Page:Love and its hidden history.djvu/184

 heads. The habit of wearing night-caps, and the hat, or any other covering on the head, in the house, is fatal. The neglect of the hair, by people otherwise careful of their persons, is a frequent cause of injury. A coarse comb should be constantly used, but a fine one seldom, and the hairs separated over and over again, so that they may be thoroughly exposed to the air. The brush should have bristles long and stiff enough to cleanse thoroughly the scalp, and stimulate the bulbs at the root of each hair.

"Too much interference, on the other hand, does more harm than even total neglect. There are some women, and particularly those naturally endowed with the most beautiful hair, who carry its care to an excess. They are in the habit of sqeeezing, twisting, and otherwise tormenting it to such an extent that the skin of the scalp is torn, the hairs broken, and even the bulbs, upon which their growth depends, are permanently injured. The fine comb is generally too much used, particularly where the hair is parted. Here, in consequence, and at the back of the neck, where the hair is so tightly drawn up, the first bald spots show themselves.

"The styles of modern hair-dress are generally faulty, as are all those which do not leave the hair to flow almost in its natural freedom, but require a great deal of tight squeezing, close twisting, and curling. The heat of the tongs is sure to dry the hairs, to render them brittle, to burn the skin, and pervert the natural functions of the scalp. That style of hair-dress is the best which admits of the hair being gently raised, requires the least possible squeezing, and which consists in smoothing carefully and arranging it in wide loose bands, so that it can be easily and always ventilated. If fashion is so exacting as to insist upon obedience, and the hair is accordingly squeezed and knotted tightly, care must be taken to give it repose, by undoing and letting it flow for some time each morning and night.

Wetting the hair is emphatically condemned by Dr. Cazenave. Other good authorities approve of it, with the condition only of its being followed by a thorough drying. The former says it is a bad practice for women to moisten incessantly (and this no one can doubt) their hair, in order to give it a momentary smoothness and darkness of color. The doctor, moreover, adds that the cold bath and especially sea-bathing, is an ' enemy of the hair.'

"Pomatums and artificial applications of all kinds are not