The Red Cloud chief., 1884-04-04
Hair by the Ton.


''Human hair goods are worn NOR,
now than they ever were" said a Bos
ton dealer who does a large business il
such articles. ..All classes of ladie.
wearit-young. middle aged, and old =
some for use, but more for ornament
Men wear wigs only when they cannot
help it. Women wear false hair to ado
to their charms, Short hair is in de.
mand now. in the form of Lisbon and sea
foam waves and ~friZzes, and the ~favoritt
color is chestnut brown. The COLDER
shade, SO much in fashion a few year.
ago, has fallen so per cent in price
There is great deal of competition, ant
all kinds OF hair goods are cheaper than
they used to be. Switches. especially,
can be had at a low price. Ladies form
erly paid S15 to $40 for a good one, but
they can get an extra nice style at from
S5t to $l0to-day.'
Where does the supply of artificial
hair come rOm?'
NEARLY all from France and Ger.
many, with a little from other parts OF
the continent and England. The largest
quantity and best quality is from France.
1t is not the hair of dead persons, as
many imagine, but comes from the
heads of living peasant women and
girls. 1t is gathered by peddlers. who
buy it for a tritle-a silk kerchief or
some other trifle which pleases the fancy.
1t is taken to Paris and sold to manu-
~facturers, who assert it in lengths and
shades for export to America and other
countries. Here are some boxes with
hair which has not yet q light in this
country. will open one. There. you
see the form in which it comes. Little
rolls. which / pull out so, and you see
what will be part of a Lisbon wave.
That is the best quality of hair. There
is also an inferior kind. not much used.
which is gathered from ash-barrels and
dust-heaps of Paris and Italy, and AS
sorted into lengths and shades. 1t isthe
cheapest kind Of hair. Dealers pay
from So to ST. a dozen for the switches,
and sell them at 81 and 81 each. We
get some raw hair in this country, but
very little. 1t zones nearly all from
the nunneries. l do not think there
would be fifty poEnds of it in the half Il
ton of hair which l buy in a year. There
are. some inferior grades made W New
York jobbers. but all the good hair
comes from abroad. There sre in
France regular hair raisers-that is,
girls who have their hair cut for sale
every four years"
What is the most expensive kind of
ha;r:?"
Natural silver white, like this, is
worth SIS or so an ounce; so, YOU See,
it is worth more than its weight in gold.
Bleached white hair is worth only 81 an
ounce. from 50 to so 4 pound. except
the hair collected by rag pickerS, which
brings only from 81 to So. The value
of different coiors of hair depends on
the fashion. Yellow hair, moi golden,
is almost useless 10 us
Il suppose there have been great inn
p-ovements in your art of late years."
Yes. indeed. You could tell the
old-fashioned wig a mile of. but now |
can make a wig which will defy detec-
ton. a great many top pieces are worn
by men-like this
Here the hair dealer. greatly to the
surprise of the reporter, lifted up what
was to all appearance the natural hair
on top of his own head. and disclosed ::
Uranium as bare as a billiard ball.
Now said he. .'here is what We
call the Lisbon wave for ladies. 1t is in
the fashionable shade, but it is worn
OYER natural hair of any color and
wholly conceals it. A great deal of
care is required to make q good wig.
The hairs have to be drawn through
meshes one by one where the parting is
and NJ that part the meshes are made of
white hair woven in pieces Of different
lengths and widths. Here are some of
them
A few thin packages lay in a small
desk drawer. They locked like coarse
muslin.
There are 500 worth there" said
the dealer. You n shut your hand
Oh 500 worth. A good wave costs
from - to $50. according TO quality
and color. Ornaments for the hair in
to sparkle at night. These cost from
- tents to Sc each. DO l make false
eyebrows? Sometimes. but it is hard
10 10 good work with them SO that they
lie detected. | do not make false
mGStacheS for dudes
Il suppose YOU sell good many light
colored waves I o dark haired ladies?:'
"Ah. vou may see mani a pretty
blonde on the street with black eyes
which she cannot hide and black hair
which she can. Fashion rules all.
just now the color is medium brown,
but there are constant changes in style.
enough 10 keep one on the go ali the