HAIR  AND  HATR  DYES. 
173 
chloride,  and  the  sulphur  converts  the  chloride  into  (hlack)  sul- 
phide. The  effect  of  the  sulphide  of  ammonium  on  bichloride 
of  mercury  is  to  produce  the  (red)  bisulphide  which  is  the  com- 
mon Vermillion  of  commerce."  Another  commentator  on  "hair 
dyes  "  observes  that,  with  the  barbers  the  "  sheet-anchor  appears 
to  be  lead  and  lime."  And  again  it  is  recommended  to  first 
wash  the  hair  with  a  solution  (ten  grains  to  the  ounce)  of  nitrate 
of  silver  ;  then  use  a  weak  solution  of  pyrogallic  acid,  and  wash." 
An  interesting  article  on  the  subject,  from  the  pen  of  an  able 
chemical  writer,  Dr.  Scoffern,  may  be  found  in  the  May  number 
of  '  Belgravia,' under  the  head  of  ''Cosmetics  for  the  Hair." 
Dr.  Scoffern  reminds  us  that  the  Persians  employ  indigo  to  pro- 
cure a  blue-black  dye,  and  the  Turks  and  Egyptians  a  "  pasty 
writing-ink,"  composed  of  pyrogallic  acid  in  combination  with  a 
native  ore  of  iron,  while  in  the  West  the  chief  constituents  of 
hair-dyes  are  metallic  bodies  and  walnut-juice.  The  metals 
chiefly  in  use  as  "  capillary  chromatics  "  are  silver,  lead,  and 
arsenic ;  while  others  applicable  to  a  similar  purpose  are  gold, 
bismuth,  iron,  copper,  cadmium,  titanium,  uranium,  and  molyb- 
denum. Lead,  in  its  crudest  form,  is  represented  by  the  leaden 
comb  ;  but  as  the  process  by  this  means  is  slow,  a  compound  of 
oxide  of  lead  or  litharge,  with  lime,  and  made  into  a  paste  with 
water,  is  more  commonly  employed.  This  is  smeared  on  the 
hair  at  night,  the  evolved  gases  being  imprisoned  by  an  oilsilk 
cap,  and  in  the  morning  the  dried  paste  is  brushed  out,  and  the 
hair  refreshed  with  pomatum.  Or,  if  a  so-called  brown,  a 
"smothered  "  or  ''fusty  black  "  be  required,  the  paste  should 
be  mixed  with  milk  instead  of  water.  The  night  is  preferable 
for  these  remedies,  because  the  hair  is  supposed  to  exhale  more 
sulphur  at  this  period  than  during  the  day.  These  preparations 
remind  us  of  a  lotion  in  common  use  at  the  present  time,  con- 
sisting of  a  drachm  of  acetate  of  lead  with  twice  the  quantity  of 
sulphur  to  half  a  pint  of  water.  The  nitrate  of  silver  is  another 
common  form  of  dye,  but  is  open  to  the  objection  of  staining  the 
skin,  and,  in  fact,  everything  it  touches,  and  also  of  becoming 
iridescent  on  exposure  to  light,  producing,  as  Dr.  Scoffern  ob- 
serves, a  "  chromatic  play  of  tints,"  which  is  very  undesirable. 
Bismuth  presents  the  same  characteristics  as  lead,  but  is  not 
