Page:Personal beauty how to cultivate and preserve it in accordance with the laws of health (1870).djvu/274

 THE HAIR IN HEALTH—WASHING, COMBING, AND BRUSHING.

The skin of the scalp, like that of any other part of the body, must be kept clean in order to be healthy. We do not, however, recommend it to be washed too often. It is no small labor for a woman with long and thick tresses to give her head a thorough ablution. Once a week is as often as we can ask her to do it.

The materials needed are a fine sponge, soft, tepid water, and a mild neutral soap, white Castile being as good as any. The locks should be parted, and the sponge, moistened, but not dripping, should be rubbed on the scalp, not on the hair. The hair needs no washing, but only the skin. After the head has been cleansed, the soap should be carefully removed by the sponge and pure water, and the hair dried with a soft towel.

Instead of the soap and water, many prefer the yolk of an egg beaten up in a tumbler of warm water, and it makes an excellent application. There are also circumstances, as, for instance, where soft water is not convenient, when a hair-wash may be used to advantage. We shall suggest several of these, which can be readily prepared, and which are suitable for frequent use on healthy heads.

Dissolve half an ounce of transparent soap in a quart of rain water. Add a small wineglassful of alcohol,