Chapter XXVII Hair Cosmetics
The number of preparations used for the care of the hair and beard is considerable. Unfortunately we are forced to admit that the majority of them, especially those said to strengthen the scalp and to stimulate the growth of the hair, are utterly inert. Thus far we know too little of the natural conditions of growth of the hair to enable us to compound remedies which would actively aid the efforts of nature in this direction.
In like manner we cannot speak with approval of the preparations used to color the hair, either from a chemico-sanitary or from an æsthetic standpoint; many of them contain substances which positively injure the hair or impart to it an unnatural color which is detected at first sight. But a well-made cosmetic should never produce this effect, and nature must be faithfully imitated if the preparation is to deserve the name of a cosmetic.
With the so-called hair and beard elixirs almost incredible swindles are perpetrated; the practical perfumer, however, cannot advise against the use of such worthless preparations among his goods, as they are in daily demand. This is the reason why we furnish the formulas for some of these secret preparations; anybody at all familiar with the principles of chemistry and physiology will recognize their worthlessness from their composition. The only articles of practical value are those intended for cleansing the hair, for making it soft and glossy, some of the hair dyes, and the preparations for fixing the hair in certain positions.
A. Hair Washes
Eau d’Athènes
| Carbonate of potassium | 2½ oz. |
| Sassafras wood | 8 oz. |
| Rose water | 4 qts. |
| Orange-flower water | 4 qts. |
| Alcohol | 1 qt. |
Macerate the ingredients for one month. The carbonate of potassium and the alcohol cleanse the hair and remove the fat. After using this wash and drying the hair, its fat and gloss should be restored by the application of a good pomade or hair oil.
Eau Glycerinée aux Cantharides
| Ammonia water | 3½ oz. |
| Tincture of cantharides (see below) | 3½ oz. |
| Rosemary water | 8 qts. |
| Glycerin | 10½ oz. |
| Oil of rose | ¾ oz. |
The tincture of cantharides is made by macerating 1¾ oz. of powdered Spanish flies (Lytta vesicatoria) in one quart of strong alcohol. The caustic ammonia has a similar cleansing effect as the carbonate of potassium; the glycerin makes the hair soft; the entire preparation is a happy combination, as it cleanses and softens the hair at the same time.
Eau de Fleurs; Extrait Végétal
| Extract of cassie | 7 oz. |
| Extract of jasmine | 7 oz. |
| Extract of orange flower | 7 oz. |
| Tincture of tonka | 3½ oz. |
| Extract of tuberose | 7 oz. |
| Tincture of vanilla | 3½ oz. |
| Rose water | 2 qts. |
| Alcohol | 2 qts. |
Eau de Laurier
| Carbonate of ammonium. | 5½ oz. |
| Borax | 5½ oz. |
| Oil of sweet bay | ½ oz. |
| Oil of rose | 75 grains. |
| Rose water | 5 qts. |
Eau de Romarin
| Carbonate of potassium | 1¾ oz. |
| Rosemary water | 4 qts. |
| Essence of rose (triple) | 1 qt. |
Eau Saponique
| Rose water | 5 qts. |
| Rondeletia perfume | 10½ oz. |
| Saffron | 75 grains. |
| Soap | 1 oz. |
| Alcohol | 10½ oz. |
Boil the finely divided soap and the saffron with some distilled water until the soap is completely dissolved, add the other ingredients, mix intimately, and let stand for some days to allow the coarser particles of saffron to settle. This preparation has a particularly handsome appearance; in cut-glass bottles it shows a peculiar opalescence or iridescence; in transmitted light it represents an almost perfectly transparent, saffron-yellow liquid.
Eau Victoria
| Ammonia water | 1 oz. |
| Expressed oil of almond | 1 oz. |
| Oil of mace | 75 grains. |
| Oil of nutmeg | 75 grains. |
| Essence of rosemary | 21 oz. |
| Rose water | 4 lb. |
Mix the ingredients, except the rose water, by vigorous agitation until a kind of emulsion results. Then add the rose water in small portions, shaking after each addition.
Eau de Roses
| Rose water | 5 qts. |
| Oil of rose | 75 grains. |
| Dissolve in | |
| Alcohol | 3½ oz. |
| And add | |
| Tincture of vanilla | 1¾ oz. |
| Tincture of civet | 150 grains. |
B. Hair Tonics
Hair Restorer
| Tincture of cantharides (see above, page 281) | 1¾ oz. |
| Tincture of nut-galls | 1¾ oz. |
| Extract of musk | 150 grains. |
| Carmine | 75 grains. |
| Alcohol | 3½ oz. |
| Rose water | 1 qt. |
Tincture of nut-galls is made by macerating 3½ oz. of powdered nut-galls in one quart of alcohol. The tincture of cinchona in the following formula is prepared in the same manner.
Tanno-Quinine Hair Restorer
| Tincture of cinchona | 1¾ oz. |
| Tincture of nut-galls | 1¾ oz. |
| Carmine | 150 grains. |
| Oil of neroli | 75 grains. |
| Oil of nutmeg | 75 grains. |
| Alcohol | 3½ oz. |
| Rose water | 1 qt. |
| Orange-flower water | 1 qt. |
Baume de Milan Pour les Cheveux
| Lard | 1 lb. |
| Expressed oil of almond | 1 lb. |
| Spermaceti | 1¾ oz. |
| Carmine | 150 grains. |
| Tincture of cantharides | ¾ oz. |
| Tincture of storax | 1 oz. |
| Tincture of tolu | 1 oz. |
Beard Producer
| Lard | 1 lb. |
| Expressed oil of almond | 1 lb. |
| Spermaceti | ¾ oz. |
| Cantharides | ¾ oz. |
| Carmine | 150 grains. |
| Oil of bergamot | 75 grains. |
| Oil of lavender | 75 grains. |
| Oil of santal | 75 grains. |
Rub the cantharides with the carmine to the finest possible powder; add this with the essential oils to the other ingredients.
Formulas for similar hair tonics might be given to the number of several hundreds; but we repeat what we have said above—they do not produce the desired result.
While the well-known bay rum is used more as a face lotion or refreshing skin tonic, particularly after shaving, or when perspiring in hot weather, yet it is also often used as a wash for the scalp, and is popularly believed to stimulate the growth of hair, which is in reality not the case. We shall therefore give a formula for its preparation here:
Bay Rum
| Oil of bay (from Myrcia acris) | 240 grains. |
| Oil of orange (bigarade) | 16 grains. |
| Oil of Pimenta | 16 grains. |
| Alcohol | 1 qt. |
| Water | 25 fl. oz. |
Dissolve the oils in the alcohol and add the water. Mix the liquid with about 2 oz. of precipitated phosphate of lime, and filter. It will improve by age.
Genuine bay rum is imported from the West Indies (St. Thomas, etc.), where a crude kind of alcohol, obtained in connection with the manufacture of rum from molasses, is distilled with the fresh leaves of the bay-tree (Myrcia acris). The oil of bay obtained from this must not be confounded with the oil of sweet bay. The latter, as it appears in commerce, is a crude mixture of a fixed with a volatile oil.