Edwardian Hair Care Article

[Springlets]

http://www.edwardianpromenade.com/beauty/how-i-take-care-of-my-hair/

Mainly stuff that we at the LHC would agree with I think, except maybe singeing your hair at ends....yeesh. shudder:

[Marika]

Interesting read! I wonder what that special lotion is! :p Brushing always seems to be heavily emphasized in these old hair care articles...:hmm:

[Horrorpops]

Hehe, goes without saying I won't be rubbing my scalp with mercury to cure any dandruff but it's amazing how similar that advice is to today's knowledge. :)

[Tini'sNewHair]

Nice read :) Thank you.

[Stiria]

Interesting;) I love reading old hair care articles.
But:justy: I want the recipe for that lotion!

[Majormiles]

That lotion probably has arsnic or lead in it or some other dangerous material! I really enjoyed reading this thank you for sharing.

[jacqueline101]

I'm another fan of the article and the lotion. I'm wanting to see the ingredients for it.

[RancheroTheBee]

My guess is that the lotion is probably similar to the brillantine that she was using, which is probably perfumed oils. I think most people gave up using lead in cosmetics during the Middle Ages.

ETA: I found this article which has recipes for common Edwardian shampoos and hair lotions. No arsenic here (http://americanduchess.blogspot.ca/2012/02/v40-edwardian-hair-styling-mysteries.html)!

[PrincessIdril]

My guess is that the lotion is probably similar to the brillantine that she was using, which is probably perfumed oils. I think most people gave up using lead in cosmetics during the Middle Ages.

ETA: I found this article which has recipes for common Edwardian shampoos and hair lotions. No arsenic here (http://americanduchess.blogspot.ca/2012/02/v40-edwardian-hair-styling-mysteries.html)!

Sadly they did not, many Edwardian beauty products contained some seriously nasty stuff including lead and ammonia.
For those that are interested the BBC did a series called "Hidden Killers of the ... Home" most episodes were about the Victorian home but one was about the Edwardian home, and it can be found on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4SW8bX37Ag
The whole program is interesting (especially the stuff about radium!) but there is a fun section about cosmetics and hair which starts at about the 40min mark.

[SkyChild]

Ooh how interesting :) A lovely read. Unusual ideas about mercury. Maybe the singing was thought to seal the ends and stop them from splitting? Like sealing ropes in tar to stop them fraying

[Ocelan]

Thanks for posting! I also love to read old haircare and other old fashioned articles about life. :)

[Springlets]

Ooh how interesting :) A lovely read. Unusual ideas about mercury. Maybe the singing was thought to seal the ends and stop them from splitting? Like sealing ropes in tar to stop them fraying

I imagine that was the point of it too, yet I can't imagine this would actually be healthy for the hair? I don't know, I feel I would be adverse to it even if it was proven to work.

So this is kind of a side topic but I recently read that people started using hydrogen peroxide on their hair as early as in the 1860s. But, since I've always heard how few women dyed their hair before say the 1940s (except for actresses and prostitutes), it seems like there wouldn't be many women who used it. Considering that in the article I linked there isn't even any mention of it also leads me to believe that it wasn't used a lot. Thoughts?

[Verdandi]

Mmm... Mercury... shudder:

Interesting article! I am a huge fan of history, so it just can't go wrong if combined with hair. Thanks for sharing! :)

[jacqueline101]

My guess is that the lotion is probably similar to the brillantine that she was using, which is probably perfumed oils. I think most people gave up using lead in cosmetics during the Middle Ages.

ETA: I found this article which has recipes for common Edwardian shampoos and hair lotions. No arsenic here (http://americanduchess.blogspot.ca/2012/02/v40-edwardian-hair-styling-mysteries.html)!

I looked up on Google about the golden ointment it's for dry skin it's got lanolin and golden colored. I could imagine if you used it like monistat it might help dandruff.

[meteor]

Fun article!
I liked the idea of washing hair only when it needs to, avoiding heat, keeping tools clean, doing scalp massages, and rubbing bristles over lightly oiled palm of your hand before brushing dry hair.
But mercury, singeing ends and brushing a lot are clearly outdated advice, I think.

[woodswanderer]

Hrmmm...I need some mercury and a maid.:cool:

[ErinLeigh]

I want a maid who brushes out my hair and makes sure I don't have scurf :)
Such a nice article. I enjoyed. Thanks for posting.
Very curious what the mercury oil was though. eek

[RapunzelKat]

Interesting;) I love reading old hair care articles.
But:justy: I want the recipe for that lotion!

Ha ha! This was my reaction exactly. :lol:


I looked up on Google about the golden ointment it's for dry skin it's got lanolin and golden colored. I could imagine if you used it like monistat it might help dandruff.

Hmm, this is a good point. Lanolin is great for dry skin, wonder if it could be incorporated into an SMT? However I would be a little concerned about the smell lingering. I like it but not everyone does.

[Hele]

i have a reproduction of the 1900 sears roebuck catalog, they offer a variety of snake oil sounding beauty products and it includes Princess Tonic Hair Restorer. It claims to, among other things, strengthen hair, promote growth, cure dandruff/scurf, and to restore grey hair to it's original color. The 1900 catalog doesn't list the ingredients, it just claims it's world famous. However! After some searching i found the same product in the 1897 sears roebuck, and that one does list the ingredients. The very first ingredient? Lead acetate. Followed by soluble sulphur, natrium muriate, resorcin, cantharides, cayenne, and glycerin. If anybody else is fascinated by stuff like this here's a link to it:

http://books.google.com/books?id=pavHOWOWKEEC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=princess+tonic+hair+restorer&source=bl&ots=SvbT7ORVt5&sig=PSDYV2NSHJNgRz45Gy3NH7p0O3A&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3LIFU96JBMqB0AHxnIDwAQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=princess%20tonic%20hair%20restorer&f=false

[Hele]

i just had the presence of mind to check if my link actually works and i must point out that the Princess Bust Developer directly over the hair ad looks just like a toilet plunger. Oh my...the crazy products they had back in the good old days!

[melusine963]

What an interesting article! :) I wish I had a maid to brush my hair for me.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think the hair singeing was a form of S&D, where sections of hair were twisted down the length and any damaged and split hairs which stuck out of the twist had their ends singed off with a lighted taper. Not so silly when you think of it that way and I believe there are still salons where this is still done.

Still think I would prefer to use scissors though.

[jacqueline101]

Ha ha! This was my reaction exactly. :lol:



Hmm, this is a good point. Lanolin is great for dry skin, wonder if it could be incorporated into an SMT? However I would be a little concerned about the smell lingering. I like it but not everyone does.

I thought about trying it but I was wondering if it would clog pores or be hard to wash out. The article said they brushed a lot. Maybe that's why distribute the oiliness of their hair

[walterSCAN]

Excellent article-- I had a lot of fun reading, thanks for posting it!

[ywall]

Good read but I wonder, does singing in the car count for singing to your hair lol if so the I got that down. I enjoyed the artical thank you for sharing.