Motion Picture Classic (May 1921 - Dec 1927)

Beauty To Be Or Not to Be For Blondes, For Bicndes Lead a Hard Life, Says Dorothy Mackaill Dorothy Mackaill, who is in New York to play the lead in “Chickie,” has one of the loveliest blonde heads on the screen. Her hair is as fine and soft as a baby’s and as yellow and shining as old Chinese gold. It is an attribute she does not neglect, naturally, and she tells here how she keeps its sheen and quality Keystone Photo Service THERE isn’t a doubt in the world but that we blondes have a bad reputation. If any damage is done and one of our golden-haired sisterhood happens to he around, she’s sure to get the blame ; whether it’s a broken ‘heart or just a broken date. Anyone with light hair is considered devastating but not dependable. And for these reasons, of course, most women envy us. They think we’re blessed of the gods ; that all we have to do is to toss our shining heads in an imperious manner and the world will tumble at our feet. On the whole, they decide that we have a soft life. But that’s all they know about it. If the truth is to be put down here in black and white, I for one am here to say that the life of a blonde is one of constant vigilance if she is to preserve the beauty which thus sets her apart from other women. Usually, soft, white skin goes with golden hair. And such skin is prey to a thousand troubles to which the hardy brunette is never subjected — freckles, burns, blotches, chapping and scores of other plagues of the delicate skin. • Nor do the blonde’s troubles end with her skin. There’s her hair. If it is not cared for properly, it will lose the golden sheen which is its chief charm, and the “springiness” which makes for the fluffy coiffure will vanish. In the end it will become like so much colorless straw. Now after wrestling for a number of years with the difficulties which confront the blonde. 1 feel that I can speak with a good deal of authority on this subject. Let’s start at the top and work down. Take the hair first. If you have naturally rather coarse hair, your problem will be half solved, for the coarser the hair, the easier it is to arrange it and keep it in place. However, this is very rare, for most of us of the golden tresses have extremely fine hair. Naturally, no hard and fast rule can be laid down for the care and treatment of the scalp, for every head of hair is just a little bit different from every other head of hair. So, whatever I say here will have to be modified to fit the individual case. There are certain of your beauty problems which you and you alone can solve. However, you can, to a certain extent, profit by the advice and experience of others. If your scalp is naturally inclined to have an abundance of oil, it will be necessary for you to wash it at least once a week, for there is nothing so unsightly as yellow hair which is stained and darkened with oil. If the oil is extremely excessive, it is advisable to sift a little bit of powdered orris-root thru the hair every three days. It is inadvisable to wash the hair oftener than every seven days as too frequent shampoos cause the scalp to crack and dry. If, on the other hand, your scalp is excessively dry, it will be necessary to stimulate an extra supply of oil by massaging it gently every night for about five or ten minutes. Personally, I have a rather normal scalp. It is neither too dry or too oily and I find that a good shampoo every ten days keeps my hair fluffy, clean and shining. The details of the shampoo are very important. The first thing I do is to work up a heavy lather with some pure soap. There are several on the market. This cuts the oil and takes away most of the dust and dirt. Then I rinse it and give it a second lathering, followed by plentiful rinsing in three or four waters. But just plain water is not sufficient thoroly to remove all of the soap, for regardless of how many times you rinse, there will always remain a soap curd clinging to the hair. This cannot be rinsed off unless some other means is used. (Continued on page 96) 45