Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1875 — Change in the Color of the Hair. [ARTICLE]

Change in the Color of the Hair.

It is stated that the transactions of the British Royal Society, extending' over 200 years, contain no instance of any sudden change in the color of the human hair —a circumstance regarded as conclusive that no such change has ever occurred, for, had it ever been undoubtedly witnessed, it is not likely that it would have remained undescribed. The most eminent medical writers confess themselves unaware that, irrespectively of recorded evidence, anything in support of the popular notion on this subject can be adduced on physiological grounds. It is well known that human hair cannot be injected. Using coloring fluid, such as a solution of nitrate ot silver and a solution of iodine, does not produce any change of color except in the portions actually "immersed. Whether it owes its color'to a fixed oil, to a peculiar arrangement of its constitutional molecules, or to both, it resists decay in a remarkable manner; it resists the action of acids and alkalies, except the strongest, which dissolve it; it resists maceration, and even boiling water unless for a long time applied and under pressure, when it suffers disintegration and decomposition. Exposure to the sun will bleach hair, but this will not account for any very sudden change of color. The popular notion, howeVer, is in favor of the affirmative of this question, and some naturalists and physiologists adduce what they regard as credible " instances of hair changing to white or gray in the case of persons under strong emotions of grief or terror.