Gentian Violet?

[PianoPlaye]

Gentian Violet on the hair?! Um, m'father recalls the army medic issuing the stuff for foot infections fifty years ago & there are also rumours that it was painted on other infected areas (use your imagination, folks).
It was always regarded as Handle with Care as it turned Everything It Touched purple - hands, bottle, bedding, EVERYTHING.
Now I see it only recommended for animal usage, absolutely no suggestion of applying same to humans.


Really glad (a) you reported back Stubs & (b) that you appear to have survived & triumphed! Forgive me if I wimp out on this one though.

[missoj]

Apparently my great grandma used to dye her hair purple with this stuff.

[Stub]

Cool! Thanks for the report back Stubs. How much GV did you use in your conditioner? Do you know about how much conditioner was in the bottle?

It was a 15-oz bottle with, I'd guess, at least 13 oz remaining and I put 4 drops of GV in. (The applicator wand did not drip so I used a tiny paint brush to get the drops transferred.) The conditioner after sitting overnight did remove the purple stain from the side of the bottle, which was cool. I used it a second time last night, this time I left the mix sit on my head while I shaved my legs and it did a MUCH better job of removing the brassiness. My hair looks great this morning!

Gentian Violet on the hair?! Um, m'father recalls the army medic issuing the stuff for foot infections fifty years ago & there are also rumours that it was painted on other infected areas (use your imagination, folks).
It was always regarded as Handle with Care as it turned Everything It Touched purple - hands, bottle, bedding, EVERYTHING.
Now I see it only recommended for animal usage, absolutely no suggestion of applying same to humans.

Gentian Violet is commonly used for thrush in babies (a fungal infection of the mouth) It is painted on the mother's breast so yes, everyone is purple. I bought it for a skin infection, and when I asked for it at the pharmacy the pharmacist assumed that I wanted it for thrush. It is an old-fashioned remedy but people do still use it today. I wouldn't drink bottles of the stuff but 4 drops in a bottle of conditioner and applied to my hair is not going to kill me or give me cancer.