Hair care

Brilliantine and similar pomades usually are made of mineral oil and keep the hair in place but nothing more. Sometimes the pomades are so heavy that they clog gland openings. It is generally best to avoid them. If your hair is oily after shampooing, a little alcohol, quickly rubbed off after application so it does not evaporate on the hair, will help. Your hair does not require singeing although you may have been told that singeing "seals up the ends, keeping in the oil, coloring, and other vital fluids." It does none of this. Sunlight is good for the hair in moderation, but will not make it grow. Nor will cutting the hair or shaving increase the growth rate. Keeping hair clean and brushed is the best procedure. Creme rinses are designed to help make hair more manageable and give it a feeling of softness after shampooing and rinsing. A creme rinse leaves a light film which may improve hair gloss. While egg shampoos and other protein rinses have been put forth as highly beneficial, there is no scientific evidence to support the claims. In fact, many investigators doubt that shampoos or rinses can penetrate the hair shafts, which are essentially lifeless structures.

They may, how- ever, have much the same effect as a creme rinse in influencing hair behavior by coating the outer surfaces of hairs. Dandruff a certain amount of dead cells, oil, bacteria, and dirt accumulating in the hair is natural and readily controllable with regular shampooing and rinsing. In dandruff, however, there are excesses and complications. The outer layer of scalp peels off in little white scales. The flakes become large, greasy, and yellowish. They may block sebaceous gland openings so the hair becomes dry, but more often dandruff is associated with in- creased activity of the glands and the hair becomes oily.

This latter condition is called oily seborrhea. And the scalp condition may be accompanied by greasy patches of skin on face, neck, and body. A number of factors can be responsible for dandruff: lowered resistance because of poor physical condition or nervous tension, infecting organisms, lack of absolute cleanliness. You may be able to clear dandruff by giving some attention to nutrition and general care of the body. Keeping hair and scalp scrupulously clean by shampooing and rinsing every few days may help. It's important to keep comb and brush clean.