Page:Personal beauty how to cultivate and preserve it in accordance with the laws of health (1870).djvu/281

 the hair and the eyes is said to be especially observable in children of a scrofulous constitution, and for that reason their hair should not be allowed to grow long.

HOW TO CURL AND STIFFEN THE HAIR.

Dishevelled locks are rarely in fashion. Much more frequently the decrees of the mode prescribe some frisure into which the rebellious tresses have to be forced against their will. To constrain them, certain preparations have been devised, known as bandolines, or fixateurs (the technical terms of the toilet are always derived from the French). We shall give several of them which are harmless, and may therefore be used without scruple. The simplest is soap and water, or water alone. But these are not always efficient. Here is a venerable and familiar one:—

Take— Bruised quince seeds     a tablespoonful; Clean rain water         a pint.

Boil gently to three-quarters of a pint, then strain through muslin and add

Alcohol or brandy, Cologne water,     of each two tablespoonfuls.

It can be applied by moistening the fingers and passing them through the hair, or, what is neater, by using for the purpose a small sponge.

The following is equally well adapted and easily compounded:—