As part of my 10 year anniversary treat I had a [hot towel] shave and a haircut at Truefitt & Hill on St James' St in London. During the haircut I had a good scrub of my follicles and the full procedure ended with a good dash of hair tonic. I have never used a hair tonic ever before in my life, can you please tell me something about this?
I also rarely use it, here's an overview of the different varieties of hair tonics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_tonic
Congrats on your visit to T & H! Hair tonic is a type of conditioner for the hair. Helps condition hair and scalp and in some cases control hair. For centuries, natural oils have been used to condition human hair. These natural products are still used today, including essential oils such as tea tree oil and carrier oils such as jojoba oil. A conditioner popular with men in the late Victorian era was Macassar oil, but this product was quite greasy and required pinning a small cloth, known as an antimacassar, to chairs and sofas to keep the upholstery from being damaged by the greasy Macassar oil. Modern hair tonic/conditioner was created at the turn of the century, when well-known perfumer Ed. Pinaud presented a product he called brilliantine at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. His product was intended to soften men's hair, including beards and mustaches. Since the invention of Pinaud's early products, modern science has advanced the hair conditioner industry to include those made with silicone, fatty alcohols, and quaternary ammonium compounds. A true Tonic today is made with an oil (often mineral) as a carrier, scent and sometimes additives to help control dandruff, etc... Or some tonics are made to be massaged into the scalp and then rinsed out. Here's a homemade recipe- Ingredients: 2 teaspoons Gin 2 egg yolks Directions: Beat egg yolks until its frothy add the Gin. Beat until the mixture becomes foamy. Massage the entire scalp and hair then rinse out with warm water. Anything can be a tonic that conditions, invigorates, feels good and stimulates the scalp.
Sounds like a Rocky style breakfast. Good info, I did not know any of that. Congrats on the London Hair cut.
I know nothing of hair tonic, but I'm VERY envious of your hair cut. Congratulations, it must have been a great experience.
Ideed it was, you have a Truefitt & Hill in Chicago [not too far from you!], so if you have a special occasion, consider it, if it's half what I experienced it's worth every penny!!
I can't believe I lived in Chicago for over 20 years and never experienced it for myself. Good thing there's a train that can have me at Union Station in less than 2 hours.