HOME TOPICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15025, 21 June 1912, Page 4

HOME TOPICS.

PRETTY HAIR. HOW TO OBTAIN IT. Few women treat their hair in a proper manner. It is washed too often or too seldom. Brushed madly for a few days, then left, to fend for itself, with as little brushing as possible consistent with keeping it tidy. And so on, day after day, till the time arrives .when the hair is so thin, faded and weak, that years of care have to be taken to bring it back into even decent growth. The health is naturally the first thing to be considered when the hair commences falling out. Loss of vitality and internal derangements, especially of the digestive organs, have in a greater or less degree the effect of making the hair fall out, grow brittle and faded, while poverty of blood soon leads :to groynes*. Those whose hair is inclined to turn grey should try a course of iron. This has in many cases been most effective in restoring the colour to faded hair. Violent headaches or neuralgia will turn the hair white in quite a snort time.; The first care is to build up the general health as much as possible with sensible food, plenty of open air, and ripo fruit. Scalp massage is one of the great secrets of keeping the hair healthy. If tho hair is healthy this need not be clone more irequently than once m four days, but if the liair is falling it should be done every night for fifteen minutes. j, I once asked an old working woman who had led a hard life of work and privation how she managed to have such a beautiful head of hair.

,"I juat lets it down of nights, and, whether I am tired or not, 1 brushes it well then if it is coming out, and it does in spring, I dips my finger-tips in paraffin, and I just rubs my head till, it hurts. Then I plait my hair and tie it up and go to bed. At other times I never go to bed with it up, as that strains the hair and pulls it out." • j, It was all very simple. No one need use the crude paraffin, but a. preparation, can, bo bought at the chemist's, and this can Uj rubbed into the hair. But do not dQ it at night. ' Do it in the morning', when there is plentv of light, as accidents happen very easily. Take a morning when quite a couple of hours can be spared, during which time thero need not be any necessity of going near a fire. Dip the; tips of the fingers into the paraffin, slip them into the liair, and press firmly on to the scalp. Push the scalp backwards and forwards and around, still keeping the finger-tips firmly pressed on to the scalp. In fact, knead and rub the deep muscles of the scalp until tho whole is in a glow. Repeat the dipping of the finger-tips into the paraffin at intervals until the whole of the head has been treated with it. Now, without brushing the hair, go and sit in a sunny window, read a book or sew, but let the hair have a good sunning and airing. In an hour's time brush the hair gently but thoroughly, with long, even strokes and a fairly firm brush. After three weeks of this treatment the scalp should chow a fresh crop of new hair, and the falling out should cease. A good hair tonic could bo used instead, of the paraffin, or a pomade. All have their advantages. The pomade is natually a good skin food for the hair. Many, however, object to it .oh account of its being greasy. If the hair is carefully parted, apd the dressing rubbed directly on the scalp, the hair will not become greasy. The skin-will absorb all the*fat and leave the hair free. Care must be taken not to use more than the scalp can take up. The ordinary unscented lanolin is a good hair food. Another good mix- | ture is to take three ounces of white vaseline, half the quantity of crude castor oil. Mix these thoroughly by stirring them in a jar placed in a pan of boiling water. When perfectly blended, add 1-| drams of gallic acid. Thirty drops of oil of lavender are stirred in after the mixture him commenced to cool. Pour into a china jar with a cover, and use as required. Gently pulling the hair is said to have a stimulating effect upon the scalp. To do this the hair ,is divided into strands and each strand is gently jerked until the scalp is glowing. Our grandmothers acted on the same principle when they brushed the head till it felt tender before rubbing in any of those wonderful confections they used to promote hair growth. Washing the head should not bo done more often than necessary. -Oily hair n<?eds a thorough shampooing every ten days or fortnight; while drier hair should not be washed oftener than once a month. ! If the atmosphere is dirty, sis it is in most of our towns, the hair may be cleansed by the constant washing of the brushes. It is wonderful how this plan and the amount of grime it removes. To wipe the hair with a soft, clean towel also takes off the dust. In motoring care should be taken to keep the hair covered with a veil.

.When the scalp is scurfy the head should have sweet oil rubbed in until the whole is saturated. Tie up the head, in ,a clean cotton cloth. A bathing cap is, however, much more comfortable, aijd one should always be kept for the purpose. If the hair is washed the next morning all the scurf will come off and the head ana hair be beautifully clean. Do not get cheap shampoo powders. They only contain cheap ancj coarse ingredients that destroy the hair. A nico home-made one is to take a quarter of a cake of unscented soap of any good make. Stand a basin in a pan of boiling water, pour into the basin a pint of boiling water Shave the soap into this and beat with an egg-whisk until all is dissolved, add a teaspoonful of borax and stir thoroughly. Add another pint of boiling water and leave tho mixture to cool. When cold enough wash the head in the lather. Rinse in several : cool waters until all the soap has been removed. The use of a bath spray helps a good deal, but failing this a large sponge does almost as well. Rub the hair sitting in . a sunpy window or out in the air. Use plenty of towels. The drying in the sun makes the hair very bright and fluffy. Drying in a dark room, or going to bed with it still damp and wrapped in a towel, makes it dank and dull. After drying, combing, and brushing leave the hair down, running the fingers through it to loosen the strands, and sit in the sun for an hour to sun it. This sunning has a wonderful tonic effect. For this reason always try to wash the hair when time can be devoted to it, and be sure to select a"sunny or dry day; As regards curling the hair, do not use hot curling iron:.. They not only make the hair harsh and coarse, but destroy the colour. One good plan is to fold 'your hair in and out of wavers not too tightly, and hold the head over a basin of hot water until the hair is damped with tho steam. Then set in the sun or in front of the fire until it is dry, and the hair will be beautifully waved. Of . course the liair may be put in wavers over-night, when it will be dry in the morning. Finally, at night never forget to give the hair a good brushing with a moderately firm brush, and then plait the hair loosely and let it hang down. These are quite simple directions, quite within the reach of every woman,. Only a little time and care, no great outlay of money or time. Only fifteen minutes night and morning and two hours once a fortnight, or once a month, as the case might be. Even a busy woman might easily manage this small amount of time. She can easily read or study while she is massaging "or brushing her hair. She will find the time well spent.

FINDING HAPPINESS. Make up your mind that you are going to try to speak only golden words, for then you may be certain the echo will be golden deeds. Make up your mind to bury all mean feelings, to forget all injuries, and to forgive all unkind words written or spoken of you. ! Make up your mind to be as cheerful ; ana as Hopeful as possible and not to allow yourself to get into the habit of thinking the worst rather than the best of people. ' Makj up your mind to be courageous, force yourself to be pleasant, and say the kindly jvorda thai come to your lips.