Using Salt to Clean Hair

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Monday, October 14, 1912:  There is nothing at all.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

A hundred-years-ago, Good Housekeeping magazine was chock-full of wonderful tips submitted by readers. Some probably worked—others probably didn’t.

Since Grandma had little to write a hundred years ago today, I’ll share an old tip for cleaning hair with you.

Light hair that has a tendency to become oily is only aggravated by frequent washings. A hairdresser told me that rubbing to the scalp a strong solution of salt and water and then drying the hair in the sun, would not only leave the hair light and fluffy, but would in the end cure the trouble. I have found this excellent, and of great use when I wish to have my hair looking its best in a short time.

R.V. M., California

Source: Good Housekeeping (August, 1912)

5 thoughts on “Using Salt to Clean Hair

  1. I’ve never heard of this salt treatment before but it made me remember when egg yolks were used to condition hair. my family always said tank water was better than tap water for washing. BTW I see you’ve managed what I can’t seem to – getting a block oftext colored.

  2. I hadn’t heard of this but when I was younger we used to pour vinegar in my hair when I was washing it to make it shiny. Obviously it was rinsed out well with water, but it really did work. And by the time it was all rinsed it smelled nice, too.

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