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Pen
Colonial Settler
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 03 2003
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 Posted - February 13 2003 : 4:00:48 PM
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Hi, All,
The 'Best Hair Moments' posts got me to thinking...
What would be the formula for a period-type of creme rinse (or something) to keep my hair from turning to knots at the least suggestion of dampness (fog, even [:)!]? As my hair is waist-length and very fine, this gets to be a real problem on campouts.
I've broken two combs and a hairbrush so far. Plastic picks are better, but not much.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Pen
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Lady Ann
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 20 2002
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Posted - February 13 2003 : 5:20:43 PM
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Dear Pen:
As another with rogue hair that is inclined to knot at the very hint of dampness, I can say that your best solution while traipsing through the wilderness is to keep the hair braided. At least then no one notices the knots and frizz! As for 18th century remedies for the condition, here are several - try them in combination for the best results: 1. After shampooing with your favorite soapwort solution, rise hair thoroughly with a cup of vinegar. 2. Rinse with a combination of baking soda, vinegar and water (2 parts, 2parts, 4 parts). 3. After washing and rinsing hair, dry your hair in front of the fire...comb it through first, and while it is drying, polish it with a square of silk. You'd be amazed how much that silk decreases frizz!
Come to think of it, Cora's hair looks dangerously knotted when she is leaning against Hawkeye after "The Kiss". Humidity obviously has its benefits. |
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Lurking Huron4494
Anonymous Guest
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
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Posted - February 13 2003 : 6:36:18 PM
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Bear grease.
It's the best thing for lubing your patches as well. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
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Posted - February 13 2003 : 8:46:09 PM
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Bear grease on a lady's hair!?!  Never!!
Rosemary Oil! 
Rosemary is for Remembrance... and so much more. If flavors your meat, soothes aching muscles when used topically, and it is wonderful for your scalp and hair... it stimulates hair growth, helps control the frizz, and makes the hair shiny without being "greasy." And it smells nice as well. Just put a few drops in your palms and smooth your hands over and through your hair.
Lady Ann's suggestions are good, as well. My thoughts also went to braiding as a control method. When I was a hairdresser, we regularly used vinegar rinses on hair, especially immediately after a perm, to restore the natural pH balance of the hair.
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Pen
Colonial Settler
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 03 2003
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 3:20:31 PM
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Hi, All,
Thanks very much for the suggestions; I'll give them all a try to see which works for me.
I did forget to mention that my hair will not stay braided for very long...the braids come undone rather easily, which means I have to redo it (or have it redone by someone) every couple of hours. Byproduct of having fine hair, I guess. Would using pins work any better?
Pen |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 3:50:38 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Pen
I did forget to mention that my hair will not stay braided for very long...the braids come undone rather easily, which means I have to redo it (or have it redone by someone) every couple of hours. Byproduct of having fine hair, I guess. Would using pins work any better?
Pen
It sounds as though you really do have that fine, fly-away type of hair, don't you? Be careful of pins. They can cause breakage. And never use rubber bands... get the woven elastic ones that are specially made for hair.
I'm not clear whether you are a reenactor? If you are willing to use it, a little spritz of hair spray can help hold things together for awhile. You don't need much, certainly don't need to make it stiff as a board. There are light-holding hairsprays available. Or you could try a light styling gel to help tame your hair.
Regardless, baby-fine hair can be a problem. But waist-length! I bet it's really pretty. |
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Scott Bubar
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 17 2002
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 9:09:40 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Pen
... I did forget to mention that my hair will not stay braided for very long...the braids come undone rather easily, which means I have to redo it (or have it redone by someone) every couple of hours. ...
You won't have that problem if you use a little bear grease. |
~~Aim small, miss small. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 9:27:39 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Scott Bubar
[quote]
You won't have that problem if you use a little bear grease.
Hey! Hey! 
Enough with the bear grease... you... you... Lurking Huron, you!!
 WW |
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Scott Bubar
Colonial Militia
USA
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May 17 2002
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 10:02:06 PM
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quote:
The hair should also be smoothed with bear grease - this keeps the shorter strands from flying into your face and also helps to keep the bugs away. It's a good hair conditioner, too!
Onaquaga War Party |
~~Aim small, miss small. |
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CT•Ranger
Colonial Militia
USA
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October 14 2002
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 10:27:50 PM
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Hey I think Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook would have used beargrease.
I bet all of you who are so infatuated with Hawkeye and Uncas never imagined them with a funky bear grease stank! |
YMHS,
Connecticut•Ranger
Thomas Thacher
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Theresa
Bumppo's Tavern Proprietress
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 17 2002
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Posted - February 14 2003 : 10:47:23 PM
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Well, whatever Uncas used on his hair, I want some of it.
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Theresa |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
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Posted - February 15 2003 : 12:21:16 PM
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Groan.... Okay... Okay...
Hollering: Uncle! Uncle! I capitulate! Bear grease it is. Besides, what's good enough for an Indian lady is good enough for me!
I apologize for letting myself slip briefly into 21st Century mode. Don't know what came over me!
Living where I lived in the North Country of New York (practically in the Wilderness), I know very well about deer flies, black flies and mosquitos. If I had not had 20th century bug-stuff available to me... I would have been screaming for the good ol' bear grease! |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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Scott Bubar
Colonial Militia
USA
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May 17 2002
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Posted - February 16 2003 : 7:10:53 PM
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Well, I find my conscience is troubling me a bit.
I have a small confession to make.
I have no evidence that white women were using bear grease to any significant extent.
It was widely used by native Americans of both sexes, often in combination with other ingredients such as red pigment (red ochre?) or balsam (which is used in conditioners today).
Of course, any self-respecting white woman of the time would have been wearing a head-covering, and the men from many walks of life wore wigs for much of the century.
Bear grease did become a rather significant industry in the nineteenth century, being a favorite pomade--mostly for men, I believe--and as a hair treatment had a history in Europe going back supposedly at least as far as Cleopatra and Julius Caesar with a reputation for counteracting baldness.
The demand was so great in fact, that the unscrupulous would try to pass off beef fat or bone marrow products as the genuine article.
As far as the smell, well there were ways to deal with that:
quote:
Pomade Canadienne.
Melt over a water bath, 4 lbs. of bear's grease and infuse 8 lbs. of rose leaves, as directed for the Pomade a la Rose. Then strain, and perfume with essence of mint, 1/2 oz.; essence of rose, 1 oz.; essence of vanilla, a few drops. Color rose with a little carmine.
Old Fashioned Hair Pomade
Museum of the Fur Trade
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~~Aim small, miss small. |
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morgaine
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
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Posted - February 16 2003 : 8:22:04 PM
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Loved the picture Scott posted. It was especially interesting to me because I often use a line of products called i coloniali by J. & E. Atkinsons.
"From the great tradition of James & Edward Atkinsons, perfume makers in London since 1799, and skillful selectors of the best products in the world for personal care."
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 17 2003 : 4:00:41 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Scott Bubar
As far as the smell, well there were ways to deal with that:
I guess if everyone smelled the same it wouldn't really matter!
I enjoyed those links. Thanks.
Morgaine, where do you get the Atkinsons products? Williamsburg, perchance?
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morgaine
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
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Posted - February 17 2003 : 8:02:14 PM
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Hi, Wilderness Woman.
Unfortunately, not in Williamsburg.  Here are links to order i coloniali online:
http://www.beautyhabit.com/coloniali.html
http://www.beautydoor.com/icoloniali/
I adore the Revitalizing Thermal Bath, Aromatic Soap with Illipe Butter and the Effervescent Bath Tablets with Ginseng (just amazing!). The Aromatic Fragrance of Javanese Cananga is one of my favorite scents. It is ylang-ylang, "the flower among flowers".
In an ever-hectic world, that leaves us with almost no time for ourselves, it feels good to allow oneself brief moments of relaxation and peace; to retrieve rhythms and pleasures that seemed long-lost.
That is why I Coloniali was created by J&E Atkinsons, perfume-makers in London since 1799. Skillful selectors of the best products in the world for personal care, this range of original products is formulated with natural Oriental ingredients, known for centuries for their cleansing and healing properties.
I Coloniali is elegantly designed in English Colonial tradition, to provide harmony between man and nature. All packaging is made from natural and recyclable materials of pottery, glass and metal.
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richfed
Sachem
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 13 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 06:34:27 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
I guess if everyone smelled the same it wouldn't really matter!
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morgaine
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 10:44:15 AM
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Hi, Wilderness Woman and Rich: Don't they always say that some odors are neutralized when they are so pervasive and that the people of the past would not necessarily notice what we today find so offensive?
Fine fragrance is one of the joys of life.
"To Bathe or Not to Bathe"[http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Autumn00/bathe.cfm
Hairstyles, make-up and perfume ... During that era, women painstakingly followed the codes of seduction and discovered the tyranny of fashion.
The Court of Louis XV was named the "perfumed court". It was mandatory to use a different fragrance every day. Toilet vinegars were starting to appear. It was a time of carefree happiness and celebrations, with Marie-Antoinette its focal point. Magazines and newspapers published the canons of feminine elegance which were followed painstakingly. Hygiene became fashionable again. The olfactive taste evolved to embrace more subtle fragrances, thus contributing to the wealth of the first famous Parisian fragrance houses. The Grasse chemists were prospering. They had succeeded in improving the techniques of enfleurage and distillation. In Cologne, Jean-Antoine Farina launched the "Eau de Cologne".
1789 - the smell of gunpowder spread in the wake of the French Revolution. Fragrances were despised. They made a come-back during the Consulate and the Empire. Empress Josephine spent a fortune on exotic scents and Napoleon was addicted to body rubs with eau de Cologne. British hygienists revived the popularity of fragrant baths. During the romantic era, women lost interest in make-up and strong fragrances. Languorous and pale, they would hold a delicately fragranced handkerchief in their hand.
This is from the history of fragrance at www.osMoz.com |
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morgaine
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 11:04:35 AM
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 Hi, Wilderness Woman.
This is my fun message to you and the other ladies. Eighteenth century toiletries are available on the Williamsburg web site.
Here is the link": http://www.williamsburgmarketplace.com/product_line.asp?MGID=3047
I think Cora would have eventually longed for some Powder of Violets and, if she managed to get some out on the frontier, I am sure that Hawkeye would have loved it.
 Violet Powder
A luxurious treat after a long bath (or even after a quick shower) our violet scented powder follows an 18th-century English recipe. Dried flowers, spices and herbs combine to create a sweet, heady fragrance. Boxed powder and puffs were among the many toiletries sold by Williamsburg’s merchants and milliners in colonial days.
This is one of my favorites!!! |
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richfed
Sachem
USA
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May 13 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 12:58:42 PM
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| Hmmm ... hmmmmmmmmmm .... I can smell that stuff from here!!! |
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morgaine
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 2:05:46 PM
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You would like it, Rich. I am so glad that you are imagining the fragrance. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 2:14:50 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by richfed
Hmmm ... hmmmmmmmmmm .... I can smell that stuff from here!!!
Yes, and it sure does smell better than bear grease!
Oh-Oh... Look out! Here comes Scott! |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 2:19:19 PM
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Pen? Are you there? See what you started?!?
Ain't it fun??
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Pen
Colonial Settler
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 03 2003
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 3:13:48 PM
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Hi, All,
Well, I've been told that my hair is a conversation piece and now I know why . I'm glad I started the discussion...beats a dead message board any day!
Pen
P.S.--I was wrong...my hair is just over waist-length now.
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Theresa
Bumppo's Tavern Proprietress
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 17 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 5:42:25 PM
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[quote]Originally posted by morgaine
Hi, Wilderness Woman.
This is my fun message to you and the other ladies. Eighteenth century toiletries are available on the Williamsburg web site.
Here is the link": http://www.williamsburgmarketplace.com/product_line.asp?MGID=3047
I think Cora would have eventually longed for some Powder of Violets and, if she managed to get some out on the frontier, I am sure that Hawkeye would have loved it.
http://www.williamsburgmarketplace.com/media/images/000/20/30619_hs.jpg[/img] Violet Powder
A luxurious treat after a long bath (or even after a quick shower) our violet scented powder follows an 18th-century English recipe. Dried flowers, spices and herbs combine to create a sweet, heady fragrance. Boxed powder and puffs were among the many toiletries sold by Williamsburg’s merchants and milliners in colonial days.
This is one of my favorites!!!
Well, I will definitely have to check out my latest catalogue from W'burg and see what scents were sent!
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Theresa |
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morgaine
Pioneer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
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Posted - February 18 2003 : 5:59:35 PM
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The Lemon Water is very refreshing, especially in the warmer months. I always love Lavender Water because it makes me think of Provence. Sometimes, in williamsburg, I have Jasmine as well.
The Powder Of Violets is really lovely. |
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Hair How-To Question
