The American Pictorial Home Book
or Housekeeper's Encyclopedia - online book

A reference manual of household management in Victorian times.

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THE HAIR.
527
Crystalline Palma Christi Pomade.—In slimmer take 4 ounces of spermacetti, in winter take 3 ounces, melt with a moderate heat, and pour in gradually 10 ounces of castor oil, remove it from the fire and then add 10 ounces of almond or olive oil, The perfume should not be put in till nearly cold, that is, the oil of lemon, 1-2 ounce; oil of orange, 1-4 ounce; oil of bergamot, 1-2 ounce; or attar of roses, 30 drops ; oil of verbena, 30 drops; oil of citronello, 1-4 ounce; colored to suit the taste.
Glycerine Pomade.—Four ounces of almond oil, 1-2 ounce vir­gin wax, and 1-2 ounce glycerine (pure). Melt the wax, then stir in the oil and glycerine ; finally, perfume as desired. This makes an excellent pomade for dressing the hair.
THE EYEBROWS AND EYELASHES.
To Thicken the EYEBRows.Rub them several times a day with an infusion of mint in white wine, or moisten them with a lotion of 5 grains of sulphate of quinine in 1 ounce of alcohol.
Coloring for the Eyebrows, Eyelashes and Hair. — Boil an ounce of walnut bark or the hulls of the nut before they dry, in two cups of water for an hour, then add a lump of alum the size of a filbert to set the dye ; then apply with a camel hair brush to the eyelashes, or brows, and with a larger brush or sponge to the hair. Be careful not to wet the pillow cases and bed clothing ; to prevent this wrap the head up well. This dye is perfectly harmless.
To Blacken the Eyebrows.—Pencil them with the charred end of a match.
For Coloring the Eyebrows and Lashes used by the Turkish ladies. Dilute antimony with spirits mixed with powdered nutgalls, gum and wax, perfumed highly with musk or rose oil. It is also made into a paste for dying the hair. Let a druggist prepare it for your toilet.
For the Growth of the Eyelashes.—(Harper's Bazaar.)—Five grains of the sulphate of quinine in an ounce of sweet oil is the best prescription; put on the roots of the lashes with the most delicate hair pencil. Do not touch the lashes with the finger, for it irritates the eye.
To Increase the Length and Beauty of the Eyelashes.— Clip them once a month, taking care not to cut them short.
hair oils*
Diamond Hair Oil and Tonic.—Good for the scalp and nice for the hair: Castor oil, 8 ozs.; tincture of blood root, 1 oz.; can-tharides, 1 oz.; oil of bergamot, 1 oz.; alcohol, 1 quart.
Oakland Hair Oil.—Castor oil, 1-2 pint; creamed lard, or ol-