The Beauty of Gray Hair

If one morning, Madam, you look at yourself in the mirror and your eyes fall upon the first white hair on your head, you will most likely feel a pang of grief and regret in your heart, for you imagine old age is upon you, and you speak of that ill-omened morning, saying: 'On that ill-omened morning I saw the first white hair on my head!' Then you heave a burning sigh and say: 'The fingers of old age have begun to touch my hair! I have grown old and feeble!' But gently — have done with this empty talk, for gray hair comes to young girls as it comes to those advanced in years, and how many are the causes of graying: it may happen as the result of an illness or a nervous shock (which in the vernacular we call a 'fright'), or it may come by way of heredity, for some people turn gray before others quite naturally. There is therefore no cause for alarm and panic, and it is not right to consider gray hair proof that the body has lost anything of its vitality — except, of course, in the case of old age. Most cases of graying do not mean that the body has lost its vitality and strength.

If your brow is smooth and radiant, but crowned by hair into which some silver has mingled, you should not create wrinkles in that radiant brow by fretting over the matter. Those white hairs may make you look a year or two older than you are, but on the whole they give you an air of distinction which the wise woman knows how to exploit and turn to account.

And do not suppose, Madam, that we forbid you to take what measures you can to keep the gray from spreading through all your hair. But we advise you to let your first glance be at your health, and to attend to it, for gray hair often appears after an illness, or after a period of exhausting work or severe worry. The condition of the hair may be regarded as a good gauge of the general state of health. So go to your doctor and ask him for a good tonic. And remember that there are certain vitamin compounds that can halt graying; if you ask your doctor, he will tell you enough about them.

But let your second glance be at the condition of the scalp, for among the most important things in halting graying is to massage the scalp well with certain tonics made for the purpose. The massage should be performed with the fingertips of both hands, the fingers moving in a circular motion so that the scalp moves under the movement of the fingers, for this is the best way to set the blood circulating in the scalp — and that is the object of the massage.

Graying often appears in the wake of a parched scalp and the appearance of 'dandruff.' The treatment for dandruff is to massage the scalp with a tonic made from extracts of juniper oil — of the pine family, known as tar oil — so that the oil seeps down to the roots of the hair; then wash your head with a special soap made from pine-juniper oil. And brush your hair vigorously, evening and morning, with a stiff-bristled brush.

But when the hair turns decidedly gray, we advise you to leave it as it is. How many women advanced in years have spoiled the dignity of their appearance by dyeing their white hair! The pity of it is that they so often choose to dye their hair a red in which there is no trace of beauty, and the result is a disaster for their looks. No, Madam, do not dye your hair; the best thing you can do, when the gray in it grows plentiful, is to wear clothes that harmonize with its color. Choose your toilette with care, brush your hair until it shines, then dress it in a smart, attractive style. Gray hair needs greater care in dressing, and the elaborate, artful coiffures suit it; it does not agree with those loose, simple styles that suit the hair of a fair-haired girl, for such styles make gray hair look disordered and untidy. There are kinds of hair soap made especially for gray hair, which improve its color and give it a beautiful sheen and a life it did not have before. Use them,

and choose among them those whose tint inclines to a pale blue.

If your face is sallow, use the special compresses for the face to bring freshness into the skin. If the skin of your face is dry and parched, use a good cream-paste to soften and supple it. As for powders, use those that are pink or a pale red (the color of cyclamen blossom); and wear clothes that incline to blue, or of a pale shade with no harshness in it, taking care that this color be tinged with a touch of pale blue — such as light violet, a very light wine color, a light red mixed with a hint of blue, or shades lighter than these, combining blue and green. But beware of using yellow — keep away from it as you would keep away from disease. The woman whose hair has turned gray can wear gray clothes and they become her, especially if a touch of rose-red or deep red mingles in their color. But if you wish to use the reds with a gray dress, remember to choose those shades in which there is no trace of yellow. For yellow, and every color with a cast of yellow in it, does not become the pale blue that usually shows on smart gray hair. And remember that gray hair must always be very well groomed — that is what it needs most of all.