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Hair Washes & Dressings
from the mid-1800s
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A book published in 1857 titled
The Art of Perfumery by G.W. Septimus Piesse, gives a
fascinating look into hair hygiene during the period.
The book is now in the Public
Domain and we are able to print excerpts here for your
reading pleasure.
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Hair Washes
Rosemary Water.
| Rosemary free from stalk,
|
10 lbs. |
| Water, |
12 gallons |
Draw off by distillation ten gallons for
use in perfumery manufacture.
Rosemary Hair Wash.
| Rosemary water, |
1 gallon. |
| Rectified spirit,
|
1/2 pint. |
| Pearlash, |
1 oz. |
Athenian Water.
| Rose-water, |
1 gallon. |
| Alcohol, |
1 pint. |
| Sassafras wood,
|
1/4 pound. |
| Pearlash, |
1 oz. |
Boil the wood in the Rose-water in a glass vessel; the, when
cold, add the pearlash and spirit.
Vegetable or Botanic Extract.
| Rose-water, |
} |
| Rectified spirits,
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} of each, 2 quarts.
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| Extrait de fleur d'orange,
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} |
| Extrait de fleur jasmin,
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} |
| Extrait de fleur acacia,
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} of each, 1/4 pint.
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| Extrait de fleur rose,
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} |
| Extrait de fleur
tubereuse, |
} |
| Extract of vanilla,
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1/2 pint. |
This is a very beautifully-scented hair
wash.
It retails at a price commensurate with
its cost.
Astringent Extract of Roses and
Rosemary.
| Rosemary water,
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2 quarts. |
| Esprit de rose,
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1/2 pint. |
| Rectified spirit,
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1-1/2 pint. |
| Extract of vanilla,
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1 quart. |
| Magnesia to clear it,
|
2 oz. |
Filter through paper.
Saponaceous Wash.
| Rectified spirit,
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1 pint. |
| Rose-water, |
1 gallon. |
| Extract of rondeletia,
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1/2 pint. |
| Transparent soap,
|
1/2 oz. |
| Hay saffron, |
1/2 drachm. |
Shave up the soap very fine;
boil it and the saffron in a quart of the rose-water; when
dissolved, add the remainder of water, then the spirit, finally
the rondeletia, which is used by way of perfume. After standing
for two or three days, it is fit for bottling. By transmitted
light it is transparent, but by reflected light the liquid has a
pearly and singular wavy appearance when shaken. A similar
preparation is called Egg Julep.
Bandolines
Various preparations are used to assist in dressing the hair in
any particular form. Some persons use for that purpose a hair
pomatum containing wax, made up into rolls, called thence Baton
Fixeteur. The little "feathers" of hair, with which some ladies
are troubled, are by the aid of these batons made to lie down
smooth.
The liquid bandolines are are principally of a gumm nature,
being made either with Icelandic moss, or linseed and water
variously perfumed, also by boiling quince-seed with water.
Perfumers, however, chiefly make bandoline from gum tragacanth,
which exudes from a shrub of that name which grows plentifully
in Greece and Turkey.
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sulfate free
Checks
and money orders also welcome.
