Chapter 11 -Problem Hair
Caution: Fine Hair—Handle With Care
Skin like a baby's may be every woman's lifelong desire. But hair like a baby's? Soft and silken as it may be to an admirer's touch, its picture-book wisps are more unmanageable than an unruly two-year-old. Ask any woman who must cope daily with this hair that just never grew up.
Fine hair falls flat on your ear right after a setting, refusing to take orders from brush or comb. It goes limp in summer and flies away in a disorderly halo in winter. And with its notoriously unfair share of flexibility or resilience, it limits its wearer to comparatively few styles.
What fine hair lacks is the body beautiful which makes it possible to put hair in its place and keep it there.
Start your campaign to become mistress of your whimsical locks by consulting your physician. He may be able to recommend a diet which will give your hair new life and vibrance.
Now put your head in the hands of an expert stylist who will create an illusion of fullness. Many hairdressers believe the best way to bolster fine hair is to blunt cut each strand. They strive for a layer-on-layer arrangement to make each line of hair spring up to give the effect of considerably more body.
James Caesar, who has been making New Yorkers' baby-fine hair look luxurious for years, uses both scissors and razor. He blunt cuts bottom hair, but not straight across ("I don't think anything in life should be blunt"), so it can support slightly tapered but not too tapered top hair. The end result? A full-looking head of hair.
"But while fine hair may be slightly tapered/' he says, "it must never be thinned."
Should your stylist begin to cut your hair to a short to medium length, don't try to stop him, Mr. Caesar urges.
"People with fine hair hate to part with any of it. But the sheer weight of long hair only drags it down and makes it look thinner. Most baby-fine hair looks best when cut to a medium length."
So forget about an all-American-girl pageboy look or styles which feature wings of hair swooping down over your ears.
Bangs, if your forehead can take them, are a boon. These fringe benefits add fullness and mask undistinguished hairlines. Or perhaps your man will decide on a bouffant style which calls for backcombing.
To backcomb, hold ends of a strand of hair between the first and second fingers of the left hand. Gently comb inside of strand straight down to scalp. Now gently push comb upwards, lifting shorter ends of hair. This will fluff out curls giving them more body. Smooth over with light combing.
As essential as a good style is a soft permanent which will give your hair body. Your stylist may recommend preconditioning. But whether you roll your own permanent or go to a salon, be sure the lotion used is gentle and a test curl is taken. Frizziness must be avoided at all costs.
Very fine, extra-limp hair should, if possible, be per-manented in a salon where the procedure can be under constant control by a professional. Extremely fine hair tends to lose elasticity easily and could, if improperly handled, become even more limp than before.
"Fine hair may also be dry or oily, but it is most often oily," Mr. Caesar says, "and oily hair usually goes with oily skin, dry hair with dry skin."
Shampoo fine, oily hair frequently. When it becomes dirty its weight tends to drag hair down and make it look thinner. Shampooing also adds temporary body. Use a castile shampoo which will coat each hair shaft like an invisible net. Finish with a body-building rinse.
Think big when setting your almost-microscopic-in-diameter tresses. Set your hair on jumbo rollers and make giant-size pin curls to avoid frizz. Curlers should not be so large, however, that you lose all control of hair. Hitting upon just the right length and diameter requires a little individual experimentation.
Fine hair also can benefit from a wee drop of beer taken in moderation ... externally.
Use as a setting lotion a mixture of half water, half stale beer, which has been allowed to stand for a day and a half. Then, as a final touch, mist your head with a spray for hard-to-manage locks.
Bright note: If you don't approve of frankly artificial color but need the added body coloring preparations lend, try rinsing or tinting your hair its natural shade. As you get older, however, you may have to abandon your coloring scruples if you don't want to look like a balding bunny. Pink scalp isn't exactly camouflaged by fine white hair.
Thick, Coarse Hair
Thick, coarse hair knows all its constitutional rights and then some. It wants complete independence to go its own stubborn way. What these lawless locks need is a universal training program.
Thick, coarse hair comes in several varieties: floor mop, dust mop, steel wool and wire brush. Obviously the first thing to do is to know your opponent, then plan your campaign accordingly.
The attack will take time, patience and imagination. But once your hair has agreed to compromise and recognize you as mistress of its new frontier, you will find you have one quality silken-haired ladies will never have, superior body and resilience.
Thick hair, incidentally, is more apt to be your problem if you are a redhead. Blonde hair usually comes in the finest denier and brunette in medium.
THICK, STRAIGHT AND COARSE: This hair responds to skillful cutting, constant conditioning, and just the suggestion of a permanent to make it more malleable.
Run, do not walk to the nearest and best stylist. Your temptation may be to beg him to thin it, and thin it, and thin it again. Resist. Coarse hair should be reduced in bulk not by pruning but by tricky tapering and layering. Excessive weeding will make your hair bounce up into bush formation.
Once you do get your hair into a sleek shape, make every effort to keep it streamlined. Coarse thick hair grows faster than weeds. Never skip a trimming appointment. And speaking of trimming, be meticulous about keeping eyebrows well groomed.
If your hair boasts no natural wave, invest in a good permanent—or rather the hint of a suggestion of one. Coarse hair takes to permanent-wave solution like a dog to a bone. Just enough wave to make your hair controllable is all you really need.
Your hairdresser will probably suggest a short hairdo, depending, of course, on facial structure. Too coarse, too thick, too long hair is too heavy to handle. Short but not too short—or else it would be wiry—is the most manageable length.
Now, sit back and enjoy what is good about coarse hair. It not only takes a good permanent, it takes an excellent setting and is probably the healthiest of all hair. Combing, you have no doubt long since noticed, does next to nothing for your hair. Always brush with the vigor of a stylist brushing out a fresh setting, if you would keep your lion's mane tamed. Brush for shape as well as sheen. Choose a strong, natural-bristle brush.
Apply the smallest dab of moisturizer each time you give your hair its daily 100 strokes. And be sure to carry a hairbrush in your purse.
Thick, Coarse, Curly Hair: You're a human dustmop. Adopt a short, soft hairdo. Brush faithfully. Indulge in hot oil treatments and shampoos for dry hair. Your scalp may be as arid as the desert. Rub conditioners into hair ends. Use a creamy setting lotion and put up on large rollers. (See section on "Curly Hair" in this chapter.)
Wiry Hair: Don't fight coarse, straight hair. Work with it. The less you have the better. Have an expert cut and shape it. Use an oil shampoo and alternate occasionally with a detergent shampoo. Brush vigorously. Rub cream hair dressing into ends. Mist with a spray for hard-to-manage hair.
Kinky Hair, Exceptionally Coarse And Curly: Consider seriously the advantages of having hair straightened.
Oily Hair
You have bright, shiny, please-touch-me hair for only the briefest moments in your life—immediately after each shampoo! Then the Texas geysers nature put in your hair disguised as sebaceous glands start gushing. In two or three days you're a twentieth-century Medusa. Your beautiful hair hangs in snake-like strings down to your shoulders.
Your roots turn dark almost overnight. You feel uncomfortably greasy from the hairline up. And hat bands and necklines—drawn incautiously over oily hair—are constantly threatening to shout your problem to the world. You're dandruff-prone. And ever since you were a teen you can remember fighting the battle of the bumps and blemishes.
Oily hair is a little bit more difficult to treat than dry hair. Loose-muscled oil glands are directly responsible for your free-flowing condition. But the underlying cause, the root of your problem, could be one of several: improper diet (too many fatty foods have gone to your head), tension, or poor general health.
If your bothersome condition persists despite a fresh fruit, fresh air and fresh vegetable routine which would qualify you as American Health Queen, see your physician. Fortunately, the solution is often as simple as a well-balanced diet, which will also work wonders for your complexion.
Oil seeping down from your scalp can produce blackheads. And once bacteria set up housekeeping in one of these plugged sacs the next thing you know there's a pimple.
It's a good idea to keep oily hair under cover at night. But be sure the frilly cap you select is made of a fairly porous material so your scalp will be able to breathe.
Oily hair goes out of its way to trap dust and grime. Shampoo frequently, every two or three days, if necessary. And because your hair is in the water so often, it is wisest to adopt a simple-to-manage style.
Choose a mild detergent shampoo or one especially blended for oily hair. Sometimes, working a liquid shampoo through dry hair before actually dunking your head under water is a help. Rinse hair thoroughly after your wet shampoo, then rinse and rinse once more for good luck. Any remaining cleanser can irritate the scalp and cause oiliness to increase. Don't stop rinsing until hair is soap free.
Finish with a vinegar or lemon rinse. Prepare by measuring a half cup of vinegar or the strained juice of two lemons to a quart of warm water. Rinse again with clear water to avoid any lingering lemon or vinegar aroma. Your hair can take a waving lotion, often drying on other types of hair. Finish by using a non-lanolized spray.
Many experts believe vigorous brushing helps bring your gushy condition under control because it improves the general health of the scalp. Don't be alarmed if brushing aggravates your condition, initially. Persevere by giving your head its due of 100 strokes and your reward may well be a less oily scalp.
Between shampoos, blot up excess oil by wrapping your hairbrush in an old nylon stocking or a piece of lint-free cloth. Brush long and vigorously, changing position of the cloth as it becomes soiled. Wipe brush on a terry towel to remove excess oil each time you brush. This special towel, brushes and comb should be washed whenever you shampoo.
On days when hair is especially oily, but it is impossible to shampoo, you'll find you can improve manageability by vigorously rubbing scalp with a terry towel before brushing and combing.
Dry Hair
If it's any consolation, more American women have dry hair than oily hair, curly hair, or even cowlicks. You are not alone.
Some women come by this lustreless state naturally. Others work long and hard at acquiring tinder-wood hair. They painstakingly broil it in the summer, bake it in steam-heated apartments in winter, change hair color with every season, refuse to read home permanent directions, go on and off fad diets—and never lift a hair brush.
Is your hair dull and listless? Does it stick out in porcupine quills? Resist curl? Look like hay and feel like straw? Does your scalp feel tight and itchy? Are unattractive flakes and bits of broken hair a shoulder problem? You have dry hair.
Perhaps your only fault lies in starving your tresses as well as your tummy. True hair beauty begins inside. If you've been on a strenuous seaweed or bananas-only diet and just noticed dry hair symptoms, ask your doctor about pills to restore your pep and revitalize your hair—also ask about the sanity of your thinning program.
While your doctor is helping you attack your problem internally, begin your own beautifying program from the outside. Launch a new hair brushing program, and stick to it. Brushing carries oil down the whole length of your hair to its brittle ends. A brush with a medium hard bristle is best for you.
Begin a massage program, too. Starting at the nape of your neck, describe simultaneous clockwise and counterclockwise circles with your middle fingers. Continue until you've covered your entire scalp and you can almost hear the blood tingling.
Shampoo time should never be hit or miss. Make it a ritual every seven to ten days. Select your shampoo carefully. Avoid soaps which could leave a dulling film in hard water, and detergent shampoos which tend to remove some natural oils as well as dirt and grime. Try a cream olive oil or egg shampoo or one especially formulated for dry hair. Before each or every other shampoo give yourself a hair-silkening hot oil treatment. Use a baby or olive oil or special dry-hair treatment cream. Heat oil. Section hair. Apply oil with eyedropper, cream with cotton ball to each newly created part until you have covered your entire head. Massage scalp thoroughly.
Now, if you can be sure no one sees you looking like a creature from the Paleolithic era, is the time to let your hair bake a bit in the sun. If you can't, wrap your "salad" head in a hot towel wrung dry. When towel cools wring out in hot water again. Continue steaming until oil or cream penetrates scalp. This should take about one-half hour.
No time for a leisurely steam-cream treatment? Apply as directed above, don a shower cap, and turn on the hot water. Your hair will turn to gossamer as you shower.
Some women find an egg shampoo (see shampoo chapter for this recipe) does a good cleaning-up job after a salad treatment. Rinse until your hair is no longer a Caesar salad. Now, follow with still another softening measure, a cream rinse to prevent dryness and increase manageability. If you are planning to use wave set, use it sparingly as it tends to dry hair. To eliminate the possibility of drying hair with a wave set, an alternative is to use a curl cream, one which promises a long-lasting setting, instead of a cream rinse.
Whichever you use, always wrap hair tips in end papers before turning rollers. If you use a spray, select one for dry hair, one which contains no lacquer and is designed to soften and condition hair as it aids in setting.
Still more tips for the girl with parchment hair: Take advantage of all products specially formulated for dry hair. And always protect yourself from sun and sih'cone. Keep ol' sol out of your hair by rubbing an invisible net of suntan lotion or conditioning cream over your locks. Rinse salt, sand and chlorine out of your hair the instant you return from sun or sailing.
Straight Hair
Only a matter of heredity and a straight rather than a coiled hair follicle deep in your scalp lie between you and your life-long ideal, natural curl. But, oh the difference, since you first discovered your genes shortchanged you.
Whether you're aware of it or not, many curly-haired women would swap follicles with you. And if you stop to think, some of the most fascinating women of today and yesterday had straight hair. Joan of Arc is generally depicted in an early page boy. Straight-haired, too, are Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo and Sara Thorn, the exquisite, blond Ford model on the cover of this book.
What your straight hair needs most is a sense of direction. Seek out a fine stylist whose practiced razor or scissors may be able to coax a shy, retiring wave into your hair. Many experts, like canny gold miners, are able to strike such hidden wealth.
But don't believe anyone who promises to cut curl into your hair when you have no curl in the first place. Be wary of curl-cuts. Heat cuts which promise to make your hair curl produce temporary body. But excessive heat also dries out scalp and hair.
If your stylist cuts your hair wet it's a good sign. Hair is relaxed when wet and will clearly show direction of growth and any tendency to curl or wave. Leaf-like layer-cutting encourages hitherto hidden curls and brings out the natural spring of the hair.
Fine, straight hair is blunt cut to produce the illusion of body. And have yours cut often as well as expertly. Straight hair tends to grow in a most uneven fashion.
Actually, if hair is thick as well as straight and medium long, it may be worn in many ways. Draped. Twisted. Swirled. But if you prefer to wear it down, just don't let it hang there. Hair must be shaped to fit your features and curl just a bit at the tips.
Just as all lines that seem straight are not necessarily so, not all hair that looks straight comes out of the follicle that way. Unpruned hair hangs straight often from the sheer weight of its bulk. Tinted or bleached hair given too strong a permanent may turn straight.
Limp hair which has gone too long without a shaping may not even keep a setting. Hard water sometimes masks a potential wave. But a poor hair styling is the most effective camouflage of all.
Straight hair also needs a light body permanent, especially if it is thin and far from luxurious. Some experts recommend a close-to-the-scalp permanent. Brush straight hair faithfully. Follow up every other shampoo with a cream rinse. And finish with a protein-enriched hair spray to suppress fly-away tendencies.
If your hair is limp as well as vertical, never let yourself be given more than the gentlest body permanent and concentrate on the beautiful possibilities of well-shaped, almost straight hair polished to the nth degree.
Limp hair which is not only more than normally porous but which also lacks elasticity can actually go straighter than it was before and be seriously damaged by too powerful permanent-wave solutions. The finest salon permanent is the best hair beauty investment you can make.
Curly Hair
traight-haired women may envy the girl with the really curly hair, but if they only knew the price you ringlet beauties have to pay for what Kenneth has called "the popular ideal, the Shirley Temple look."
Each rebellious lock goes its separate way. When the temperature-humidity index soars you can barely run a comb through the snarls. When it plummets you are sure your head could double as an emergency transmitter in an electric power breakdown. And when you've been foolish in the sun your hair becomes "a sea of desert."
But you do have one of the greatest of all hair blessings—body—and with this all kinds of beautiful things are possible.
Actually, there are many types of curly hair:
SLIGHTLY WAVY: Nature has given your hair a soft body wave which is perfect for current styles that are more line than curl.
STRONGLY WAVY: While some experts deplore perma-nenting curly hair, others recommend a light permanent on large rollers to widen the waves for styling and to slightly curl straight ends, if you happen to have them.
SLIGHTLY CURLY: This is ideal. You can achieve wonderful results by simply setting with large rollers.
MORE THAN SLIGHTLY CURLY: Some hair stylists recommend straightening with a permanent-wave solution. Others recommend using a straightening cream, which they believe is more effective because it is more manageable.
FRIZZY: Most hair stylists recommend control with a straightening cream.
But before you decide on the straight and narrow path for your hair, make a date with a good stylist. For women with too much of a good thing, some hairdressers recommend appealing to gravity with longer hair. Others just as staunchly defend the shorter look, pointing out that longer hair can get completely out of control.
Just about the kindest cut of all, according to a census of top stylists, is the blunt cut. Tapering encourages curl, as we've seen with straight hair.
Curly hair should not be cut quite as short as straight hair. Cut too short, it tends to bounce up and away. Curly hair also tends to shrink up. Go a little longer than short unless of course you want a boyish hairdo.
However you achieve your hair style, be faithful to your hairdresser. Don't skip appointments.
Start your home reform program with patient brushing which will control snarls and circulate natural oils down to the tips of what is probably quite dry hair. But don't brush too much immediately after a setting or the natural curl may overcome the setting.
Banish an unattractive arid look with regular hot oil treatments. Always use a shampoo for dry hair. Follow with a cream rinse to add extra softness and manageability.
Set with a wave-setting lotion, or beer, if your hair is not too dry. Curly hair should always be long enough to wind smoothly around rollers. And put the emphasis on winding smoothly and evenly. Make pin curls nice and plump. Rub conditioner into ends. Remember curly hair is largely dry hair and should be treated as such. Always make sure hair is bone dry before brushing out.
If nature has given your hair a pleasing natural pattern as well as curl, take your cue from her. If not, set hair in a direction opposite to that of your natural curl.
Both moisture and heat are natural enemies of curly hair. All hair is hygroscopic, but curly hair is especially thirsty for moisture. Wear two bathing caps when you go swimming. Always carry a tiny, folding rain hat. And avoid hot, steamy showers. Before your morning bath or shower, carefully clip curls in place and then cover them with a bathing cap before turning on the faucet.
Keep curly hair out of the sun as much as possible. One reckless day of exposure may have to be paid for by weeks of conditioning.
And as if you didn't have enough problems already, coloring hair which is either medium or tightly curled is best when limited to temporary or longer-lasting rinses. Permanent coloring makes hair even dryer, fuzzy and even more unmanageable.
Hair Straightening
"Curly hair, it's dry, awful, terrible. Straighten it out," insists Leon Amendola, head of Charles of the Ritz hair stylists training-school. "Straight hair is not only cleaner looking, it's younger looking," Mr. Kenneth agrees.
A salon-only procedure, hair straightening is an art which should be entrusted only to experts. Really a permanent wave in reverse, it costs as much as a permanent, takes about as long as a permanent, and, like a permanent, has to be repeated every three or four months, whenever—and this is a reverse—curl grows back in.
Although it may sound like a form of medieval torture, hair straightening is actually a completely painless process. But go to an expert.
Should you decide to broaden your hair's natural wave length you should know what to expect.
Straightening may be achieved in one of three ways:
1. By combing a permanent-wave solution through the hair until it is softened and considerably straightened.
2. By giving a permanent with wider waves.
3. By combing a straightening cream through the hair.
Victor Sabatino of the Tailored Woman department store in New York City, a painstaking permanent-wave specialist, prefers straightening creams. He believes they are more easily removed from the hair and there is less danger of applying the straightening material to the same section twice.
First the operator applies a protective cream to the scalp, forehead, hair roots and ears. Then, starting where the curl is heaviest, about half an inch from the part, he applies the straightening cream.
Now, here's where the skill comes in. Pulling gently but firmly he combs the cream up and out through the hair. The cream does its straightening work while you relax and read a magazine.
This is usually followed with a cold water rinse, then a neutralizing vinegar rinse. Now, a shampoo, yet another rinse, a roller set and one of the new smooth hair styles is yours at last. Your rebellious ringlets should be no problem for another two months at least.
Lotions and creams are combed through the hair until the desired amount of wave is attained. Designed to remove 75 per cent of the hair's natural curl, when straightening is well done, the result looks like a soft permanent. Just as bleaching is not exactly a conditioning treatment for your hair, neither is straightening. Straightening is not recommended for bleached or damaged hair. If you plan to both straighten and color, the hair must be generously conditioned after the straightening and before the coloring. Allow at least a week after the straightening, before adding new color.
Long Hair
Long hair has long been a mark of quality.
In Homeric days, the Greeks considered it a sign of distinction. Julius Caesar had his German captives shorn because they rated longer hair an honor. For centuries in France, it was the hallmark of nobility and kings.
With modern long-hair fashions, quantity is not enough. You must also have quality. It's not sufficient to grow a long head of hair; you must also have a fine styling.
You're a long-haired girl in a short-haired country? There's no need to look like Harriet Beecher Stowe in the twentieth century.
Don't let your hair just hang. Have it tapered and shaped to form a flattering frame as new as tomorrow. An under permanent may be necessary to achieve a certain sleekness.
With this background, hair may now be swirled into a towering fan for evening, puffed into a petite pouf, brushed into a face-hugging bob, swirled into a cocoon —the possibilities are endless.
Long-haired beauty, you must remember, takes a little bit longer. Brush hair often. If it is your husband who insists on your longer hair, he should enjoy watching you as you carefully apply your 100 daily beauty strokes. He'll think of the pretty picture you make—not of the functional necessity.
Washing long hair is a super-production. Start by cleansing scalp first. Then, after rinsing well, suds your long strands, rubbing them between palms. This two part sudsing helps prevent snarls.
A hose and spray attached to your faucet is a priceless aid, if hair is to be rinsed properly. Otherwise, be sure to rinse well under the shower. Rinse, rinse, and rinse again.
Pat scalp hair gently dry. Use a dryer, if you own one. A mild shampoo for dry hair and a cream rinse are probably best for you. Condition hair carefully to keep it gleaming as well as romantically long.
But is long hair really worth its length in trouble? Are men as dedicated to Rapunzel-length hair as they are reported to be?
Pin-on chignons and wiglets can give you the best of both possible lengths, long hair and short, without the responsibility of the former.
Think before you cut, or you may be sorry. To see how you would look with short hair, give yourself a soapsuds sculpture run-through first. When your hair is still rich with suds and particularly manageable, shape into the style you think would be most flattering. Or ask your hairdresser to give you a preview before he cuts.
It takes only a few seconds to snip off the hair you have been growing for months or years, but if you cut in haste you may repent in sorrow for a long, long time.
Problems End
Take a piece of rope, the strongest you can find. Broil it in the sun, bake it under a dryer, bleach it, strip it, wash it with anything that happens to be handy, don't exactly dry it, wrap it around a small cylinder 365 times a year, strangle it with a rubber band and—
Wouldn't you be surprised if it didn't fray at the edges? Then why are you surprised when your poor hair shafts begin to complain?
If your splits are at the very tips of your hair, there's really nothing too much to worry about. Have your stylist create a new hairdo based on a cut which will remove all damaged ends—above the splits. Singeing? Despite what grandma thought, this is really no more effective than simple cutting.
Sun and hair coloring can make your hair a house divided. Protect your locks from ultra-violet rays with umbrellas, hats or creamy lotions. Refrain from rinses, tints and bleaches until your hair has had time to recuperate.
Brush, massage and rub conditioning cream into problem tips. Wash with a mild shampoo, follow with a cream rinse and brush rather than comb your hair. Plastic clips are much gentler to hair than bobby pins. And if possible don't sleep on either.
Should your hairs be split along their entire length or should you discover patches of split hair in the midst of otherwise healthy hair, see your doctor.
If you're plagued with a thousand little ends with minds of their own, don't just wait until they grow up. There's nothing more unattractive than a defeatist attitude while short hair is maturing. Have your head restyled by an artist who will make the most of your varying hair lengths.
Try a creamy setting lotion, or a non-drying spray. Or force these wayward ends into position with tighter curls or smaller rollers. Wind less hair in each and roll smoothly.
Can't keep your nape ends up? When setting always remember to pin with the direction of the hair's growth. A touch of beeswax after the hair has dried may help.
Dandruff
The body is constantly renewing itself, and one of the many ways it does this is by shedding the top layer of skin. The scalp is no exception.
On a healthy scalp, this endless renewal process goes almost unnoticed. The small, fine, horny scales are readily removed by faithful brushing and combing.
But when flaking becomes conspicuous, this means the normal shedding or keratinization process has become unbalanced. You have dandruff.
Poor circulation, improper diet, strong soaps, injury, infection, nervous tension, sex hormones and fungi have all been named as causative factors.
And while there is still much to be known about dandruff, this much is definite:
When it occurs, the normal acid balance of the skin is disturbed and the scalp is left open to infection.
The normal flow of oil from the sebaceous glands has also been interrupted.
Actually, there are two types of dandruff, dry and oily.
DRY DANDRUFF: Brush faithfully. Massage nightly. Eat wisely. Keep scalp and hair clean. Avoid strong lotions. If your condition does not improve with healthier hair and sane living habits, see your doctor. Baldness, some experts say, more often follows dry dandruff than oily.
OILY DANDRUFF: Excess dandruff on an oily scalp can clog follicles and make them an excellent breeding ground for bacteria or fungi or both. Be careful of cutting scalp with comb or brush, avoid drying lotions and be sure to see your doctor.
Oily dandruff seems definitely related to endocrine changes, and yet has such varying etiologic possibilities as heredity, hypothyroidism, excess ingestion of fats, carbohydrates or alcohol, gastro-intestinal disturbances, fatigue, poor personal hygiene and emotional factors.
Cleanliness is the first step in all dandruff therapy. Wash your hair as often as is necessary with the shampoo you find most effective. Your doctor may prescribe a mild sulfur ointment with or without resorcinol, selenium sulfide or sulfur and salicylic acid. If your doctor agrees, follow with a strained lemon juice or vinegar rinse to insure the scalp's acidity.
Keep oily hair clean between shampoos by sectioning hair gently, and cleansing each new parting with witch hazel-soaked cotton pads.
Never borrow or lend a comb or brush. Clean both after each shampoo in warm water, soap and ammonia.
Change your pillow case frequently.
Don't pass your problem on to others with frequent hat tryons.
Put a towel around your shoulders when brushing hair. And be sure not to dry hair and body with the same towel. Use a scrubbing brush on shoulders and back after each shampoo.
Keep curlers clean.
And whisk a cloth soaked in mild disinfectant around your hat bands, at frequent intervals.
A diet heavy in carbohydrates and animal fat can over-activate the sebaceous glands and cause clinging dandruff. Avoid chocolate, shellfish, carbonated beverages, fried foods, alcohol, too many potatoes, fatty meats and greasy fried foods.
Try to remember unnecessary worry is useless. Make an attempt to relax with feet above your head at least 10 or 15 minutes a day. Excessive dandruff also calls for a cut-down in smoking. Smoking contracts blood vessels and impairs circulation in the scalp.
Cold feet may mean a warm heart but it can also mean a tendency toward dandruff. Brush, massage, and be careful not to scratch scalp with either bristles or fingernails.
Sparse Hair
Your hairs are so few and far between your scalp blushes in its immodesty? If your crowning glory has been ever thus and you're in good health, there may be nothing to worry about. But if this is a new development, see your doctor and discover what is going on inside that is retarding your hair growth outside.
Discouraging as this may be, don't despair. With proper diet and treatment, some of the most luxurious heads of hair have developed from the most pathetic strands.
After you've seen your doctor, see an expert hair stylist who can make the most of what you now have. By blunt or semi-blunt cutting each strand and trimming to a short to medium length he can create an illusion of fullness. He will recommend a body perm for line and life and, perhaps, a pre-conditioning treatment. As sparse hair often is fragile hair, remember the finest permanent will be the most economical in the long run.
The rest is up to you. Brush, but not too vigorously, to puff and fluff your hair. Even tease it occasionally. Again, gently and not too often. Indulge in regular hot oil scalp treatments. Shampoo often so soil and dirt won't drag your hairdo down. Clean gently with warm—never hot—water. And don't scrub the scalp too energetically. Fluff, never rub, hair dry. And, finally, set hair with lotions and plump rollers.
If all this falls short of the mark, indulge in fashionable foolery and buy a pin-on hairpiece that blends so perfectly even your mother would never suspect. Make the most, too, of bright velvet bows and flattering veils.
Keep Your Hair On
Once almost exclusively a male headache, hair today and gone tomorrow has become a steadily increasing female problem.
Fifteen to twenty per cent of the feminine population is now struggling with alopecia (baldness) in just about every possible form from annoying pink spots to out and out bald pates.
Why?
Psychiatrists and medical men blame this unattractive condition on just about everything from over-coloring and over-permanenting to the death wish. Authorities list as causative factors: wearing hats, not wearing hats; too much sexual indulgence, too little; rough and careless brushing; too frequent hair washing and too infrequent. One expert claims the majority of his patients are men and women who have thrown in the towel on life.
There are many forms of alopecia.
One is perfectly normal. As anyone who has ever wielded a comb or brush knows, a certain amount of fallout is the direct result of the good grooming process.
Each hair has a life span of 2 to 5 years. Then the follicle which produces it takes a vacation. When the follicle returns to work a new hair is born. On a healthy head, ten per cent of the follicles are loafing at all times.
Sometimes, hair falls out in warm weather as though nature knew you had already put your fur coat in storage. Actually, as many as eighty hairs give up the follicle a day.
Your part seems wider, your forehead higher, and you have sizeable bald areas? Your hair is coming out in clumps? Try first a rigorous hair health routine: massage, hot oil treatments (unless your scalp is oily), thorough but gentle cleansing, and a well-balanced diet.
Especially vital to hair and scalp health are proteins, fats (but only in prescribed amounts), Vitamins A and C (all to be found in green and yellow vegetables), lean meat, milk, bread, cereal and citrus fruits.
See, too, if regional or patchy baldness might not be caused by a tight pony tail, chignon, or a part which hasn't been changed in years.
If neither health routine nor a change in hairdo improves your condition, be sure to see your doctor.
Senile Alopecia: This is a part of natural attrition. Hair is lost slowly and symmetrically. Prognosis for return of hair is poor, but, occasionally, the process can be retarded.
Toxic Alopecia: Follows serious illnesses (typhoid, flu, TB). Drugs containing thallium, tin and arsenic also provoke temporary baldness. Prognosis for return of hair in both cases is good. During and after pregnancy, too, most women notice a change in the quantity as well as the quality of their hair. Some find they lose hair, others discover a luxurious growth for the first time in their lives. But fortunately and unfortunately, this is a temporary condition.
Premature Alopecia: Occurs in relatively young people. Heredity and familial tendencies seem to be responsible. The condition is slowly progressive and the prognosis for return of hair is poor.
Alopecia Following Seborrheic Dermatitis: The cause of seborrhea is not known but it tends to be hereditary. It comes in two forms, oily and dry (dandruff) . Baldness is much more frequent following dry dandruff. Prognosis is poor for return of lost hair but good for arrest of the condition.
Emotional Alopecia: Baldness sometimes follows severe emotional trauma. The outlook is best when the condition has not been one of long duration. Hair comes back first as soft down and is followed by normal and sometimes unpigmented hair.
Diffused Alopecia: General rather than localized, it may be caused by rough bristles, harsh detergents, diet, or emotional conflict.
PATCHY ALOPECIA: When hair comes out in clumps from specific areas of the scalp, this is patchy baldness. It may be caused by a scalp infection or the way you wear your hair. Avoid extreme hairdos which require excessive manipulation—the pony tail, beehive, extreme bouffant. Prognosis is good in the young but poor in the old.
TREATMENT: Faithful shampooing, brushing and massage are essential. Follow each shampoo with a dilute vinegar rinse (one teaspoon to a glass of water) to maintain the scalp's acid balance.
Hair should be washed once every five to seven days, and brushed three to four minutes nightly. But be careful not to injure the scalp. Combs and brushes should be cleansed frequently. Massage three to five minutes every evening by forcing the scalp into ridges between the fingers, several times over the entire head.
Ask your doctor about chemical or ultra-violet ray treatment and do your best to restore your general health.
Stubborn Cowlicks
Man may conquer space and someday may even put an end to war. But it's almost certain he never will subdue the pesky cowlick. A tendril of hair decides to stand up on its own two feet instead of joining the rest of the wave, and that's the way it's going to go. Nothing can alter its defiant course.
Cutting the section will only make matters worse. Sticky lotions may work—but briefly. So if you can't lick 'em, join 'em. Seek the help of an expert stylist who will make your perverse cowlick look like an integral part of the over-all plan.
But realize that the number of hairdos you can wear is necessarily limited. If the lines of a style don't go the way your cowlick goes, it's the style, not the cowlick, that has to go.
Your hairdresser will probably cut your hair while it's wet so he can see the way your trouble spot grows. Who knows, as a result of this added challenge he may create something alluring. He might not have, without the prodding of mother necessity.
Eliminate The Positive Charges On Your Hair
Your problem is you're too electrifying. You generate so much electricity that when you're giving your head its daily 100 beauty strokes your hair jumps up to meet your brush.
Don't shop for a chic lightning rod; you're in no imminent danger. You're simply an everyday example of one of the first principles of physics—opposite charged bodies, negative and positive, your hair and your comb, attract.
More dramatic examples of atmospheric or static electricity, as it is variously called, are lightning jumping from one charged cloud to another, the shock you get if you touch a metal object when wearing rubber soled shoes (hospital nurses pushing stretchers note this often), or the sparks emitted when you open a garment bag, or stroke a cat under the right conditions.
Not you but the atmosphere around you is at fault. You'll notice your hair is more of a problem on dry, cold days, than on warm, humid ones. Dry climates step up the charge on your hair.
If you'd eliminate this positively electrifying problem, don't be negative in your approach.
Stroke hair with the palms of your hands for a minute or two before arranging. Body heat and moisture will tend to reduce the responsible charges. You'll find a natural bristle brush and a tortoise comb especially gentling. And make the most of controlling sprays and cream rinses. Rub your hands, brush, or comb with just the tiniest touch of a hair-controlling cream before arranging.
Dull Hair
It can be a dull life with dull locks. No poet—at least no well-known one—has ever inscribed a verse to "Jeannie with the mouse-brown hair."
Yet even before the most flattering hair colors, men prefer the healthy glow, the appealing naturalness, the fresh sparkle of shining, well nourished, well polished hair. Lustrous hair, after all, is one of the most important parts of the glow of youth you hear so much about.
So why be a mouse?
Drab, lifeless, no-highlights hair not only casts its dark shadow over the brightest personality, it adds years to the face of its owner.
What causes dull hair? It could be you're not eating the right beauty foods: vitamin-rich fresh fruits, green and yellow vegetables, crisp salads and nourishing cereals.
Or perhaps you've become lazy about brushing and massaging. Or it just may be that your problem is as simple as not rinsing all the soap or shampoo out of your hair.
Soap and hard water tend to form a dulling residue. Banish it with a tepid vinegar or lemon rinse, then gallons of clear water. If you don't find it convenient to go and catch falling rainwater, do the next best thing. Dissolve a teaspoon of borax in a gallon of water.
Too much sun, too many color changes, and too strong permanent wave solutions can also leave your hair dull and lifeless. You've guessed it. Brush for dear life with a modicum of conditioning creams.
Somehow, no matter how much you rinse or brush, your hair doesn't do a thing for you? Don't leave your hair color family, but try going just a little way up or down the scale to a lighter or deeper tone. A rinse will do the trick if you're going darker. A tint will be necessary to go lighter. Or simply try a rinse a little lighter than your own color for highlights. Note how your complexion suddenly seems clearer and your eyes brighter.
