Danger in false hair.

Manufacturer and builder 8, 1882

Attention is called by the Lancet to the danger of the trade in false hair. It seems that the demand exceeds the supply. Europeans will not sell their hair, or have not enough to sell. Dealers, therefore, go for the material to Asia Minor, India, China mod Japan. But the hair to be had there is mostly black, and to fit it for the Western market it is first boiled in dilute nitric acid to deprive it of its original color, and it is then dyed to suit the fashion of the time. This operation has been found to give rise to severe coughs, bronchitis, and other complaints, as the workmen breath the nitrous vapors which escape from the caldrons. The Lancet strongly objects to hair-dressers indulging in amateur dabbling with dangerous chemical, especially nitric acid.