I will assume that the larger portion of my readers are well acquainted with the various implements and tools used in the trade, but as this book will, no doubt, be brought prominently under the notice of apprentices and improvers, a brief description of such things is not altogether unnecessary.

A “card” is made with a thick wooden base, into which a large number of steel prongs or spikes, about two or three inches deep, have been firmly set, and it is used for carding or smoothing hair. The possession of a pair of good drawing-brushes is also most important. They should be large and heavy, and well filled with the best bristles. These brushes are made of various sizes, but as they are so necessary and useful, I would recommend the purchase of a good article, and of fair proportions.^[2] A “nitting machine” reminds one of a small-tooth comb, for its purpose is similar. It is made of brass, fitted with screws to be turned with the thumb and finger, and these hold together or open at will a closely-set number of steel teeth. This compact little instrument is intended to be fixed, when in use, to the front of the “card,” so that the whole length of hair may be passed through it several times. A “jigger” is wanted when piping or curling hair. It is a piece of hard wood, about seven or eight inches long, three inches wide, and half-an-inch in thickness. There are to be three holes, in the form of a triangle, towards the upper end, through which ordinary screws are passed to fix it securely to the work-table or bench. About three inches of this piece of wood or “jigger” must be allowed to project, and through the projecting part two holes are to be made in a line with each other. A piece of strong string is to be passed through these two holes, tied in a knot, and extend to within a couple of inches of the floor. The “pipes,” for curling hair, are about three-and-a-half inches in length, and the thickness of a lead pencil. Formerly they were made of earthenware clay, but common tobacco-pipe, pieces of cane, or, better still, willow, with the bark stripped off, answer every purpose. In addition to the foregoing, a dozen or more pieces of wood, about twelve or fifteen inches long and one inch square, will be required, together with vessels for boiling hair, tins or dishes for baking hair, plenty of string, a dressing comb or two, scissors, etc., and an old razor-blade, well-set in a handle, allowing two inches of the blade to appear, will all be useful. Soft soap, and some of the best Scotch soda, together with hot and cold water, must also be provided.

Let me suppose that the reader has a small stock of hair by him, which he is desirous of bringing into use. It may have been accumulating for some time, and is, probably, of divers lengths and colours. It should be collected together, and the first thing to do is to get the hair thoroughly clean, so as to prepare it for after manipulation. Separate the different qualities first, should there be any variation in that respect, and put all the coarse hair into one lot, and all the fine into another. In the event of a piece of hair being rather more bulky than the rest, divide it, so as to have each piece about the same size and not any thicker than can be washed and dried in an easy, as well as effectual manner. Tie every piece with string moderately tight and securely fastened, but loose enough for the tie to slide up and down a little when the hair is being washed, otherwise, some portion of the hair will be clean, and where tied, dirty. Before washing, it is better to give each piece a rough “carding,” so as to prevent its matting together, and probably breaking the longer hair in its disentanglement.

The foregoing instructions having been attended to, provide two pails or basins of hot water—as hot as the hand can bear—and into each one put a tolerable quantity of soft-soap and soda—the best Scotch soda if it can be obtained. Place a few pieces of the hair into one vessel to soak, so that the dirt and grease upon it may be more easily removed. Take up one of the pieces, and holding it as a boy would a stick, between the thumb and fingers, commence rubbing it in washerwoman style, and, at the same time, working it gradually from one end to the other. Do not forget to slip the tie occasionally, and if this process be carefully performed, a great deal of the grease and dirt will have been removed. This imperfectly cleaned piece can then be passed into the second vessel. Proceed in the same way throughout, changing the water frequently, or as soon as it becomes foul and unfit for use. When all the hair has been washed twice in the manner described, clean the pails or basins, and fill them with fresh water—hot in one, and tepid in the other. This is for rinsing purposes, and the last water must not be soapy, for so long as that is the case other water must be procured. It is of the utmost importance to remove all grease, soap, or dirt from the hair, and the greatest particularity should be exercised in this preliminary operation.

The hair can be dried either in the sun, in a warm room, or before a fire. If in the sun, and, of course, in the open air, each piece should be fastened separately to a line, and left to blow about in the wind for a few hours, or, in other words, till it is quite dry. If the drying process be carried on in a warm room, let the hair hang near to the ceiling, and avoid making a dust: but should an oven, or drying before the fire, be more convenient, turn the hair frequently, and mind it does not get scorched or burnt. Both these operations having been duly attended to, see that the “card” and “drawing-brushes” are perfectly clean, for the next process is that of drawing the hair.

I must now imagine that the various shades have been selected and placed in different lots, such as natural blacks here, dark browns there, light browns, reds, greys, and other shades or particular colours in separate and convenient places. Commence with the natural black hair. Take a piece and cut the string which binds it together, hold the hair by the roots firmly in the right hand, and make smooth by passing it gently through the “card” several times. It may be necessary to reverse it, but in that case hold it as near to the roots as possible, so as to avoid wasting the short and finer hair, which is to be found in every tress. Having done the carding, remove the top “drawing brush,” and place the piece of hair upon the underneath one, the roots upon the brush, the points being free and inclined towards you. Repeat this with a second, third, or fourth piece of hair, until you have collected all of that particular shade together, or until the brush is conveniently full. Then place the other brush on the top, press down moderately tight, and put a rather heavy weight upon it. The brushes being before you, the length of them extending from left to right, the hair which is free being of varying lengths (say) from twenty inches up to the very short within the brushes, it is now ready to be “drawn.” The workbench or table should be bound with hoop-iron, rising a quarter of an inch above the level, to form a “stop,” so that the brushes, hair, and weights may not be pulled off. But if the table is not so made it will be necessary to provide a “stop” by means of nails or screws. I have previously alluded to a dozen or more pieces of wood (the length of the brushes), twelve or fifteen inches long, and one inch square, and now I will describe their use. Assuming the longest hair in the brushes to be twenty inches, four inches or more of which being securely held between them, it follows that fifteen or sixteen inches must be free. It is requisite to have the points of the hair projecting a little, and only a little, over the edge of the table. The “stop” being at or near the edge cannot act as a check, but by placing a sufficient number of these pieces of wood between the “stop” and the brushes, they, i.e., the brushes, can be made secure at any distance required. Take the old razor blade already spoken of (which for convenience I will call a knife), and commence “drawing” the hair in small portions of, say, one or two hundred hairs. Continue this, holding the hair firmly in the left hand, while the knife is in the right, until a large quantity has been drawn off. As the length of the hair diminishes, so it will be necessary to remove one or more pieces of wood in order to keep the ends projecting, as I have said before, a little over the table’s edge. Assuming that the brushes were tolerably well supplied with hair at the outset, the hand is likely to get filled three or four times, but each of these pieces of hair can be loosely tied for the present and put aside. It is to be noted that the fastening will in this case be at the points instead of at the roots, but that, I need hardly say, is simply for temporary convenience. The drawing-brushes being again clear, the same pieces are to have the tie cut and placed in regular order on the underneath brush—the longest hair being on the right, the shortest on the left, and the different lengths graduating between. Now put the other brush over all, with weights upon the top to hold the hair secure. Let a sufficient number of slips of wood fill up the vacancy between the “stop” and the brushes, while the ends of the longest hair project a little over the edge of the table. Remember that the roots of the hair are now before you, and commence. Keep the roots even and clubbed, but drawing until there is about a quarter of an ounce in the hand, when it should be neatly and securely tied. This is to be repeated until the whole of the hair placed in the brushes is finished. Of course, as the hair diminishes, one piece of wood after the other must be taken away, and tresses of certain definite lengths will be the result. These tresses can all be classified by putting the various lengths together, thus—seven and eight-inch hair (calling it eight), nine and ten-inch hair (calling it ten), eleven and twelve-inch hair (calling it twelve), and so on. The shortest and, in all probability, the finest hair in the brushes must also be drawn and firmly tied, but I purpose dealing with that, under the designation of “crop” hair, in due course. This process of drawing must be pursued, until the entire quantity is disposed of.

Having got the hair well washed, and in regular order, you must now make a careful examination to see whether there are any nits. This is important, for the most clever piece of work is spoiled in the estimation of people in general, should they discover anything of the kind upon even one of the hairs. To imagine that a mixed quantity of raw hair can be perfectly free from parasitic indications is a mistake which no respectable hairdresser would allow to occur. True, some hair goods are to be found in a condition the reverse of what they ought to be, but these are generally offered for sale, by not over-scrupulous tradesmen, and purchased by customers of strong economical tendencies. Be that as it may, it is requisite to examine the hair, and any unsatisfactory or suspected pieces should be picked out. Now, I will suppose that nits are observed upon half-a-dozen of these pieces, and with them I purpose dealing. Fix the “nitting machine” to the front of the “card” in a secure manner, and, to prevent accidents, it is most important this should be strictly attended to. Cut the tie: firmly grasp the tress of hair, and “card” it, taking good care that each time it is made to pass through the machine also. This is to be repeated until the nits are removed; the hair being reversed occasionally to “nit” the other end.

It is worthy of remark that the eggs or nits of the common louse are observable to the naked eye; they are of sugar-loaf form, and generally deposited upon the hair with the narrow end pointing to the scalp. Hence it follows that by “carding” the hair the reverse way the nits are much more easily removed by this useful little machine, which no hair-preparer should be without. The teeth of the machine can be rendered fine or coarse (as may be required) by means of thumb-screws attached, and this process being effectually performed, the hair is now ready for further manipulation.

Curled hair of ten, twelve, fourteen, and sixteen inches long, is most in request, but longer or shorter can be curled, if required. I have already described a piece of hard wood called a “jigger” projecting from the work-table, and some of the other requirements for “piping” or curling hair. These I will suppose have been provided, and sundry locks of hair selected. Take one of the pieces, say, for the sake of illustration, weighing about a quarter of an ounce, and see that it is well and securely tied. Moisten the right hand, and rub the roots together to cause the hair to “felt,” and prevent the tie slipping. Place the tied part on the “jigger,” hold it by means of the string which passes through, and press tight with the foot. By this means the hair is, as it were, held in a vice. Comb it out and divide in two portions. Take one of the pieces of willow, cane, or whatever may be employed for the purpose, technically called a “pipe,” and a piece of rather stiff paper about 3 inches by 2. Put the “pipe” upon the hair, and the paper underneath, holding both in their places by means of the thumb and fingers and pressing gently the while. Draw the two downwards till you get to the points, and then commence to curl. By a movement of the hands, spread the hair a little, holding it firm and tight until it is all rolled up. Take about a yard of string and tie the hair and “pipe” together, by passing the string round one and then the other in such a way as to hold it firmly in its place without slipping, and fasten off securely. There is some art in doing this adroitly, which is difficult to explain in writing, but the reader should bear in mind that I am addressing those in the trade, and probably an opportunity will now and then offer for a practical illustration by some experienced hand. I have generally found it convenient to use all the straight hair in plaits, twists, etc., in the course of my business, and to purchase the curled hair ready prepared for use. This cannot always be done, especially by those who reside in distant parts, but a little practice will soon enable an intelligent workman to overcome any difficulty that presents itself.

After the hair is rolled or curled up on “pipes,” it has to be boiled and baked, so as to “fix the curl.” The hair should be boiled for an hour or more, and afterwards allowed a brief period to drain. While still warm it is to be put into trays or dishes and baked for several hours; there are suitable ovens constructed for the purpose now-a-days, but formerly the hair used to be embedded in dried sand and baked in a moderately cool baker’s oven. The whole lot of hair is to be strung together like ropes of onions afterwards, and hung in a warm dry place for days or months till wanted. In unrolling (there being two curls to each tress) one curl should be turned to the right and the other to the left, and if this work be properly performed, the hair will present a bright, glossy appearance, with a natural-looking and durable ringlet curl.