| Ambergris | 75 grains. |
| Nut-galls | 4 lb. |
| Iron filings | 1¾ oz. |
| Copper filings | 30 grains. |
| Musk | 30 grains. |
This preparation, which really comes from the Orient, is made as follows: Reduce the nut-galls to a very fine powder and roast them in an iron pan under continual stirring until they have become dark brown or almost black. This powder is triturated with the metals in fine powder and the aromatics, and preserved in a moist place. For use, some of the powder is moistened in the palm of the hand and vigorously rubbed into the hair; after a few days it assumes a deep black, natural color. The roasting changes the tannin bodies contained in the galls into gallic and pyrogallic acids which form deep black combinations with the metals, and themselves are easily transformed into brownish-black substances.
Kohol (Teinture Chinoise).
| Gum arabic | 1 oz. |
| India ink | 1¾ oz. |
| Rose water | 1 qt. |
Powder the ink and the gum, and triturate small quantities of the powder with rose water until a uniform black liquid results, which must be free from granules. This liquid is placed in a bottle and the rest of the rose water added. Kohol can be used only by persons with black hair, and is employed particularly for dyeing the eyebrows. As the coloring matter of this preparation consists of carbon in a state of fine division, the dye is perfectly harmless.
Vegetable Dye.
| Silver nitrate | 2 oz. |
| Distilled water | 1 qt. |
This hair dye produces a deep black color, but cannot be recommended, as it is injurious to the hair. Its full effects appear only after the lapse of some hours.
Potassium Permanganate.
| Potassium permanganate | 5½ oz. |
| Distilled water | 2 qts. |