The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-27

From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
 A hairdressing salon in Paris is most amusing. Each is the center Of a. ciiqus or clientele whose members know each other and whose affairs are per1ectiy well known to the coiffeur He, at all times, is a favored individual with some thing of the doctors privilege. To the Parisienne he Is perfectly Indispensable; she knows that about 90 per cent Of her charm depends on the arrangement of her tresses, and she therefore regards him as a most valued collaborator
 If a large number of women prerer 10 have their coiffeur come to them each morning. many moro rather enjoy the iit- tIe trip to his salon, where they can in- snect all his novelties and profit by his handy installation Naturally, these last few days, the principal topic Of converse ton before the high mirrors Of the Rue de la Paix and bo1levards has been the distressing fatalities that have taken place in London In two hairdressing sa- ioona where three women have lost their lives as a consequence of tho inf1ammable and other properties of the dry shampoo.
 Do not imagine, however, that these tragedies have affected the popularity or this system of hair cleaning In the Clty of Light. Hair is almost an object or cult in Paris: both male and female parts Of
 
 grow or purchase, and it receives the most scientific of care and attention. This ex- nlafns the fact that almost every other stov, in Paris is a hairdresser's. They are not all establishments do luxe by any means In the poor quarters the coli- feurs shop and prices are made to suit the purse of his public, and the work girl or market woman will pay nm tnlee cents every morning to brush ana twst her hair neatly on her way to work Her richer sister, who starts out later Tn the dav. will give as many francs Tor her ynorn,nr ..coiffure," carried out in Louis XVI salon not far, probably. rom the Place vendome and in this way the streets are filled with charmingly dressed heads. ., oerhe first essential of hygiene being c,eanliness. tho Parisienne takes sham moo once a month at least, and for the mast 10 years she has esohewed the soap and water regime for her hair entirely, as well as for her complexion propably, though that belongs to different story. The wet shampoo Is exhausting Tn itseit, and involves a tedious drying process In either the compressed air or gas appa- ratus. and both leave the hair unman- ageable for days to come. ...
 The dry shampoo is accomplished with ont effort in a few minutes. and dries in- mediately, leaving the hair silky, clean, and soft. Administered with the simple but necessary precautions always adopt ed here. there Is scarcely more danger about the process than there is in trim ming a spirit lamp or cleaning pair of madame's gloves with "essence." The 'antfseptic" has base of "essence," fn- deed, or petrole with ether, and Is highly volatile. Applied before an open window with a good drausht accelerated by large fan, the fumes cannot hang about the patient, and as the shampoo is only given by daylight there is no risk of igni- ton or explosion. On this latter head the coiffeur Is very strict, and does not hesi- tate when twilight falls to dismiss appli- cants until tomorrow" There Is prob ably hardly a hairdresser in the city who does not use this antiseptic shampoo at least a dozen times day.
 For the few minutes that the shampoo lasts conversation is impossible between client and operator. When 1t is over and the hair Is ready to be handled again the interest of the senace begins. Now is the time to try new tints. (for madame changes the color of her hair as readily as that of her ha), new styles. new decorations. and each new style calls for some new form of ''postiche." either . plait. fold, curl, or pun. and all these in their turn will be treated with Q monthly dry shampoo.
 It is amazing to see how much money c coiffeur can charm out of the pockets of his lady clients, and the Americans here arc among the most lavish. A mira cle of tact and discretion. the coiffeur leads the talk from hair culture to fash ion. and from scandal back to either. His suggestions are apt to be very prac- tical and his counsel good. He Is, more- over, stepped in French tradition on his own subject, and the value of this tradi- tion may fairly be estimAsed by the me