The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-07-31
SIMPLE TREATMENTS FOR
PERMANENTLY GRAY HAIR

Many times lately letters have
reached me regarding this serious sub
ject of prematurely gray hair, and nat
urally the writers have been much
alarmed at this tendency shown by
their browning glory
One girl wrote: "I am only % and
nobody in my family before me ever
showed a tendency to prematurely gray
mar. Another, even younger, told of
long attack of fever which left her "as
gray as a grandmother" and more than
round dozen letters declared that they
did not see why a woman should turn
white even in the early thirties." All
besought remedies. dyes, explanations
escapes from premature grayness.
There are a number of reasons for
this early grayness. 1t may mean an
inherited tendency, it may come from
a serious disorder of the nervous sys-
tenn, or it may be the result only of
temporary shock or sapping illness.
In the last case, it is quite possible for
the hair of young person to return,
with restored health, to its natural
color, as young heads which have been
all but white have been shown to re-
sumo the colorings of youth, under
proper conditions, with time
gradual
continues, it points to likelihood that
the nervous system is seriously de-
ranged. and in that event there is moth
ing to do but carefully to build it up-if
not primarily to improve ones health.
then to arrest the spread of the gray
hairsi
In case of nervous arrangement, nux
vomica and phosphorus, combined with
iron and arsenic, are gradually needed,
and these should be made into the form
OF good tonic. But let me earnestly
caution my readers to take no medicine
whatsoever without consulting a physi-
clan, for while admirable tools when
handled properly, even fairly simple
drugs may prove dangerous when given
to the wrong persons. If ones condi-
ton does not indicate the need of arse
nc 1t may do great injury On the
other hand, it splendidly restores any
one whose system really requires it.
Again, cod liver oil may be needed by
many persons who find themselves turn
ing gray at an early age; there are pills
made of phosphorus and quinine which
are almost universally valuable: and it
is impossible to lay too much stress on
the need of good food. plenty of rest.
and regular and quiet sleep. Ten hours
of night sleep are by no means too
much for a person nervously exhausted.
and an afternoon nap or rest in dark
ened room should be taken in addition
to this.
If the tendency toward premature
grayness is inherited, very young
woman would doubtless be pardoned by
her friends for coloring her hair with
some harmless lotion, for the spectacle
of whitening locks about a young face
usually attracts too much attention for
the situation to be pleasant. An admir-
able and harmless coloring lotion for
hair naturally dark is made OF red wine
and sulphate of iron. Dissolve seven
grammeS of the sulphate in an ounce
of distilled water, then add u pint OF
California claret, and steep gently for
ten minutes. Wet the hair thoroughly
with this, massage the scalp and LEI
the lotion dry on without wiping the
tresses.
Another lotion, which, while not eff
fective in all cases, is yet effectively
useful in some, is made of green tea
and sage in this way: Green tea, two
ounces; dried garden sage CAST crop.
two ounces. Put these ingredients in
an iron pot which can be closely COW
cred; add three quarts of boiling hot
rain water which is preferable to well
water; simmer till reduced one-third;
then take the pot off the fire and after
-wenty-four hours standing strain and
bottle the liquid. Wet the hair with this