THE CROWNING GLORY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 8 December 1908, Page 2

THE CROWNING GLORY.

CARE OF THE SCALP

Just as the rumpled feathers of a birc;, or the roughened fur of p. 'kitten, indicates tho impaired health of the animal, so is the unsatisfactory condition of tho human hair, after the rules of hair culture have been followed, a sign that the body is not healthful. Tho purpose of this article is to treat of local troubles only, aa in other cases of loss of hair, etc., medical aid is required. The scnip benefits materially from massage, and a famous hair-culturist recommends most strongly the "pulling" process. This consists of taking small strands of hair between tho thumb and fingers, and pulling gently but firmly, at the roots. It stimulates the action of the blood and strengthens the root of the hair. VIGOROUS BRUSHING.

Then it must bs remembered that the hair is just as grateful as the flowers for air and sunshine. Whenever ihe hair can be let to fall loosely over the shoulders, it is gaining strength, and if on vigorous brushing, suclv should be indulged in night and morning, hairs are found to loosen,, the process of brushing should not be relaxed. Let tho dead separate from the living, acccrding to the rule of nature, for no good can oome_.from the consorting of the two. A good plan is to give the hair twenty-five strokes, and if this is done regularly, a change for the better will be'noticed in a very short, time. Tho brush should be fairly stiff, with closely set bristles, but not metallic, neither should a metal comb be used. A whalebone brush is excellent for tho hair, and the stroke should be slow and thoughtful, from the root of the hair to tho extreme end. -It is advisable to divide the hair in strands when brushing, as the scalp is in this way subjected to better treatment. Dipping tho fingers in cold water and massaging tho scalp is helpful, and plain paraffin applied in this way is excellent, but great care must be taken to not put tho head-near anything inflammable or somo hours afterward.

SCALP MASSAGE

Good results are obtained by tapping tho scalp with the tips of-the fingers, but it must bo fememberedj when various applications are recommended for external use, that there are very few things in the world which can penetrate the skin and enter the blood, and as each hair is a tiny tube, with a system of circulation quite similar to that of tho human body, much nonsense is written about and practised for the encouragement of the growth of the hair., The scalp-may be massaged by placing tho fingers of both hands at the roots of tho hair, not far from each other, and pressing the scalp between them. Do this all over the head, or, if preferred, tako a complexion roller, place a towel over tho hair, and use the roller as if for the face, except with considerable more pressure. Much stress should be laid on. the pulling process, as this raises the scalp from the head and each time that the scalp is so raised the circulation at" that part is increased. The head will have a tingling and pleasant feeling when tho pulling is finished. It •is probably due to this principle that tho shaft of a woman's hair is much larger and stronger than that of a man's, for the constant brushing and undoing of tangles necessary to keep a girl's hair in order makes her scalp m better condition than her brother's, whoso closely cropped locks are mote easily cared for. RESPONSIVE NATURE.

Mental labour and worry has less fco do with the condition 'of the hair thin is generally claimed, except s.s the mental strain affects the physical part of the body. In reality, the hair has great vitality, and grows ever aften death, and under ordinary circumstances the root is not easily destroyed. It is a mistaken idea to keep; a girl's hair cut short all through her childhood in the ■hope of its being strong in later life. Nature is so responsive and so opposed to waste, that she never supplies force where it |is not needed. The same amount of nourishment is not required in the scalp when the hair is short as when it is allowed to grow long, and that is why, when illness cornea, a man is much more liable to lose his hair than is a woman, whoso scalp ha& grown thick and hardy in the nourishment of her long tresses.