Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/197

 BEAUTY Continued from page as. Part t No II THE FALLING OF THE HAIR Causes of Falling Hair— Treatments Prescribed— The Value of Massage— Mistaken Ideas on the Good to be Derived from Cutting and Singeing — Internal Remedies P^ALLiNG of the hair is a very common affection, Excessive falling of the hair almost always follows a long and exhausting illness or a surgical operation. In many cases, however, it occurs when the health is good, and without apparent cause. Dandruff One of the most common causes of falling of the hair is dandruff of the scalp. This is some- times hereditary ; in other cases it may be due to neglect of the daily care of the hair, to inactivity, or, on the contrary, over-activity of the skin. In all cases the cause must first be ascertained, and the treatment adapted to its necessities. The treatment for dry dandruff differs entirely from that which should be adopted for dandruff of a moist, greasy nature. In cases of dandruff it is best to commence treatment by washing the head. An anti- dandruff lotion or ointment should then be applied and rubbed well into the scalp night after night, until it becomes free from scurf and of a healthy appearance. When the dandruff is of a greasy nature, with dull and dirty-looking scales causing the hair to become greasy, the following lotion applied every night will soon have a remedial effect : Acetic acid ^ oz. Rect. spirit of wine i ,, Glycerine i dr. Carbolic acid „ Elderflower water 3 oz. Rose-water 5 „ If the dandruff is very dry, with tiny white scales, which fall from the scalp like March dust, the following pomade should be rubbed well into the scalp nightly : Precipitated sulphur i dr. Castor oil 2 ,, Cocoanut oil 4 ,, Lanoline 4 ,, Carbolic acid 10 drops. Stimulating: Tonics When the scalp is perfectly free from dandruff a stimulating tonic wash may then be substituted for the above lotion or ointment. This, of course, must be carefully chosen according to the nature of the hair and scalp. Hair which is naturally of a moist, greasy, and lax nature would require different treatment from that which is dry, brittle, and apt to break off at the roots. Below are given three prescriptions for hair tonics to be used when the scalp and hair are greasy through over -activity of the oil glands : (1) Acet. cantharides J oz. Tr. cinchona) | ,, Acid acet. arom • . I ,, Aq. coloniensis 2 ,, Aq. ad 7 „ (Mix and filter) (2) Quinine sulph. .. 12 gr. Acet. cantharide i ,, Spt. rosmarini i ,, Aqua) rosas 8 ,, (3) Acet. cantharides 4 dr. Tinct. jaborandi 4 ,, Spt. rosmarini i oz, Aq. coloniensis i ,, AquaD ros3B 8 „ In cases where there is much dryness of the scalp and the hair also is of a brittle and dry nature, emolhent treatment will be necessary, and in such instances either of the following preparations will be found useful : (i) Tinct. jaborandi 4 dr. Lanoline i oz. 01. cocos nuciferae ij „ Ess. white rose q,s. (2) Acet. cantharides 4 dr. Tinct. jaborandi 4 „ 01. rosmarini 4 ,, 01. amygdala dulc 3 oz. Spt. camphorae 3 „ Scalp Massage A good method of restoring tone and vitality to hair which has become thin and weak, and of remedying a relaxed condition of the skin of the head is scalp-massage. If combined with electricity, this treatment is still more valuable, but when electricity cannot be obtained, the following method of massaging the scalp wiU be very beneficial in its effects. First. — Shake the hair well out. Secondly. — Press the tips of the fingers well into the skin of the scalp, and make a series of little wheel-like movements from the sides back to the neck. Then begin at the forehead, and make the wheel-like movement on the top and down to the back of the neck. Thirdly. — Press the fingers firmly into the skin of the scalp, and make a shuttle movement, criss-cross, all over the head. Fourthly. — Press the fingers firmly into the scalp front and back, and make a pushing movement as though trying to force the hands to meet. Fifthly. — Tap lightly with the sides of the hands all over the head. One hand should be raised while the other descends. The process of constantly cutting and singeing the hair is a mistake. Hair should be seldom cut, and never singed. One of the reasons why men become bald much earlier than women is because fashion in their case demands constant cutting of the hair. Another reason for earlier baldness in men than in women probably is because the former are in the habit of wearing cloth caps and hats in- sufficiently ventilated. Hair which is naturally weak, or has from extraneous causes become so, has not sufficient recuperative energy to with- stand the drastic system of continual shearing. The popular idea of singeing the hair is based on the fallacy that the hair is a hollow tube which may lose its nutritive fluid if the end is not occasionally sealed up by a singeing process. Bare Patches The hair sometimes falls off in patches, leaving round or oval bare spots on the scalp. The
 * and may proceed from a variety of causes.