CARE OF THE HAIR
Posted on March 11, 2009, under General health.
Keep your hair clean. Wash it at least every ten days, more often if it tends to be oily. A pure, plain toilet soap or a good shampoo is the best cleansing agent. Good shampoos usually contain nothing more than soap or detergent, along with some perfume. Poor shampoos contain borax or an alkali that is usually irritating to the scalp. Washing removes the natural oil in your hair along with the dirt, and no shampoo of which I have heard actually lives up to its claim that it restores these oils while washing your hair. For oily hair, a tincture of green soap is satisfactory. For dry hair, a castile shampoo is good. Do not forget to wash your comb and brush at least as often as you do your hair.
Rinse your hair carefully after washing. Perhaps you will want to use a soapless detergent if you have only very hard water and soap does not rinse off properly. Do not rub your hair too hard while drying it. Sunlight or a hair dryer that blows air on the hair is good. So is brushing it gently as it dries. Daily massage is helpful. Just press the scalp with your fingers and move it about a little.
If your hair is dry, rub in a little pure olive oil or other oil after shampooing, or more often if necessary. Lanolin has been very much over-rated; it will not work magic for your hair. Brilliantines and similar pomades are usually made of mineral oil and keep the hair in place, but that is all they do. Sometimes these pomades are so heavy they clog the gland openings, and they may contain irritating substances. Do not wet your hair repeatedly to keep it in place; your hairbrush will do this better without drying your hair.
Your hair does not need singeing, which you may have been told seals up the ends of your hair and keeps in the oil, colouring, and other vital fluids. It does not do any of this. Keeping your hair clean and brushed is the best thing you can do for it.
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