The Best Way To Wash Hair

Rub the white of an egg into the roots, making partings for the purpose. Some use yolks and white beaten together. Rub the head all over whilst the egg is about it. Wash well with soap and tepid water. When clean pour some water as warm as can be borne over the head, and immediately afterwards some water quite cold. A pint basin is a good medium for applying this douche. Fill it and empty on the back of the head, holding the face over a large basin. Wring the water out of the hair. Rub the scalp, till it glows, round and round with a rough towel. Roll up the hair next, and tie a towel round the wet head; after awhile take it off. The hair then is nearly dry, and the head warm. Brush the hair with a clean brush, and spread it out. Do not dress it till quite dry.

Source: Cassell’s Household Guide

Mac’s Pile Ointment

Gum Camphor 2 drams.

Citrine Ointment 3 drams.

Oxide of Zinc 2 drams.

Powdered Opium 1 dram.

Powdered Galls 1 dram.

Tannic Acid 1/2 dram.

Vaseline to make 2 ounces.

I have put up above for hundreds of sufferers, and have never known a case where great relief has not been experienced, and almost invariably a complete cure wrought.

Source: Tested Formulas and Useful House and Farm Recipes, T. Kenny

Diarrhoea

Take tincture of Jamaica ginger one ounce, tincture of rhubarb one ounce, tincture of opium half ounce, tincture of cardamom one and one-half ounces, tincture of kino one ounce. Mix. Dose for an adult, half to one teaspoonful, repeated every two to four hours; and for children one year old, five drops; two years old, five to ten drops; three years old, ten to twelve drops, and older children in proportion to age.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette

Balsam for Coughs and Colds

Tincture of tolu and compound tincture of benzoin, of each one ounce, rectified spirit, two ounces; mix. The dose is a teaspoonful.

Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts

Sunstroke

Wrap a wet cloth bandage over the head; wet another cloth, folded small, square, cover it thickly with salt, and bind it on the back of the neck; apply dry salt behind the ears. Put mustard plasters to the calves of the legs and soles of the feet. This is an effectual remedy.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette

Treatment of Scarlet Fever

Rubbing the body with hogs’ lard or fat reduces the temperature of the skin. A celebrated German physician recommends to incorporate one or two grammes of carbolic acid, into one hundred grammes of lard, and with this to rub the whole body, excepting the head, two or three times a day. The acid operates to destroy the germs or spores of the disease, the lard softens the skin and reduces the temperature.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook

For Sore Nipples

Put one teaspoon of quince seed into a fourth of a glass of brandy. Let it stand a few hours till it forms a mucilage; then rub it on. It is very soothing and heals by using a few times.

Source: 76: A Cook Book

Bleeding at the Nose

Roll up a piece of paper and press it under the upper lip. In obstinate cases, blow a little gum arabic up the nostril through a quill, which will immediately stop the discharge; powdered alum, dissolved in water, is also good. Pressure by the finger over the small artery near the ala (wing) of the nose on the side where the blood is flowing, is said to arrest the hemorrhage immediately. Sometimes by wringing a cloth out of very hot water and laying it on the back of the neck, gives relief. Napkins wrung out of cold water must be laid across the forehead and nose, the hands dipped in cold water, and a bottle of hot water applied to the feet.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette

Flaxseed for Sore Throat

For a sore throat and congested lungs take a glass of hot flaxseed, add the juice of two lemons, sweeten to taste, and let boil in a double boiler for one hour, then strain.

Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts

An Indispensable Powder

A trouble scarcely to be named among refined persons is profuse perspiration, which ruins clothing and comfort alike. For this it is recommended to bathe frequently, putting into the water a cold infusion of rosemary, sage or thyme, and afterward dust the under-garments with a mixture of two and a half drachms of camphor, four ounces of orris-root, and sixteen ounces of starch, the whole reduced to impalpable powder. Tie it in a coarse muslin bag, (or one made of flannel is better if you wish to use it on the flesh,) and shake it over the clothes. This makes a very fine bathing powder.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook