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116 ILLUSTRATED WORLD
This Exercise Loosens the Scalp and Keeps It Healthy
licle or hair root, which it proceeds to
destroy, not so rapidly, of course, but just
as surely in the end as does the electric
needle. Upon this pestiferous microbe
Sabouraud has conferred the title microbacillus
Sabouraitdii. And it is the most
tenacious little bug a man ever got in
his bonnet!
Now we. have the whole matter before
us as clear as any one could wish. Resistance
lowered by heredity, faulty personal
hygiene, unhygienic clothing, bad
care of scalp. Bugs gratuitously contributed
by the barber, who doesn't know
how to be sterile or aseptic, in the first
place, and sees no need of it in the next
place—for unfortunately Sabouraud's
ubiquitous little germ is as invisible as
"cold" microbes in the gentle spray of an
open-face sneeze.
We've got the bug. What are we
going to do about it ? Just rub in some
antiseptic and kill it? That would seem
the simplest thing in the world to any but
the medical mind. Alas, it can't be done.
As a matter of fact, no antiseptic substance
has yet been discovered which
will destroy germs in the living tissues
of the body (in, not on the surface)
without dangerously injuring the tissues.
We have no antiseptic powerful enough
to kill germs in the skin without destroy­
ing the skin itself. Many a remedy purports
to accomplish this miracle, it is true,
but it can't be done. Such germs as may
have invaded the hair follicles must be
destroyed, if at all, by the natural defensive
forces of the body.
Our preventive effort
should be directed toward
aiding these natural defensive
forces and warding
off further invasions and
reinforcement of the enemy.
If there is an agent
which, without seriously injuring
the scalp, possesses
real germicidal power in
the tissue of the scalp, it is
light. All the sunlight the
scalp will stand, short of
sunburn or sunstroke, is beneficial
to the vitality of the hair. The reason
why dark-haired people more commonly
become bald than light haired
people is that dark hair excludes light
from the scalp. Yet the Indians did
not go bald—but, then, they never visited
a barber shop, so they harbored no microbacilli
to destroy their hair. Possibly
ultra-violet (not the violet ray) light may
be a good substitute for sunlight. The
ultra-violet light may be applied cold,
thus making- a larger dose applicable than
the subject can stand in the heat of the
sun. Of course, sunlight includes ultraviolet
as well as violet rays.
Cleanliness aids nature's defensive
forces by removing irritation. A shampoo,
however, is rather an evil necessity
of civilized life and not particularly beneficial
to the hair. Animals living wild
require no scrubbing to keep themselves
perfectly clean. The dust and grime of
civilization, retained upon the body by
clothing, makes bathing and shampooing
more or less essential for cleanliness.
The frequency oi a shampoo is insignificant—it
must be done often enough to
keep the scalp clean. The kind of soap
is also insignific.r.t—any soap fit for the
skin is fit for the "air and scalp. But it
is very important to rinse *;he scalp and