Beauty Culture (Woodbury)/Chapter 12

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The use of formations of false hair as adjuncts in dressing the natural hair when this is not abundant has already been noted in connection with coiffures which do not essentially require them. It will be well to discuss the subject here at greater length.

It is advisable to refrain from the use of much added hair, because of the danger of its pressure and injurious heating effect upon the scalp. However, when such must be employed to make the patron's head presentable, only live, natural hair pieces should be used.

Hair combings of the patron are to be preferred as being the most hygienic. To make a fairly good product, at least four ounces of the combings should be furnished, as most of such hair submitted to be made up is short and of little use to the maker.

Short, broken ends, it must be remembered, are lighter in color than the longer hairs, hence their use would prove very unsatisfactory to the patron, when made up. It must also be remembered that all false hair pieces made in time, as does the hair on the head, the ends always being lighter in color than the hair near the scalp. Furthermore, such pieces are inclined to lose life and ​ ​appear dead or dry. To overcome this, one of the oil preparations or brilliantine must be used to make them look life-like.

False pieces must be curled also, particularly those made up in curl clusters. This should be done with the fingers, pinning them down to the net frame upon which they are built. The use of the curling iron in this is not to be advised.

The cost of false pieces varies with the shade of hair desired. Very blond hair and gray are the most expensive, and very "fancy" prices are asked for unusual red shades.

There is a great difference in the quality of the hair thus bought or used. Most of the better qualities arc imported into this country from Brittany, Italy, and Germany, and for the coarser variety in recent times from China, where, with the increase of civilization, a great number of the inhabitants have taken to cutting off their queues. Chinese, and still more recently Japanese, hair has a very considerable sale here, but it is under suspicion as being sometimes the communicator of skin discases of a painful, persistent character.

Any hair-dresser should be familiar with the most essential false pieces to be obtained in the market and used on a patron of critical and appreciative nature.

To acquaint the operator fully with such details as are essential, the following list of false hair pieces is given with a full description of each;

Switches. Switches are made either straight or wavy, and vary in color, weight, and length.

The weight is from 1½ to 4½ ounces, the length varying from 18 inches to 28 inches. The price differs with the color and quality of the hair. German hair is ​

usually employed. The hair is gathered in a stem with a loop at the end to facilitate pinning on.

Stemless switches are preferred to the above by many

​ ​women. They are furnished with clasp pins instead of a loop.

There are single straight or waved switches, and knot switches. The latter may be single or double knot, as shown in figures 65 and 66.

There is also a twisted switch of two varieties, as shown in figures 67 and 68.

Another style of switch of the braided type is shown in Figure 69. It has a curled effect at the end and is called the Braid Mignon.

Switches are used to fill the back hair or neck dress, and can be utilized in many ways to obtain different effects.

Braids. Next to switches, and very near to them in appearance, is the braid. The braid is made in different styles, differing mostly by name and in weight and thickness, as shown in figures 70 and 71.

Braids are employed to fill the crown dress, one side or the back hair. Thus it will be seen that they answer many styles and are of value in giving individuality to the coiffure.

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In figures 72 and 73 the use of these braids is well shown.

There are other braids of this type, but they vary only in length and thickness and the addition of curls at one or both ends.

Curls. A great amount of curls is used at the present time, all varying in shape, size, and in the number of the cluster. They are used not so much to cover a deficiency as for purely ornamental purposes, being stuck

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here and there to add to the charm or chic of the coiffure. Two, the heavy and light styles, are shown in figures 74 and 75.

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There is also a combination of switch and curl, or again there may be a combination of pin curls and a puff, as shown in Figure 76.

Chignons. Fancy-named curls are shown in the following figures (77 and 78). They need no further ex​planations here and are simply shown for the sake of acquainting the operator with their names—no small matter with some well-informed patrons:

Puffs. Puffs are curls of larger size, much more compact. They are made single, double, etc., or combined with curls or braids. Some of the types given in figures 79, 80, and 81 are much in vogue. They are usually made on a wire frame or net, to be pinned as demanded by the particular style.

From the illustrations of the combined curl and braid given in figures 82 (on page 165) and 83 (on page 171), it will be seen that a switch, if of sufficient thickness, can be made up in various ways; that is, as braid and puffs, ​or braid and curls, or as a cluster of curls or puffs. Some hair-dressers prefer to use switches for these purposes, making them up to suit and holding them in place with fine hairpins.

Pompadours. The pompadour is one of the most used additions to the coiffure. The reason for its use is that it gives body and form to the front dressing, raises and shapes the whole front, when the natural hair is insufficient, or is made to cover the crown division or front of hair, and give it distinctive style, as in the centre-parted or side-parted form, or those of a dip or depression to the centre or one side.

​ ​Pompadours are made to be used under the front and side hair or over it, being pinned into place. If of sufficient length, say ten to sixteen inches, the hair of the false piece is combed in with the natural hair or curled here and there to impart individual style to the coiffure. They are also used to cover and hide the gray or mixed hair of the front and crown.

There is little difference in the term transformation or pompadour. The best distinction may be plainly said to be that a transformation is a flat arrangement of ​straight or curled hair fixed into a strip of net at the root end; the ends of the net to be pinned above each car and over the crown of the head. If the transformation is made to cover the whole circle of the head or crown, it is called an All Around Transformation, and is shown in Figure 84.

The illustration shown includes a comb attached to the silk net into which the hairs are fixed. It can be worn under or over the natural hair and lends itself to many becoming styles of dress.

The same arrangement, but divided into halves with a space between the long hair over the crown, is shown in Figure 85, and is called the half transformation. The illustration shows the introduction of the pompadour to fit over the crown with a depression at the centre, also the comb and the addition of two rubber bands at each ​end of the net to permit of pinning down under the back hair.

We come now to consider the true pompadour. It is usually made up in shape to go over the front hair and is simply pinned down to it. The shapes vary, as shown in figures 86, 87, and 88, according to the style desired.

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These pompadours are also made to be worn inside or under the front and side hair, but their office is to add shape only to the front and sides of the head, whereas the full or half transformations are usually combed in with the back hair to form knots or clusters of curls or puffs.

They are usually mounted on silk net or a lace back. Some are fixed upon a wire framework, especially those used inside, to permit of a ready adjustment to the shape of the top of the head. Combs may be fixed to the silk net or mount.

Hair Rolls. Hair rolls are commonly known as "rats." They are made of all kinds of material, such as moss, vegetable fibre, horse hair, wire, crêpe fibre, and lastly of natural hair.

The form usually employed is that in the shape of a horseshoe, as shown in Figure 89.

The length of hair rolls varies from six to twenty-four inches, the latter length being used to form a circular elevation or support for the hair all around the head.

Of course, these rolls, or "rats," are used under the hair and are simply bolsters to make the natural growth appear full and to give body to the style of coiffure em​ployed. They are invariably injurious to the hair of the head, owing to their tendency to retain heat, which is bad for the scalp and roots of the hair. For that reason the light, open or ventilated frames are best, and next in preference are the natural hair-ventilated rolls. At best, they are uncleanly in nearly all forms and should be avoided whenever possible.

Nets. Hair nets, made of very fine silk, fibre, and natural hair in shades to match, almost or practically invisible, are used in different sizes, some to cover the entire coiffure, or the front, or front and side hair only.

Their object is to hold down stray hairs and to prevent the wind or other forces from blowing out or disarranging curls and puffs. Automobiling has greatly necessitated or accentuated their use, but the old nets of heavy woven materials, used principally for the back ​hair and so much worn in the Colonial period, are now obsolete, the invisible nets having supplanted them.

Ribbons and Flowers. Ribbons and bands of various material, such as silk or velvet, and flowers, natural and artificial, are often used to complete the hair dress. (See Figure 90.)