Or mix 1 part of bay rum, 3 parts of neat's-foot oil, and 1 part of French brandy by measure. Use this as a hair wash daily. Shake well be fore applying.
Or into 1 gallon of new milk put 9 quarts of the green tendrils of the grapevine. Add 9 pounds of honey and a handful of rosemary. Simmer slowly until the bulk is reduced about one half. Strain through a linen cloth and apply to the hair fre quently.
An excess of lime in the system is said to have a tendency to make the hair brittle and cause it to split and crack. This, by admitting air to the hair, is the most common cause of grayness. Hence bard water for drinking purposes should be avoided, or softened by means elsewhere rec ommended.
Walnut Hair Dye.—Press the juice from the bark or shells of green wal nuts. Add a small quantity of recti fied alcohol and a little allspice or a few cloves. Let the mixture stand for a week or ten days and shake occa sionally. Filter through a linen cloth and add a small amount of common salt as a preservative. Keep in a cool, dark place.
Yellow Hair Dye. — Boil 1 or 2 ounces of pure annotto in 1 pint of soft or distilled water, adding a pinch of baking soda. This gives the hair a golden yellow, which, however, va ries according to its strength and the original color of the hair. Washing the hair in a solution of alum water deepens the color. The application of
CI, solution of lemon juice or vinegar after the use of this dye reddens the hair or gives it an orange color.
Black or Brown Hair Dye.—Boil 9 ounces of black tea in 1 gallon of wa ter. Strain through 4 linen cloth. Add 9 or 3 ounces of glycerin, ounce of tincture of cantharides, and 1 quart of bay rum. Let the mixture stand 48 hours, shaking occasionally, and perfume with any essential oil preferred.
Black Hair Dye.—Mix juice of green walnuts as above described with neat's-foot oil, using about 1 part of the oil to 4 parts of walnut juice ac cording to the amount of natural oil present in the hair.
Red Hair Dye.—Make a strong de coction of safflowers or of alkanet by boiling either in water to which a small amount of baking soda has been added. This gives the hair a bright red or reddish-yellow color, accord ing to its strength. When the hair is dry after this application, wash with a solution of lemon juice or vinegar mixed with an equal quantity of water.
Or, to darken red hair, mix 1 dram each of oil of nutmeg and rosemary, 1 ounce of castor oil, 2 drams of tinc ture of cantharides, and 8 ounces of French brandy. Work a teaspoonful or more of this into the hair each day with a moderately stiff brush, brush ing 12 to N minutes.