The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-07-13
Ladies' Department.
The Hygiene of the Hair.

pCTtduCSatOt iAVoN VIZ oNA"AS w ~
lilies in which premature badness is
hereditary; and it cannot be given too
early. We should therefore instruct
parents as the Importance of giving
a.tsntion to their children's heads, so
that the matter may not be delayed
too long, until it is too late to stop
the hair from falling out. Dandruff
is regarded by most people as merely
an annoyance, and, if not excessive,
is neglected. If we could convince
the laity that dandruff is one Of the
chief causes of badness, they would
eagerly seek relief. the disease could
be easily checked, and the day OF
hair.fall very much delayed. The
care of the hair is important, not
only to those with an inherited ten
dency to badness, but to all who wish
to preserve their hair in good condi
lion. If properly attended to, it will
be prophylactic, not only to dis
eases of the hair proper, but also to
parasitic troubles OF all sorts. 1t is
true that this demands the expen-
diture of certain amount Of time;
but It is time well expended, though,
I must confess, often greatly be-
gruGged by male patients.
The hygiene of the hair and scalp
consists in the proper use of the
shampoo; in brushing and combing;
in arranging the hair, especially in
women; in the exposure to air and
light, especially in men; in cutting
and shaving it; and in the use, or
rather avoidance. of pomades. We
should watch over the hair from in.
fancy, and instruct our patients as
carefully in regard to its hygiene as
we would in regard to matter of gen.
eral hygiene.
In children and adults, the scalp
saorl be kept c'ean, SO as TO avoid
stopping up the hair follicles with
foreign matter, and to prevent any
: irritation of the scalp which its
presence might cause. This is ac-
complished by the systematic use Of
the shampoo, followed by careful
drying and the application of some
oily substance to the scalp. 1t may
! be given as rule that shampoo
every second to fourth week is suf
ticient for the scalp of those who are
not exposed to more than the usual
amount of dust; while those who are
so exposed should shampoo their
heads every week or two.
The daily practice of sousing the
head with cold water, which is very
commonly done by men, is pernic-
ious, not because the water itself is
harmful, but because the scalp is not
properly dried afterward; no oil is
applied to take the place of the oil
that has been removed by the water,
the wet hair cannot be thoroughly
brushed, and soon gets into con-
dition of dryness and brittleness.
Women avoid getting their hair wet,
and this may be one reason why they
are less often bald.
The proper manner of shampooing
the head is as follows: Choose some
good glycerine soap or pure CASTLE
soap, the tincture of green soap, or
the tincture of prepared olive soap.
and with plenty of warm water make
good lather on the head, and rub
the head vigorously with the fingers,
or with rather stiff, long bristled
brush. If the scalp is very sensitive
to irritants, borax and water may be
used instead of soap, or mixture
composed Of the yolks of three eggs
beaten MP in a pint of water,
either of which will make good
lather with water. When the head
has been thoroughly lshampooed,
wash out the lather with a copious
. u
supply of warm water, or, when prac
ticable, with alternate donchcs of
warm and cold water, and then dry
both scalp and hair with good bath
towel. When all is dry, rub on the
scalp, not on the hair, small guam
tity of some lunctuous substan ce,
such as sweet almond oil, or yaseline.
Care must be taken in drying the
hair, especially in women, who should