Washing Hair

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~"WASHING HAIR IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS"~

Lois Caywood Guffy

Washing hair was quite a process for the ladies in the olden times. Can you imagine taking down a head of hair with oodles of hairpins that held the buns, braids and hair rats in place, Most of the rats were made from saving the loose hair from their combs or brushes.

My mother had hair that came to her waist and it was quite thick. She only washed her hair once a week. That was the norm back in the old days before running water. Hair was usually washed during the daytime, so it would be dry by bedtime.

In between washings the hair was brushed 100 strokes before retiring and again in the morning before the daily household tasks began. This gave the hair a sheen as well as cleaning it. The hair was divided off into a section with the upper portion being held by hand and brushing down from there with long sweeping strokes to prevent damaged hair and hurting tender scalps.

Those with out running tap water had a much harder time grooming their hair than those washing their hair in nothing more than pans of water. Many of the ladies including my mother, caught rainwater for washing their locks for a more shiny look. One pan or wash bowl held the soft sudsy water for washing the hair. The person bent over and doused their locks into the water and thoroughly but gently worked the suds through their tresses. Some had a helpmate pour the water over their head as the pan caught the runoff. The hair was then blotted with a towel.

The next procedure was the hair rinse and what I consider the most important step. A pitcher of rinse water was dipped from a pail of warm water. A small amount of vinegar was added to "cut" the soap residue and was thought to give the hair more luster. The rinse water was poured over the head of hair until the hair tested squeaky clean. The hair was air dried and sometimes was dried by the heat of a stove.

Most women braided their hair at night to prevent tangles, My mother in law used her homemade lye soap on her hair. Lye soap was considerably by some as too harsh to use on hair, but I never saw a more beautiful head of hair than hers.

Now we have so many brands of shampoo and conditioners that promise us everything imaginable. The choice of shampoo was uncomplicated way back in the good old days