How to Keep Your Hair 

When Delilah ordered her servants to scalp Samson, it was probably just an act of chivalry curiosity. She wanted to find out whether he would still be able to stand up for her as, even in those days, a good head of hair was supposed to be a sure sign of a man's virility. However, as most men go bald sooner or later, some joker suggested that baldness was the hallmark of the super stud. No statistics exist, so keep an open mind. Today hair is a status symbol for a man. The commercial boys have been quick to take a ticket to ride aboard the gravy train of hair-transplants, hairpieces, toppers, weaving, toupés up to full wig for the baldi-as-a-billiard-balls. Next time you see a picture of American men together, just notice how even the most elderly and decrepit among them looks like a burst horsehair sofa. So what to do about preserving what hair you've got?

Dandruff does not make your hair fall out.

The only sure thing to stop falling hair is the floor, and the best thing for keeping your hair in is a shoe box. As for patent hair-restorers, there's no such thing.

Dandruff is a bloody nuisance but, despite warnings to the contrary, it has no connection with losing your hair. Dandruff occurs when cell regeneration happens too quickly, or it may be external organisms attacking your scalp. Scientists are not sure themselves. Some believe it springs from vitamin deficiency, or poor health, or worry or some obscure skin disease and since the cause is unknown, science cannot invent a cure. So how to control it? Admittedly it is embarrassing if you are asked to have a drink and when you nod briskly something like a snowstorm breaks out.

Zinc Pyrithione may help a bit.

There are various chemical agents which are partially effective. Zinc Pyrithione is one, selenium sulphide another, and they slow down the rate of cell reproduction and reduce the scalp is yeasts on which organisms feed. Most dandruff curatives are mainly germicidal, but modern science is becoming is suspicious of germicides, however safe. Even the mildest antiseptic destroys healthy cells as well as the baddies and that may set up further chemical reaction.

Be sure to rinse thoroughly.

How often do you wash your hair? As often as that? You're probably right, for the best way to find out the proper frequency for you is simply trial and error. You know best what's good for you but, when you do shampoo, be sure to rinse thoroughly. Failure to do so can actually cause dandruff. Chronic dandruff has been attributed to central heating, sun-bathing, worry, vitamin deficiency, wrong diet, even constipation. (If you are constipated, cheer up. It can't last forever. Try a daily couple of pints of bitter beer.) Brushing and combing don't really help: all that happens is that you remove loose dandruff, which is swiftly replaced by a fresh supply straight from the scalp. Any oil based hair preparation may persuade you that it has cured your dandruff. It hasn't-all that happens is that the grease coagulates the dandruff and helps it adhere to the scalp.

Olive oil and spirit of rosemary may help a bit.

As good a hair preparation as any on the market is Mrs. Beeton's recipe: a mixture of equal parts of olive oil and spirit of Rosemary, with a few drops of oil of nutmeg. When I asked a local chemist to make it up he looked at me, smiled sadly and said: 'No way'. Apparently there is no profit in it. You can buy the ingredients quite cheaply and do it yourself. The inventor who finds a certain cure for either dandruff or baldness will make a vast fortune.