The modern woman has so many shampoos, conditioners, hot oils and detanglers ready and waiting to be purchased at her nearest grocery or beauty salon. The belles of a century past had a much more simple choice, generally limited to: soap, or a homemade preparation.
Madame Qui-Vive, a famous beauty expert of the day, provided her helpful advice for the care and beautification of one's "halo." For shampooing, she advised that one should use bar soap that has been shaved and dissolved in water -- essentially a homemade version of a liquid shampoo. Period soaps that are still available for purchase include:
Ivory (formula has been recently modified, but the makers insist it washes the same)
Vinolia (famous for being the soap used on the Titanic -- however the recipe is now different)
Qui-Vive gives a step by step process for washing the hair, which is as follows:
Fill a washbowl with warm water. Hold the head over the bowl and with hands or a cup, throw the water over the head, wetting the hair thoroughly. Pour on some of the liquid soap, rubbing it in briskly. Do not be afraid of tangling or snarling the hair. The soap must be well rubbed in or the results will not be satisfactory. Keep on adding soap and throwing the water over the head until there is a rich live suds that has gone into every little corner and recess.Rinse the hair well with warm water and follow with a second shampoo. In almost every case of the unsuccessful shampoo, it is because the hair has had only one soaping or because the rinsing has not been complete.With a bowl of fresh water and with more soap, repeat the first process. Rub the scalp well with the finger ends, so as to dislodge all the dandruff. Pour some of the soap on the long hair. It needs attention quite as much if not more than the hair that is close to the head. The final rinsing should be continued until the strands are soft and silky. Experienced hair shampooers know immediately by the feel of the hair whether or not it is absolutely clean. If there is the slightest stickiness, if each hair does not stand by itself, the shampoo is not a success.Running water is always better than water splashed up from the bowl. If one has a bath tub and spray with a rubber hose attached, the problem of rinsing the hair is easily solved and the hair can be thoroughly cleansed of every particle of soap suds.Wrap the head tightly with a hot towel, and pat until most of the water is absorbed. Shake out the hair and massage the scalp with the finger ends, wiping the long hair with warm towels. The hair should never be left to dry without friction. Such neglect will destroy the hair roots and prove destructive to the growth. The hair should not be groomed at all until nearly dry if you would have it fluffy and silky. Use the brush first, dividing the hair into sections. Then comb carefully.
In another piece by the same author, she continues on the subject:
It is almost impossible to state positively how often the hair should be shampooed. Oily hair needs a thorough washing every two weeks, while drier tresses should not be given a bath oftener than once a month. Half the reason for falling hair, or hair that seems never to grow, is caused by improper shampooing. The scalp must be kept scrupulously clean. And I doubt very much whether the soap and soiled water can be thoroughly rinsed out without the use of running water, the bath spray being the most convenient means of getting this. How often, after washing one's hair, one finds a white, sticky substance clinging to the teeth of the comb! This should never be, and the hair must be continually washed until it is fluffy and soft and absolutely without any suggestion of the shampoo. When the hair is very oily a dessertspoonful of ammonia and a pinch of borax should be added to two quarts of warm water. This will soften the water and make the soap more easily rinsed out of the hair. The liquid verbena soap makes a delightful shampoo. Recipe can be found at the end of this chapter.When shampooing, rub the lather through the strands gently, and with the finger tips remove all the little particles of dust and dandruff which may be clinging to the scalp. And may I gently suggest that you do not go at the task as if you were scrubbing a grease spot out of a rug? You must neither dig the scalp with your nails nor wring out your hair as you would a wash-rag. Try not to get your hair into a more mussed-up and tangled condition than is absolutely necessary. After using the bath spray liberally dry with warm towels, then — if possible — get someone to vigorously massage the scalp. This will almost invariably prevent one from taking cold. Never begin combing out your locks until they are nearly dry. A sun bath of twenty minutes is a good tonic.
I can attest, having tried the process, that for long hair this method does seem to work a little better than modern options -- or at least, it gives one's hair a more 'period-correct' look of smoothness and slight fluffiness. Beware though, it is more drying than most shampoos available today, so indeed a shampoo by this method "once a month" may really be all you can stand.
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