Page:Personal beauty how to cultivate and preserve it in accordance with the laws of health (1870).djvu/299

 Duke of Burgundy, had met his death in battle with the Swiss, his body was taken from the ditch where it was found, and interred with princely pomp. On his face he wore instead of the natural growth, a long beard of golden thread.

The ancient method of producing this color artificially is lost, but a score of others have risen in its place. Those that produce the best effect are likewise the most critical to use, and are probably injurious. We have before us the analyses of four of the most popular "golden-hair fluids," "warranted to impart a rich, golden, flaxen shade, to hair of any color after a few applications." They are all alike, and are all but modern adaptations of the plan of the Spanish damsels three hundred years ago, which we have mentioned above. The active ingredient in all of them is muriatic acid, which they contain in about the proportion of twenty drops of the "officinal" dilute nitro-muriatic acid to the ounce of distilled water. Coloring matter and aromatic substances make up the remainder of these magic preparations. No doubt they would effect the purpose for which they are intended, but whether they would do so without hurting the skin or hair is less certain.

The acid thus weakened does not irritate an ordinary skin, it is true, but doubtless would one which was delicate. We have not had the opportunity to ascertain whether they cause falling of the hair. Those