The first requisite for the preservation and improvement of personal beauty is good temper. The teachings of the New Testament, if you follow its precepts, will insure you this grace. The second requirement is good health. The most important rules for its preservation and recovery are given in this chapter. The third requisite comprises attention to neatness, and that general care of the person which the rules and receipts we here subjoin, will aid in making complete.
512. Of the Hair.—It is a great mistake to plait the hair of children under eleven or twelve years of age. The process of plaiting more or less strains the hairs in their roots by pulling them tight; tends to deprive them of their requisite supply of nutriment; and checks their growth. The hair of girls should be cut rather short, and allowed to curl freely. When they are about eleven or twelve, the hair should be twisted into a coil, not too tight, nor tied at the end with thin thread, but with a piece of riband.
513. Do not Shave the Head.—Shaving the head is always injurious to the hair, the bulbs being frequently destroyed by the process; and washing frequently with an alkaline preparation, such as soap and water, is decidedly objectionable, for that, as well as sea-water, is very apt to change the color of the hair.
514. To purify and beautify the Hair.—An excellent means of keeping the hair sweet, clean, glossy, and curly, is to brush it with a rather hard brush dipped by the surface only in eau de Portugal ("Portugal water"). In order to have it fresh and of fine quality, take a pint of orange flower water, a pint of rose water, and half a pint of myrtle water. To these put a quarter of an ounce of distilled spirit of musk, and an ounce of spirit of ambergris. Shake the whole well together, and the water will be ready for use. Only a small quantity should be made at a time, as it does not keep long, except in moderate weather, being apt to spoil either with cold or heat.
515. To promote the Growth of Hair.—Mix equal parts of olive oil and spirits of rosemary, and add a few drops of oil of nutmeg. If the hair be rubbed every night with a little of this liniment, and the proportion be very gradually augmented, it will answer every purpose of increasing the growth of hair, much more effectually than can be attained by any of the boasting empirical preparations which are imposed on the credulous purchaser.