Newspaper Page Text
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2 Diseases
THAT
ARE
Spread
Bacteriological Examination of Combs, Brushes, Etc.,
Point to Twelve Things Every
Barber Ought to Be Compelled
by Law to Do to Protect
Patrons from Infection
The Shaving Brush Should Be Forbidden—It Is Practically Im
possible to Sterilize It, and It Is a Fertile Source of Infection.
T HAT baldness, dandruff and a
large part of all scalp and
skin diseases are caught at
the barbers’ and hairdressers’ was
told by men of science in last Sun
day’s paper. To-day’s article points
out the remedies by which the bar
ber and hair dresser may cease to
be a perpetual source of infection to
their patrons.
The clean barber shop is certain
to come sooner or later. Not merely
clean in that no dirt is visible, for
many barber shops are kept clean
enough to the eye, but surgically
clean, which means keeping hostile
microbes away from the customers.
It is more important to the barber
that he really learn his business and
make it safe than it is for his
patrons. The barber can’t get along
without customers, but the custom
ers can and will get along without
the barber, unless he reforms.
The first barbers who really make
a study of their business and reform
are certain to prosper vastly at the
expense of those who are slow to
follow.
The fear of germs is the begin
ning of wisdom for the barber. First,
the barber must study his business,
learn what a germ really is, how it
is transferred from one person to
another and how to keep his hands,
chairs, brushes, strops and everything
else free from these invisible ene
mies. He must know, for instance,
that it is a joke to sterilize a razor
and then strop it on an unsterilized
strop; that it is of no avail to use
a sterile razor if he uses a shaving
brush, because it is almost impossi
ble to sterilize a shaving brush; that
singeing the hair to keep it from
falling out is as silly as to try to
pound it in with a hammer
Another delusion he must escape
from is the notion that alum and the
other styptics he uses tc stop your
face from bleeding are germicides
As a matter of act, microbes live
quite comfortably on^alum, as was
proved by M. i-.anglail’s experiment,
described in last Sunday’s paper.
Though it will take considerable
time for barbers to learn their busi
ness thoroughly and reorganize their
shops on a sanitary basis, there are
certain steps which can be taken at
once to reduee the amount of infec
tion to at least half what it is to
day. Eventually, of course, the law
will attend to all this. The Health
Be liefs will ultimately inspect hair
dressers’ shops just as carefully as
they watch dairies, bakeries or the
water supply.
Primarily the shaving brush should
be thrown out of the shop. It is pos
sible by care, skill and persistence,
to sterilize the shaving brush alter
each customer, but things must be
made easy for the barber and not
hard. The lather should be made
by using a bit of absorbent cotton
instead of a brush. The cotton
should also be used to rub in the
lather instead of the fingers. Soap
powder or paste is rapidly supplant
ing the ancient and filthy soap disk
in the bottom of the qup.
The next thing to follow the shav
ing brush into the ash can should
be the hot towel. If microbes had
a vote they would vote solidly for
this abomination, which takes na
ture at a disadvantage, upsets the
blood circulation in the skin and
leaves the complexion at the mercy
of germs it could ordinarily defeat.
IT.. 1 _ II -i-J nttr. of irollIO It!
by a little grain alcohol or bay
rum. The barber should be forbid
den to apply the worthless “witch
hazel’’ or other washes with his
hands.
The barber should refrain from
pinching and pulling the skin in his
efforts to present the beard at a fa
vorable angle to the razor. This
habit causes the hair end to project
and allows of a very close shave. It
also causes 'ingrowing hairs,” and
“ingrowing hairs” cause little sore*
spots, and these often become centres
of infection.
When the skin of the face is
S*
Eight of the Twelve Disease
Germs Commonly Found in
Hairdressing Shops.
ERYSIPELAS
DANDRUFF
Hot applications are of value In
cases of injured joints, muscles, liga
ments, etc., but can only work harm
after a shave.
Let the barber wash off the soap
with lukewarm water and plenty of
it. When the face has been dried
or partly dried this may b*' followed
the hairs are forced ouf beyond their
natural position. The razor is then
able to shear them off very short.
As soon as the skin is released they
sink into their natural position. This
would be well enough if it were not
for the unfortunate fact that the
hairs are usually left with sharp
points. These points often catch in
the skin and cause the hair to double
back and grow in, causing what is
commonly called “ingrowing hairs.”
An “ingrowing hair” betrays itself
as a little inflamed spot with a bit
of pus in the centre. This may or
may not become a boil, according
to whether or not the right microbe
gets into it. The barber pounces
upon these “ingrowing hairs” with a
little pair of tweezers and is quite
adept in removing the hair which is
causing the trouble.
Unfortunately he uses the same
pair of tweezers on every ingrowing
hair, and the points of his little in
strument soon hold a very choice
assortment of active and virulent
microbes, which find ready access to
the blood stream of every patient
who appears with “ingrowing hairs.”
Of course .these nippers or tweezers
should be cleaned and sterilized after
each use. No barber does this and
he never will do this until his cus
tomers or the law make him.
Between the customers the barber
and the hair dresser should wash
his hands and scrub his finger nails.
He should have not one set of
brushes and combs, but half a dozen,
and each time they are used should
be part of a round trip to the steri
lizer. He should refrain from touch
ing his own head with his hands,
and above all never use the shop im
plements on himself. It is this habit
Which makes so many barbers bald
or thin haired in spite of all their
efforts.
There is much talk about “loosen
ing the scalp with massage.” It
may be that rubbing the scalp may
help under certain circumstances,
but the tight scalp is the result of
the disease, not the cause. If the
dandruff and other hair destroying
microbes are kept away from the
head there will never be any need
of massage or medicine. If they are
not, then all the massage in the
world will npt save the hair.
Many barber shops, but by no
means all, now supply either a tdwel
or a piece of paper to cover the head
rest. The paper is better, as there
is little temptation to let it remain
How Mamma’s Hair Brush Gives to the Baby the Dandruff She
Acquired at the Hairdresser’s.
Hair Brushes and Combs
Are Among the Most Fre
quent Means of Spreading
Infection and Contagion-
and Both Are Difficult to
Sterilize. Microscopic Ex
amination of Combs and
Brushes Reveal Pathogenic
Disease Germs in Great
Abundance. Professor Fou-
quet Recommends That
Hairdressers Wash Them
Every Day in Ammoniated
Soap Water. All Brushes
and Combs Should Then Be
Kept in a Hermetically Seal
ed Retainer Containing a
Saucer of 40 Per Cent Solu
tion of For mol.
BOILS
BLOOD DISEASE
FAVUS BARBERS ITCH
for the next man. Towels are liable
to be used again on the head rest or
for some other purpose.
A towel once used should be
washed in boiling water to thorough
ly destroy all disease germs, not put
through the mangle at the laundry.
After a shave it is much better for
the face that it be dried with a pa
per napkin than a towel, hut it will
be some time before the public will
understand and accept the paper sub
stitute.
The hair clipper must be either
discarded in favor of the scissors or
sterilized. The reason most boils
come on the back of the neck is not
accident, but because the clipper is
used. This barber’s tool is the pet
chariot of the germ of furunculosis,
or infectious boils. Once in the sys
tem it may spread from the neck to
any part of the body. Stop the bar
ber from using the clipper on you
and you will cease having boils on
your neck.
Brushes and anything which will
not bear heating may be sterilized
by dipping in a solution of formalin,
a teasponful to a pint of water. They
should also be frequently washed
with hot water, soap and ammonia.
The bootblack should never be
placed in charge of the clean towels.
It is almost Impossible to keep his
hands clean, and it is not necessary
that they should be as long as he
confines himself to boots.
Barbers should be examined for
dandruff, itch, furunculosis, acne and
other diseases and not allowed to
work until cured. Patrons suffering
from Infectious diseases should be
excluded from barber shops and
,n-
You Can Now Eat Your Coffee Cup
I T will be perfectly good manners
to eat the table decorations at
the Christmas dinner this year-
provided they are of the novel kind
now being made by progressive ca
terers. These new table ornaments
are intended to be eaten.
The accompanying photograph
shows a spray of acacia blossoms
beautifully chrystallized, with leaves
formed of thin strips of candied peel.
Candy Flowers and Cup Which Can Be Eaten After Using.
The flowers are mounted on stalks
and the whole bunch is daintily tied
with ribbon. The flowers, which are,
of course, entirely edible, are daintily
scented with their natural fragrance.
Large baskets apparently contain
ing clusters of grapes and embel
lished vine leaves and various flow
ers are being used as centrepieces,
although when the basket is tendered
to the guests they will be expected
to partake not only of the grapes,
but of the vine leaves and flowers as
well. The entire contents of the
basket are made of sugar and prove
to be most delicious sweets.
Very elaborate snappers will like
wise be a feature of the up-to-date
dinner table.
Some of these snappers are
adorned with artificial flowers of silk
or cloth, or with a single large and
very perfectly fashioned rose, so art
istically prepared that guests will
hesitate to “snap” them at all.
These snappers will in some cases
treated at home with their own
struments until well.
Cocoa butter, vaseline and all the
cosmetics, good, bad and indifferent,
must be kept in tubes instead of
jars. The system which allows one
of the barbers to attend to the cash
register is vicious and inexcusable.
No barber with the faintest notion of
microbes and their habits would per
mit such a custom. As it is now in
the majority of shops, one barber
pauses every few minutes to handle
bills and coins. With this microbian
reinforcement he returns to rub the
customer's face an<l scalp.
Many of these skin and hair ruin
ing devices are found in women's
hair dressing establishments. Women
have some special abominations of
.heir own. Thick rugs and carpets
on the floor, long since discarded by
the barber, are the usual thing in
hair dressing shops.
Hot air cones for drying the hair
me not only bad for the scalp, but
have a bad effect on the. heart and
lungs. They frequently cause nausea
’at the time and “car sickness” on
the way home.
“Scotch showers,” which are alter
nating hot and cold water on the
scalp, are bad for the nerves and the
circulation, and as far as they affect
the scalp are injurious.
Of course, everybody doesn’t catch
all of the twelve different varieties
of disease germs which the French,
English, German and American bac
teriologists have found common to
barber shops. We do not all catch
pneumonia nor do we all die of
tuberculosis—but that is no argu
ment for denying that it is a wise
thing to try to avoid these germs.
Writing on this matter in his recent
authoritative treatise on the hair and
its diseases, Dr. David Walsh re
marks:
“The wonder is that more people
do not lose their hair through these
diseases. The explanation is the re
sistance most people offer to the
destructive action of the parasites
of these diseases.’’
Is the barber well meaning and
doing as well as can be expected?
Shall we forgive the unsanitary prac
tices of the barber because of his
ignorance of even the rudiments of
modern science and antiseptic
methods?
But is the barber doing all that
can be reasonably expected of a
man of his intelligence? Is he keep
ing things as clean as he might and
does he show any real concern for
the welfare of his customers? We
shall see.
Have you ever watched the bar
ber’s little towels? If not you will
be surprised to find that the “clean
towel” which the barber tucks under
your chin has been used before on a
previous customer. Not only this,
but the wet towel with which he
wipes your face has also been used
be the only decoration on the table.
Copyright, 1913, by the Star Company.
before perhaps on several
ers since it was washed.
This statement will cause surprise
to most tenders, but you can verify
it yourself if you will determine to
keep your eyes on the barber’s hands
and his pile of towels. The trick
is done partly under the eyes of the
customer and partly after he has
left the barber shop.
It is the common belief, and every
barber will assure you, that each
customer gets a fresh, clean towel.
This is not the truth unless the bar
ber discovers the fact that you are
watching him.
As soon as you straighten your
self out in the barber’s chair, with
your eyes turned toward the ceiling,
the barber reaches over to the stack
of neatly folded towels and takes
the top one, which is creased and
folded. This he tucks under your
chin and begins to stir the shaving
brush in the mug. This towel has
been carefully saved from the neck
of the previous customer. After it
has been under your chin it will be
carelessly dropped on the arm of the
chair as you arise and put on your
coat, and it stays there as long as
you are in the barber shop. As soon
as you have left this towel is care !
fully folded, smoothed out and put
back again on top of the pile of
fresh towels. This is the towel the
next customer gets tucked under his
chin. This towel will do duty from
six to twelve times, according to
how badly it becomes wrinkled ttnd
soiled.
But as you lie in the chair with
your eyes turned upward and the
time arises to wash off the lather
from your face—where does the wet
towel come from? Not from the
pile of “clean towels.” Here is where
the customer will have to keep his
eyes open if he wants to see the
barber’s little sleight of hand trick.
Somewhere from behind the cash
register, or alongside a bottle of
shampoo mixture, or from the rim of
the receptacle for soiled towels will
come the towel which wipes your
face—not from the pile of clean
towels. This towel is made to do
duty over and over again on the
faces of various customers until the
towel becomes so wet and soiled
that it is no longer available. Watch
your barber and his towels the next
The Perfectly Useless Custom of Singeing the Hair
custom-
time you have a shave, but if the
barber suspects that you are watch
ing him you will get a fresh towel
under your chin and a fresh towel
for your face—at least they will both
be taken from the pile of neatly
folded towels, but they^ may both
have been used on previous cus
tomers. Watch, too, what he does
with the towel that has been under
your chin. *
if, then, this little revelation of
the filthy practices common to bar
ber shops indicates that the barber
is really not concerned with cleanli
ness, sanitary methods and the safe
guarding of his customers, it is
hardly to be expected that much, if
anything, will ever be accomplished
in reforming the methods of barber
shops until proper laws have been
passed and enforced.
Here is a feeble attempt by the
New York Board of Health to do
something about barbers. The fol
lowing 11 rules are printed on a
card a foot square.
1— No person with any disease of
the skin of the face shall be shaved
in a public barber shop.
2— Barbers must wash their hands
thoroughly with soap and hot water
before attending any person.
3— No alum, or other astringent,
shall be used in stick form. If used
at all to stop flow of blood, it must
be applied in the form of powder.
4— The use of powder puffs is pro
hibited.
5— No towel shall be used for more
than one person without being
laundered.
8—The use of sponges is pro
hibited.
7— Mugs and shaving brushes must
be thoroughly washed after use on
each person.
8— Combs, razors, clippers and
scissors shall be thoroughly cleans
ed after every separate use thereof.
9— Floors must be swept or mopp
ed every day and all furniture and.
woodwork kept free from dust.
10— Hot and cold running water
must be provided.
11— A copy of these regulations
It to be hung in a conspicuous place
in each shop.
Has anybody in New York ever
seen this card “conspicuously” visi
ble in a barber shop? Is there any
barber who pays any attention to
any of these regulations that are im
portant, or has the Board of Health
ever made any effort to enforce
them?
What ought to be done to make
hairdressers and barber shops clean,
safe and sanitary? Well, Professor
Fouquet, of the Paris Society of
Sanitary Prophylaxis, with the co
operation of Professor Langlais and
Dr. Remlinger, has laid down a sani
tary code which barbers should be
compelled to obey. Here are twelve
important requirements:
TWELVE SANITARY RULES FOR
HAIRDRESSERS.
1— Every hairdresser should—him
self or herself—be free from
dandruff and all other contagious
diseases.
2— The hairdresser's hands should be
washed and the nails scrubbed
before each customer.
3— Customers should have their own
comb and brush, which should
be sterilized before using.
4— Hot towels, alum-stick and shav
ing brush should be abolished.
A bit of absorbent cotton should
be used in place of brush.
5— Hair clippers, razors and hair for
ceps should be sterilized every
time they are used, juat as a
reputable dentist docs his in
struments. Razor strops rhouid
be sterilized by dry heat.
6— Barbers should never make
change while attending to cus
tomers.
7— Head-rests should be covered
with a clean piece of paper ior
each patron.
3—Vaseline, cocoa butter aid all
pastes should be kept in col
lapsible tubes instead of jars.
9—Rugs, carpets, hot-air cones and
“Scotch showers” should be
abolished in women's hairdress
ing establishments.
18—Bootblacks should not handle
clean towels nor be permitted to
raise a dust by dry sweeping.
11— Barbers’ towels should not be
used repeatedly on different cus
tomers without washing.
12— Barbers are commonly called in
to shave and hairdress deceased
persons before the funeral—
razors and brushes used fof
corpses should never be used for
any other purpose.
Great Britain Rights Reserved.