hair

[Angel]

How did ladies from this era care for their hair? I saw the series on TV showing a family of today living for several weeks as a Victorian family and they mentioned that there was really no shampoo at that time. The women in the show said they used some kind of egg mixture or something and their hair was just awful- they couldn't stand it and sneaked away to a modern pharmacy to buy shampoo. It's hard for me to believe there was no type of cleansing thing that women could use to wash their hair. I know they didn't wash it as often as we do, but the pictures don't look like their hair was dirty or in bad shape. Does anyone know about this?

[Shelley]

Here is a helpful link
http://www.longhairlovers.com/victorian_care.html
Yes, homemmade preparations of egg, oil and rosewater were used. My granny swore by a final rinse in rain water and then, 100 strokes a day to distribute the oil from scalp to tips. Cornstarch dusted in and then brushed out was a "dry shampoo". I was not allowed to cut my hair until I was 19 and could sit on it. Young girls usually put up their backhair around 15 or so, and it was a real coming of age event -going from little girl to young lady.

[snokkums]

I have heard of homemade remedies from my 104 year old grandmother. She is German, and she said that in Germany they would make their own body soap(although they used it for alot of things) and sometimes they would use that on thier hair. She also swore buy 100 strokes of brushing.