1. Seven Strand Plait, with Fancy Comb attached. 2. Pin Curl. These curls are generally made upon hair-pins, for which a small quantity of short frizzed, or curled hair, suffices. 3, 4, & 5. Human Hair Frizzetts, for plaited Chignons, Plicaturas, &c. 6. Long Plait, for a coiled Chignon when made upon the head.
When frizzets were used in the elaboration of a lady’s coiffure, as was the practice a few years ago, several pieces of craped hair were all-important. The trade done in both large and small frizzets, pads, stems for plicaturas, twists, and plaits was something enormous, and quantities of a dyed material resembling hair were brought into requisition. And this was absolutely necessary, for the stock of human hair suitable for the purpose became exhausted. A brief allusion to the important case of Donisthorpe v. Jowett will not be out of place here, as it is largely connected with the subject. This action was tried in the Court of Exchequer, and lasted six or seven days, a full report of which appeared at the time.[[3]] It was an action brought for the infringement of a patent process which related to crimping hair, but more particularly applied to a dyed material largely used as a substitute. “I am afraid to mention to you,” said Mr. Matthews, Q.C., in his opening address, “the figures that have been laid before me as to the extent of the trade. It is not pounds; it is not hundredweights; it is not tons nor hundreds of tons, but it is hundreds of thousands of tons in which this crimped hair is sold in the English market.” But I need not stay to enter into the details of this remarkable suit; it is sufficient for my purpose to show the enormous business that was done in these goods at one time. I will turn, therefore, to the appliances which every hairdresser possesses, or can easily obtain, and deal with the crimping of human hair on a small scale. The method generally adopted for craping or crimping hair is as follows: Take the screws and pegs used in weaving (a description of which it is unnecessary to give, for the weaving-frame must be known to nearly every hairdresser or barber in the kingdom), and instead of silk, wind string around the peg made for the purpose. The string need not be thick, but it ought to be strong, and if a little stouter than ordinary shop-string, so much the better. When the frame is set up, two strings instead of three (the number usually employed in weaving), are required. Put the hair to be used in the brushes in the usual way, with sufficient weight thereon, and commence by drawing out a moderately thick piece of hair technically called “a weft.” I will take it for granted that the reader knows what coarse weft is, in connection with weaving generally, and the “wefts” used in crimping hair are to be decidedly coarse. In this operation, then, the roots of the hair will be near the hand of the workman, while the length of the hair (whatever length it may be) lies smoothly between the two brushes. From the hair so placed draw out a weft, push the root-end close up to the knot (previously tied in the strings by way of a starting-point), and hold it firmly with the thumb and finger of the left hand. Commence then to intertwine the free ends of the hair, no matter how long it may be, in and out in a regular, firm, and secure manner. Let me suppose that you are going to crape some six or eight-inch hair, and that the root-end is being held between the strings as before described. I will assume that the free hair inclines towards the right hand, and is hanging down. Pass the root-end under the bottom string, draw it through between; turn it over the top one; draw the roots towards you again, and, by a kind of twist, change the position of the hair, holding the root-end (with the beginning of the crêpé) in the left hand, while the full length of the hair is free. This is to be intertwined in a regular manner with the string till the ends are reached. Push up close towards the commencement or root, and use a “jockey” to keep it, as well as the end, in place. What is a “jockey”? It is generally a piece of wood, cardboard, or any other rather hard substance, used in weaving, and found necessary when the hair is coarse and strong. It is dexterously slipped between or upon the “silks,” to keep the roots from springing up when each “weft” is placed in position. In this instance, I would suggest two pieces of firewood, about an inch and a half or two inches long, a quarter of an inch wide, and flat, tied securely together at the top, somewhat expanding at the bottom, and when made, to look like a miniature clothes-peg. With this little contrivance the end of the hair intertwined around the strings can be held in its place until the next “weft” is put in position, when it is to be removed, and proceed with the work as before described. This process should go on until all the hair is used, and there may be a yard, or any quantity of craped hair made ready for the next operation.
Hair of ten or twelve inches long is most suitable for making “inserted stems.” Tie up two strings as before described, and knot them together at the commencement, which is the starting-point in intertwining the hair. The hair itself should be placed within the drawing brushes as before; pull out thick “wefts,” and work them upon the strings as previously described, but with this difference, they are only to be crimped or crêped half way. Here is the mode of procedure—draw out a weft, and hold one half of the length in your left hand, while with the right you turn it over, and under, and between the strings in a methodical way, as I have previously mentioned. Push up each piece as it is worked, close and tight. Thus one half of the hair will be left hanging loose, while the other half when the operation is completed will be crêpé or crimped.
Assuming that the work is properly performed, the next important part is the boiling and baking of it. Having craped all that is to be done, cut down the strings, and tie the free ends securely together. Have ready a clean saucepan (it is best to keep one for the purpose) fill it with either hot or cold water, put the hair and string into it and boil for about a quarter of an hour. Then take it out, let the steam evaporate, and put it in a rather warm oven or before a good fire. It should be well baked, for the crimp is wanted to be durable; therefore, if kept in the oven for a day and night so much the better. It can then be allowed to remain on the strings till wanted.
1. A Coronet Plait. 2. “Catogan” Chignon; being a twist and four-strand plait, with ribbon bow. 3. The “Dolly Varden” headdress. 4. Marguerite Plaits; which can be made in any length of hair, and are easily formed into Coils, &c. 5. Semi-covered Stems, otherwise “inserted stems,” for plaited Coils, Coronets, &c.
When the crimped hair is required for use—and I allude to the making of ordinary frizzets first—cut the strings at convenient places and pull them out. Have a “card” and “drawing brushes” handy, and as each piece is carded, spread it upon one of the brushes by means of a dressing comb, and when conveniently filled put the other brush on the top, with a sufficiently heavy weight to keep it in its place. I need hardly say that the points are to be within the brushes, while the root-ends must be left projecting out a little way, as that will be found necessary and convenient. With reference to the longer hair which has been prepared for making the inserted stems, a similar course is to be pursued. The plain or straight ends are to be within the brushes, while the roots as in the previous case, are to be left free, say, to the extent of half an inch. Having arrived at this point, the next step is to weave the hair, and the method of doing so will be described in due course. I will remark here, however, that in weaving hair for frizzettes inserted stems, &c., all the wefts must not be set one way, as in the case when hair is woven for wigs, fronts, and curls, but each weft must be set in a contrary direction, i.e., one up and the other down. I shall be better able to describe this under the head of “Weaving,” of which it will be necessary to give an illustration.[[4]]
There was a time, and not many years ago either, when such an announcement as “Combings made up, and the Hair turned” would have greatly astonished the trade and the public as well; but now that kind of work is done in nearly every hairdresser’s establishment, be it large or small. I have before alluded to the use of “waste” hair or “combings” in the manufacture of postiche, as it is termed by Parisian coiffeurs, and “false hair” by the generality of people here, and expressed my aversion to its employment. Hair that is cast off by a law of nature, after illness, accouchements, and a variety of other causes, cannot by any possibility be made equal in appearance and quality to the hair which is cut off from healthy heads. Then there is the customary loss of hair about the autumn season, which may be regarded in a similar light to quadrupeds changing their coats, and to birds moulting. Hair of this description is generally withered and dry, through a want of sufficient nutrition, which is the primary cause of its decay. There is an old saying that “the value of a thing is just as much as it will bring”; and to ascertain the value of “combings” from a commercial point of view, let any one go to different shops and try to sell a paper-bagful. The experiment is not likely to be repeated. Like a true artist, I object to the use of inferior materials, for however good the workmanship may be, bad stuff will spoil the lot. I have another objection to make, for I consider that through the introduction of “combings” the sale of hair—good, clean, glossy hair—has fallen off, and the hairdresser’s profits diminished in like proportion. Nevertheless, this inferior quality of hair is used, and how to treat it in the most satisfactory way, is what I have here to deal with.
In preparing this hair, which generally comes to hand in a matted and tangled state, the first thing to do is to “card” it, and this should be done with small pieces at a time. After which, these pieces must be laid together until the whole is finished. Tie it in bunches of a convenient thickness, and wash thoroughly as previously instructed. It is then to be dried and drawn off in the usual way. Mostly it is made up into the required article without “turning,” but it is not suitable for curls unless it is “turned.”
The process of turning hair is attended with some little trouble, and various tradesmen have different ways of doing it. Of course the hair can be worked better when it is turned, but, as cheapness is the order of the day, I suppose that where one piece of hair is “turned,” nineteen other pieces do not undergo such careful manipulation. In order to deal with this part of the business properly, let me briefly recapitulate.