A WOMAN’S GLORY

Evening Star, Issue 19410, 19 November 1926, Page 8

A WOMAN’S GLORY

An unhealthy condition of the hair and scalp may bo attributed to several fundamental causes. Overstrained nerves and habits of worry (two products of this generation’s ceaseless rush and hurrv) affect both the condition and color of "the hair. Oily hair is sometimes due to inactivity of the scalp, and the condition can be remedied by massage which will start activity of the muscles and oil cells. Washing the hair too often will cause this condition just ns much as infrequent washing. The hair should seldom be shampooed with soap and water oftener than once in four weeks, unless the condition of the hair has been studied carefully and it is apparent that more frequent washing is beneficial. But a dry shampoo may be used with perfect safety whenever the hair has accumulated too much oil and becomes difficult to arrange becomingly. A delightful and efficacious dry shampoo is made of two ounces of corn meal and one ounce of powdered orris root. These ingredients should be thoroughly mixed, sifted into tho hair, and rubbed into tho scalp for about five minutes, after which the hair should bo shaken and brushed with a clean brush till ali traces of the shampoo have been moved.The treatment for dandruff is to saturate the scalp with oil, which should remain on the head for several Hours preceding the shampoo. After the regular shampoo massage should follow. For a simple and exceedingly beneficial massage, those instructions should be followed:—

(!) Brace the thumbs above the back of the ears; spread and curve .the fingers, pressing the tips firmly against the scalp, kneading with a backward movement, thus , raising the facial muscles.' Beginning at the forehead, work backward over the entire head with a slow', rotary motion, thus combining massage of the scalp with a drawing up of the facial muscles. For the first few nights this massage should he continued for several minutes, until the scalp becomes used to the motion, then lengthen the period to ten -or even fifteen minutes.

(2) Follow the massage with the application of a good hair tonic. Part the hair, and, using the crown of the head as a starting point, separate the hair into inch-wide sections and apply the tonic to this small surface until the entire scalp is covered. Then, using the finger-tips of both hands, gently but vigorously rub the surface of the scalp until,the tonic is thoroughly absorbed. (3) Brace the thumbs, slightly apart, at the nape of the neck, and work, the fingers back and forth about ten times from the back of the head to the ear. This will stimulate the nerve centres of the upper spine, and have both a soothing and tonic effect on the nervous system.