcached hair, which is so common
and popular with the ladies of the
t present day, is produced by the usC
of per oxide of hydrogen, which
ruins the hair and makes it lik,
chat. Prominent dealers in th,
= material say that hair dyes, which
are composed largely, of mineral mat
: ter, are responsible for many cases
of brain trouble, paralytic and 9th
er affections. In most nations tht
adornment of the hair has alway'
, formed one of the principal duties
OF Jue JOlleG anu Vie CdpllCSS "
different races and epochs in this
respect are very remarkable. The
Greeks considered long hair beau
tiful object, and the Egyptians re
R garding it as an incumbrsnce, re
!. moved it and substituted ligh
J. wigs. The Roman ladies used arti
g fetal hair, dyed their own, sprIn
! killed. it with gold dust and repre-
scented it in various fanciful devi
] ces. The Hebrew women rejoiceC
. in long tresses and adorned then
with gold, silve- and preciou:
stones. j. uu; rwn country anC
times the la I"~ have always giveI
much time and attention to the
dress and adornment of the hair
I and this forms an important part O
their toilet. The question has of
ten been asked, "Whence comes the
supply Of false hair with which the
\ natural supply and its defciencie:
are eked out?' Foreign countries
supply the bulk of material fol