WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 251, 2 March 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen"). THE ART OF HAIR TREATMENT. Her precious possession, the hair, a woman frequently ruins by ill-treatment, and then it is a wearying business to restore it to a healthy condition. If a few simple rules were observed from childhood onwards there would seldom be any cause for trouble. They should be commenced early in life, as very often the hair troubles of middle life are due to early neglect. But, whatever a person's age may be, she can do a great deal by | correct treatment and avoidance of what is known to be injurious. REMEDY FOR DANDRUFF. Dandruff is said to be the cause of falling hair in eighty cases out of ah undred. Many people make light of this disease, and take it as a matter of course. But it is really the greatest enemy of the hair, both in women and men.

This, whieli is an infectious disease, comes on from many causes —dust, or using other people's brushes, and not seldom it is caught at the hairdresser's. Very often the scalp is prepared for the infection by scratching with sharp combs, by too stiff-bristled brushes, too strong shampoo liquors, and too infrequent washing. All these must be avoided. If, however, the dandruff makes its appearance, it can, as a rule, be quickly cuted by almost any antiseptic lotion or I ointment. A level teaspoon of sulphur, rubbed into a tablespoon of vaseline or olive oil, is a good application. But a practically certain cure is made with boric acid and vaseline in the same proportions. If, after the head is washed, this latter be well rubbed into the scalp with the tips of the fingers for two or three or more nights, the dandruff will disappear completely. There may be an occasional case of failure—that is, when the sufferer is in a very poor state of health—but success is obtained in ninetynine cases out of a' hundred.

WASHING THE HAIR PROPERLY. | Many faults are committed in washing the hair, and they all have bad consequences. The chief fault is using bad soap or too strong a shampoo liquor. Both of these injure the .scalp, and, by taking away all its oil, make the hair dry and brittle. The petrol, or benzine, also, which is so much in fashion, has this effect. It removes all the oil from the hair and dries the skin of the head, leaving it with a tendency to become scaly. Besides the great danger from inflammability, this cleanser, and, indeed, very strong alcohol or anything else which removes the natural oil, must inevitably cause the hair to fall out and become grey before the due time for thesei events.

To wash the hair properly one should use nothing but soap, borax and water. The soap must be of a good quality. Ordinary laundry soap is positively destructive. The water must be soft, pure rain water, or distilled water if available, otherwise water which has been kept boiling for ten minutes and allowed to cool. The water should be neither hot nor cold, but tepid. If it is hard, some borax should be used .to soften it, but the quantity cannot, be here stated, as it will depend on the ha'rdncss of the water. Soda i.ir too.3iarsh a chemical to use. Remember that the main purpose of washing is to cleanse the scalp, which should be thoroughly rubbed with the fingers. As to the frequency of washing, it will vary with circumstances. City" people, exposed to so much dust, will find the operation necessary more often than country people. As a general rule, the head should not be washed oftener than every three weeks, or more seldom than every five weeks. 1' oi those who like a regular shampoo liquor the following is a good recipe, and quite safe:—Bicarbonate of soda, y 2 w.; borax, Vi-oz.; eau de Cologne, 20z.; spirits of wine, 20z. ; tincture of cochineal, loz.distilled water, 1 y 2 pints. ' THE CORRECT WAY TO DRY THE HAIR. After washing, the hair should bo dried as quickly as possible. This does not mean that a lot of hair should be rubbed oil the head by very vigorous use of the towel. Drying should be a gentle process. Cover the head with a large, soft warm towel, and gently pat it all'.over! J.hen sway towel and hair together from I side to side, but do not move the towel i on the hair. When all the water possible is taken out by this means, let the hair hang loose over the shoulders. if the heat fiom a lire is used as an air Teat eare mast, be taken not to sit too near, liie hair must not even get very warm, much less emit a smell of scorching It should be very gently combed, and, if matted, it is best to rely on the wetted hngers for disentanglement. When the scalp is dry, thoroughly massage it in the following manner for fifteen minutes. 1 less the tips of the fingers (Jn the head and then move the scalp to and fro over i file bone. This produces a most refresh- ' f and B rcat, y helps the growth • of the hair. Finish by rubbing in some ' J , ) { u 7; oli '. or > better stfl, some lanoline. ' V"'!' 0 ,s a talde '>t'y to dandruff use a i little boric acid rubbed into the oil. CURLING THE lIAIU. Curling tongs or other hot irons should ' i never be used by anyone who wants to ; escape hair troubles. The heat lias a ■ most injurious ell'ect, and sooner or later kills oil' a great many hairs. Indeed, medical men who have made a special study of the hair trace a great deal of the baldness over the forehead to the curling tongs. If used with a little care, both curlinopapers and crimping pins are perfectly harmless. A GOOD BANDOLINE. As damp weather straightens artificially curled hair (though it increases natural eurliness), some recipes for harmless bandolines may be useful. Take one teaspoon of quince seeds, one tablespoon of (lax seed, and a pinch of mustard seed. Mix them and bruise in a mortar. Put them into two pints of soft or rain water, and boil down to one pint in a double boiler. Strain through a cloth, and it is ready for use,. *A little perfume may be adiled if desired. The llax seed alone, by the way, if treated as directed above, is sufficient in > itself. Another and simpler bandoline can be. | made by putting half an ounce of gum

tragacanth in a pint bottle of rose-water, and letting it dissolve for several days, shaking the bottle occasionally. When strained it is ready for use. It may be given a reddish color with a little cochineal.

The foregoing liquids stiffen the hai and help to keep it in position. The also make it appear thicker. But they have the disadvantage of covering the hairs with a film and preventing ventilation.

Damping the hair with alcohol (spirits of wine) before putting it in curling pa,per.s increases the curliness. In doing this keep far from a naked flame or the tire. And the following is a very good recipe for giving a curly condition to the hair:—Borax, 20z.; gum arabie. '/ioz.; hot water, 1 quart. Put the borax and gum in the water, and when they are dissolved add three tablespoons of spirits of camphor. Keep in a bottle, and just before going to bed damp the hair with the lotion. HINTS ON COMBS AND BRUSHES.

The scalp is easily injured by sharppointed combs, and the hair pulled out by combs which are too tine. A comb really safe to use should be made of flex'ble rubber, with large rounded and blunt-pointed teeth. There should not be liio.u than twenty teeth to the inch, and a comb as flue as this should he used cautiously. It is better to have a coarse and a fine comb than the two combined I in one.

A hair-brush should have moderately stiff bristles. But if the bristles are very stiff or sharp-pointed they will injure the scalp. I in cleansing a comb, first pick out with ft toothpick or a pointed match, then wash with an old tooth-brush. When washing a b'rusli, the proper way is to add a little ammonia or borax to tepid (not hot) water. After picking out the dirt with a hat-pin, dip the brush, and gently move it up, down, and sideways. If the bristles have been softened, rinse in water containing a little alum, to make them stiff. Remember that the hair is to be combed and the scalp brushed. But the hair can also be brushed with advantage if it is done with extreme gentleness.

TO KEEP DOWN THE GAS BILL. Don't put a small saucepan on a large ring. Tlii.s ruins the pan, burns its conDon't use a big flame after the water tents, and wastes the heat, has once boiled; the gas, if turned half on will give sufficient heat to keep the water on the boil. Don't leave the ring alight for one moment if there is no pot above it. A few odd moments during the day mount up at the end of the month. Keep a box of matches always beside the stove, and re-lighting will 'be the work of a moment. Don't heat the oven before it is necessary. Find out by experiment how long it takes to get it both warm and hot, then calculate accordingly. Don't, when roasting meat, keep the gas burning until it is time to serve the joint. The oven will remain hot for some time after the jets are extinguished. GIVING CHILDREN PHYSIC Administering nasty medicine to children is by no means an easy task, and it becomes a very unpleasant' one when the parent has to demonstrate that the medicine is palatable by drinking some of it herself. With a little care and tact, however, much of this trouble may be overcome. I When the medicine is very nasty first give the child a little sweetened orangejuice, and administer the medicine, then give a little more orange-juice afterwards. If the child realises after a few doses how he is being deceived, the promise of a sweet afterwards will usually induce him to swallow it. If the child has to take iron in any form, or a strong acid, a tube should be employed so that the teeth will not be injured. Rinse the mouth out afterwards with water containing a little carbonate of soda. Pills can easily be swallowed in a littlejam or jelly. Castor oil will not be tasted if the patient sucks a slice of lemon before and after taking the oil.