The Washington bee., 1891-10-03
BUSHELS OF HUMAN HAIR.
IT AccUMULATEs IN BARBER SHOPS,
BUT Is OF NO USE.

Thrown In the Waste Heap-An Unsuc-
eessful Attempt to Employ 1t In
Making PIasteE-WOmen's Locks of
Some Value.
There is fortune awaiting the man OF
sufficient ingenuity to invent some
scheme whereby practical use may be
made of the refuse hair of barber shops.
There are in the country thousands OF
tonsorial parlors, running on an average
three chairs each, and in these establish
ments thousands of bushels of hair clip
pings accumulate monthly. This hirsute
mass of all degrees of color and quality is
carted away with the ashes and other ref
use, no other use having been found for
It.
Those establishments, however, which
have ladies' departments attached Occa-
sionally make use of the shorn locks of
fair customer who is generous enough
10 leave them behind. They are put
through long and tedious process of
preparation, and afterward made into
braids and switches. There is also occa-
sionally a house where the shorter
lengths of female hair are bought and
made into puffs, curls, and bangs. But
the occasions are rare when the customer
fails to take away with her the shorn
locks, so that the BARRIERS revenue from
this source is comparatively light.
Since the introduction of the bang
prominent Philadelphia barber has cut
over a million of them, all of which
yielded him only about so pounds of
hair for his own use. He now cuts and
trims on an average of 1900 bangs per
week.
A curious story is told of the stingi-
ness of barber, who engaged his assist
ants only with the proviso that they shall
have their hair cut only in his shop at
such time as he may indicate, and also
that the clipped hair shall be decided over
to him. This contract having been made,
the man goes to work, and in the course
of time his hair attains length much
affected by the followers of Oscar Wilde.
He hints to his boss" that it would af-
ford him considerable relief to have his
locks shorn. His employer puts him off,
however, until his hair has attained a
length that makes it of marketable value.
The locks are then clipped and sold. The
employer himself has a thick shock of
hair and heavy beard, which he clips
semi-annually.
In answer to the question as to whether
there was any possible use to which ref
use hair could be put, Mr.. Richard Bin
der, of Philadelphia, is quoted as saying ::
Il have had many years experience in
such matters, but 1 have found that it
can be used only to ornament the ash
barrel. In my young days on one Oc-
casion saved three bushels of sweepings
from my shop for friend of mine, a
plasterer. Two bushels of the stuff were
returned to me the next day, however,
my friend having found that it was of
no earthly use to him as an ingredient Of
his plaster. Then there was some talk e4
using it in the manufacture of tooth
brushes, but of course that was all nom
sense. So that we can do nothing but
throw the stuff away.
I'm my ladies' department of course
the hair that is clipped is often of value,
but very little of it comes into my pos
session; the owners invariably carry it
away. never get more than five pounds
of good marketable hair from my GUS
toners per year, while my annual inn
| port from France is over 100 pounds.
Foreign hair is always the best. The
Germans supply the best haxen article,
and France the finest in dark shades.
"There are number of minor quail
hes with which 1 have nothing to do.
For instance, there is the dyed article,
the combings, and the riff raft gathered
by the rag pickers of Paris, all of which
are put to good use by the French.
Chinese hair is the lowest grade in the
market, nd requires great handling be-
fore it can be put to any use. There is
certainly good deal of money in it for
the man who will find some use for our
refuse hair; there are over thousand OF
u.s."