The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-01-22
RAD IN HUMAN HAIR.

Raul in nv ttSAths |
Gathered From All Quarters of the Globe
Pure White Hair in Good Demand at
Big Prices.
"The best quality of human hair
comes from France, Germany, Sweden.
and Norway" said a large importer of
human hair on Broadway to the query
of an interviewer.
years ago the human-hair trade was
a bonanza almost to what few dealers
there were in the business. Fine, luxu-
RANT hair could be purchased from the
possessor for a few beads or knick-
knacks. Peddlers went about the coun-
try with gewgaws inducing women to
part with their hair. Times have
changed, and not a woman in any of the
countries mentioned but requires a good
round sum to sever her flowing locks to
adorn other heads in different parts of
the world"
'.Well. how is the trade nowP"
''Within the last fifteen years it has
fallen off surprisingly. Then it was con-
sidered on the list as the third largest
import trade in America, while now per-
haps it ranks about the twentieth. The
reason is obvious. The introduction of
cheap hair from Italy and the Chinese
refined hair has affected the sale of the
genuine article. Now the hair that
mostly comes from Italy is either cut
after death or taken from hospital pa
tients. 1t is then sent to Paris snd car
ried through a process which is sup
posed to give it tone and vitality, but
graveyard hair can never equal the ex-
cellent quality of the raw material taken
from a fesh-and-blood scalp"
"How is the hair prepared for market
after it is first cut from the head?"
".AH hair obtained in Sweden, Nor
way, Italy, and sometimes Germany
(although the latter country often pre-
pares for market hair obtained there),
is sent to Paris as raw material. There
it undergoes the refining process. 1t is
| cleaned, washed and dried, and then
drawn through hot sand; so the article
is as pure as can be. Now, when the
raw material is sent here it is simply
washed in soda, and is ready for sale"
'.What does the hair cost, obtained
from the original wearer?"
at depends on the length and color.
All the way from 81 to $40 is the price
paid for the raw material. We call it
raw until it is cleaned and purified.
Thirty-two inch hair retails here from
So to 81 per ounce, being graded by the
shades of color desired. Some hair
easily sells for $40 and 800 per pound,
if %thirty-two or thirty inches long"
"What color in hair is highest
priced?"
pure white hair is more sought after
now than any color, and is worth its
weight in gold. Indeed, it is more
valuable thar gold. 1t sells at $40 and
$3.50 per ounce, and is extremely hard
to get at that large price. The reason
of this is that pure white hair can rarely
ever be found. Nearly all white hail
turns to a %yellowish tinge from exposure
to the sun and weather. Ordinary
white hair has three different shades
beginning at the roots, and varying
little in the middle and the end. Hence
the great difficulty experienced il
getting pure white hair. I don't NEAR
gray hair. Gray with US is mixed
Then, when white hair is colored yor
can tell it easily"
"What colors come after white ii
popularity"
THE light or pale colors are always
more in demand than dark shades
Light blonde, not reddish, and colder
hair are the favorites after white. II
Sweden light hair is mostly obtained
and is more expensive than in any othe,
country. France furnishes dark ant
medium shades; Germany medium, ant
Italy generally dark. But of course al
these countries furnish all colors, blu
those just mentioned predominant"
"WiIl the prepared human hair las
as long as the raw materialp"
Prepared hair will last a lifetime; i
never loses vitality. The raw hair i
clogged. up with oil and will soon be
come dead. The refined Chinese hair
which is generally mixed with the i'm
ported and sold for first quality, yer
soon rots. In order to refine it, acid
are used, and the effect is deleterious
The Chinese hair is dirt cheap. Twenty
eight inches in length can be purchase,
at the rate of SO per pound. The trash
;. Italian quality is about the same price
The prepared human hair, twenty-eigh
inches long, is worth $50 per pound
not counting the costly shaded grades.
"What is the matter with Americ
that you can not buy the raw matters
here?"
at is the variable climate here,
, think, which seems to impede the growt
, of hair. Fact is, hair doesn't grow Ion
i on American women, and the only res
son that can be given is the strane
I freaks of the weather. Now, in Swede
| the winters are long and severe, br
; not capricious in changes. The temper'
ture remains equable and Swedis
women take pride in cultlvating a fir
crop of hair for the hair-gatherer whe
he comes around late in the sprin:
| American women wouldn't sell the
, hair if they had it. Money is mo- an Of
iect with them, when it comes to look
No hair is obtained from England ft
the reason it doesn't grow long in til
foggy island. The hair from Italy
4 trashy, and there is no doubt that if tt
a raw material was imported here direc
/ before being prepared in Paris, it migl
s contain a germ of cholera, as a gre;
i deal of it is cut from patients in hosp
y tails. Hair from Italy might proper
E be excluded with rags during a cholel
epidemic.-N. Y. Mail and Express.