50 AKT D! SKAViyO. 



difference; befides which the advantage is faid, and ,1 believe 

 truly, to follow even if the razor be fullered to cool before it 

 Or by craning is ufed. Hence it mould feem as if the hot water detached 

 the Wade. f ome p ar .ticles of greafe from the edge, and by that means fa- 



cilitated the Hiding of the cut furface of the hair upon the face 

 of the razor. 

 Application and There is much difference of opinion as to the application 

 oa? * and. nfe of foap. By fome it is applied cold and thick by 

 means of a brum ; others apply it hot ; and others again apply 

 hot fuds or foap-water, with much rubbing, until the alkali 

 has rendered the fkin much fofter, and more difpofed to be 

 acred on by water than in its ufuat fiate. Sir John Chardin 

 Path* nnd Chi- afierts, that the great excellence of the Perfian barbers confifts 

 ode barbers. ^ £U p ra #i ce . but I can aflert on the other hand, that the 

 Chinefe, who (have with exquisite facility, ufe a foap box and 

 bruin with cold water. Whether the effect of the foap be to 

 (often the furface of the hair by an incipient combination of 

 alkali; whether it renders the ftroke more eafy by cauiing 

 the razor to ftide with facility along the furface, inflead of 

 railing -up portions of fkin and cutting them off, as it might 

 otherwifedo, are queftions to be folved by direct experiments. 

 - . Of thefe I know none, excepting that a mere folution of alkali 

 is lefs effectual than foap, and fo likewife is the mere appli- 

 Pr**wb 1 e afeof cation of oil or fat. Hence probably we may infer, that foap 

 ***?• ads- in a twofold manner; by dillblving and removing the 



matter of perfpiration by its alkali, and lubricating by its oil. 

 With regard to- the difference of heat and cold, thefe effecU 

 may perhaps be forwarded, and the hair fomewhat foftened at 

 the higher temperature, though the difference feems to be not 

 very : confiderable. 

 Mechanical pro. Some operators place the razor flat upon the face, and 

 " t«r operation oi fer S raife it to a confiderable angle. II is certain that the 

 procefs may be Ikilfully performed cither way. It is a very- 

 bad practice to prefs the razor at all againft the face ; and in- 

 deed this can not be done with impunity if a drawing ftroke be 

 ufed. Untkilful (havers will generally injure the fkin lefs if 

 they lay the razor flat ; but generally fpeaking, the clofeft 

 {having will be performed by holding the razor at the fame 

 inclination as w r as ufed in whetting it. 

 General Re- Upon the intire view' of the fubject it appears to me, that 



nwr J". die only indifpenfable condition among the requifites before 



difcufled, 



