The first essential to good looks is good health. The clear complexion,
the bright eyes, the lustrous hair that are such helps are born of good
health rather than of creams and hair tonics. Health depends a good deal
on wholesome diet and out-door exercise, which make pure blood. Pure air
is invaluable. Country girls often have exquisite complexions because of
the pure air they breathe--unless they eat too much heavy, greasy food.
Study hygiene, then, instead of relying upon "Bloom of Youth" and "Cream
of Roses" as aids to a good complexion. Such things deceive no one, and by
use ruin the skin, wrinkling and withering it. It is a good thing to drink
plenty of water. A glass on retiring, another on rising, and a third an
hour before the noon meal is little enough. Keep the stomach and bowels in
good order.
BLACKHEADS.--The most frequent inquiry in the "beauty pages" of the papers
is what to do for blackheads. In the first place, don't allow yourself to
get them. Keep your face clean. A blackhead is simply a pore that is
filled with oil and dirt. Sometimes they are as large as the head of a
pin. When taken out they leave an enlargement known as a coarse pore. Do
not steam the face to remove them. Wash the face well with soap and hot
water; wring cloths out of hot water and hold to the face then massage
with cold cream. Several treatments will soften them so they may be
pinched out between the thumbs. Never attempt this treatment before going
out; do it at night, before retiring.
Blackheads are a reflection upon one's personal cleanliness, therefore
bathe the whole body often.
[BEAUTY AND THE TOILET 791]
PIMPLES.--Pimples are due to an impure condition of the blood, for which
sulphur is a good remedy, taken internally and applied externally. One
dram each of camphor and flowers of sulphur in four ounces of rose-water
is a good lotion for external use. Do not pick or squeeze pimples, unless
pus has formed in them. Nothing is more disgusting than a face broken out
in pus-filled pimples. See a physician if thus afflicted.
FRECKLES.--These have been poetically called "the kisses of the sun," but
no girl cares for evidences of that sort of affection. Prevention is
easier than cure. Simple home remedies are lemon juice and glycerin, sour
buttermilk, and elderflower soap used in bathing.
A well-known application is six grains of bichloride of mercury in one
ounce each of glycerin and alcohol, and a few drops, say ten or twelve, of
oil of lavender. The trouble is that after using these remedies the skin
is delicate and freckles more easily.
The fad for going bareheaded has ruined many a girl's complexion.
SUNBURN.--Avoid it when possible. If going on the water, apply magnesia to
the face rather thickly. If sunburned, rub the skin with cold cream,
leaving it on as long as you can before using water on it. A wash that is
good for tan and sunburn requires half an ounce of borax and an ounce of
lemon juice in a pint of rose water.
CHAPPED HANDS AND FACE.--Many cases of "chaps" may be avoided by the
simple precaution of wiping the face and hands perfectly dry. If the skin
chaps easily keep at hand a bottle of glycerin and lemon juice mixed in
about equal proportions, and after wiping rub a little on the hands.
Before going out in the cold, rub a little cold cream or oil of sweet
almonds over the face; leave it on a few minutes, rub off lightly with a
dry towel and dust with rice powder. Camphor ice is good for chapped lips.
A PURE FACE CREAM.--Set a bowl in a basin of hot water over the fire. In
it put a quarter of an ounce of white wax and two and a half ounces of
spermaceti, and the same quantity of oil of sweet almonds. When melted and
hot, add a pinch of borax and an ounce and a half of rose-water. Beat
these ingredients with a silver fork, briskly, till the cream is cold.
Warm the jar before filling it and keep in a cool place.
ANOTHER GOOD CREAM.--One ounce each of white wax and spermaceti; two
ounces each of lanolin and cocoanut oil and four ounces of sweet almond
oil. Melt in a double-boiler or a bowl set in hot water, and stir in two
ounces of orange flower water and thirty drops of tincture of benzoin.
Stir briskly till cold, and of the consistency of a thick paste. This is
to be used at night, after thoroughly washing the face. It is a good
cleansing cream also.
[792 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
WRINKLES.--It is a great deal easier to prevent wrinkles than it is to get
rid of them after one has acquired them. A little study of women's faces
will show how wrinkles, that no amount of massage will obliterate, are
being made. They make perpendicular wrinkles between the eyes by drawing
the brows together when sewing or reading, sometimes through habit and
sometimes because of insufficient light. Some wrinkles are born of
in-temper, of fretfulness, or sorrow. As the skin loses its elasticity,
through age or ill-health, wrinkles come more and more easily. The best
remedy for wrinkles is a light heart and a contented mind. Assist these
with good, wholesome food that makes pure blood to feed the body, and
render external aid through gentle massage and some good face cream and
you have done the best you can. It is a good plan to some day take your
hand-mirror with you as you go about your daily duties and watch the
process of wrinkle-making. Say you are sewing and note the glass. Without
changing your expression, take a look at yourself. The chance is it will
be a revelation. You will realize why wrinkles come.
MASSAGE.--Unless properly done, massage may do more harm than good. If one
can afford a few treatments by a scientific masseur and study her methods,
it is a great help. The thing is not to rub in more than you rub out, by
improper manipulation. Rub the face up, not down. This is because of the
tendency of the muscles to sag.
Rub across, not with, the lines. Rub the "parentheses" around the month up
and out, and give a rotary motion to the rubs given the checks, gently
pinching and pulling them out.
But after all, there's nothing like good temper and steady nerves to
prevent the tell-tale lines.
WRINKLED HANDS.--Wrinkled hands belong to age, and are due to loss of oil
in the skin. After washing and wiping them, rub with a little cold cream
or olive oil. Rub well into the skin. At night, use the cream or oil
freely and put on a pair of old gloves.
Camphor is a good whitening agent for the hands, and a teaspoonful of
spirits of camphor beaten into any greasy, cold cream will be beneficial.
A piece of the gum camphor melted with the ointment blends more readily. A
piece of camphor size of a walnut to two tablespoonfuls of the cream is
about right proportions.
RED HANDS AND NOSE.--Sometimes a too tight corset, impeding the
circulation of the blood, is responsible for the blemishes; sometimes poor
circulation due to poor health. Cold feet may send the blood to the nose.
Find out what is the cause and remove it. Local applications are
ineffective.
[BEAUTY AND THE TOILET 793]
COLD OR FEVER SORES.--These unpleasant afflictions may be cured if taken
at the first indication of what is coming--a smarting or burning
sensation--by frequent applications of dilute spirits of camphor.
FACE POWDERS.--There are few women who do not at times have occasion to
use face powder. A woman once remarked: "It isn't decent not to in
summer--one looks so greasy without." There are many face powders on the
market, some of which are comparatively harmless, while others are
deleterious. The injury done by powder is that it fills the pores,
stopping them up and thus clogging the skin. Many powders contain lead or
bismuth, both of which are very injurious. Magnesia is drying. Rice powder
is most harmless, but does not adhere. The most innocent powder is
probably a preparation of French chalk. Weigh a box of powder in your hand
before purchasing. If heavy, it doubtless contains lead, and should be
refused. Find some powder that agrees with your skin and then buy that
brand. Suit the color of the powder to your complexion. Don't use flesh
tint if you are sallow, the "outlying regions" of neck and ears betray
you.
TO USE POWDER.--Wash the face; rub a little cold cream over it, rubbing it
in well, wipe with a dry towel, gently, then apply the powder with a
chamois--a clean one. Do not keep it on unnecessarily. Remove by rubbing
with the cleansing cream, then wash the face. Never go to bed with powder
on your face.
LIQUID WHITENERS.--Avoid these. They are "whitewashes" that wither and
wrinkle the skin and make it prematurely old. Almost without exception
they contain lead in some form. Constant use may produce a facial
paralysis due to lead poisoning. Moreover they deceive no one, and give an
unpleasing impression as regards one's good sense.
ROUGE.--Well, don't do it. There may be a few who can have a rouge
especially prepared that is the exact tint that harmonizes with the skin,
the hair, the eyes, and can apply it so carefully as to look "natural."
But ordinarily the deception is evident, and rouge in conjunction with
liquid washes and penciled eyes and brows, suggest the aids employed by
women of the demi-monde.
If any rouge is used, let it be the "Spanish lady's rouge" or
crepons--bits of white woolen crepe dyed with an ammoniacal solution of
carmine. These are gently rubbed on the skin to produce the required glow.
THE HAIR.--Beautiful hair is woman's crown of glory. Thousands of the sex
wear it unbecomingly. They follow the latest fashion in arrangement
without reference to whether it suits the lines of the face and head or
otherwise. One should never be satisfied with a front view alone. Study
the back, the sides, the lines produced, just as you study the
becomingness of a hat from all angles. If a new fashion is unbecoming,
either avoid it, or modify it into becomingness if you can. So many women
make guys of themselves by a slavish devotion to the freaks of fashion.
[794 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
CARE OF THE HAIR.--The hair is kept in order by frequent brushings, which
excite the natural oil by which it is fed, and by washing it. Dr. Leonard,
an authority on the hair, says once a month is as often as the hair needs
washing. As a shampoo, he advises yolk of egg, well rubbed into the scalp
and roots of the hair, then washed out with tepid water and castile soap.
A brisk rubbing with dry towels excites the blood-vessels of the scalp.
There is no doubt that this simple shampoo is more beneficial than many
new-fangled ones.
The hair should be taken down and well brushed every night, This removes
dirt and makes it glossy. Use a brush with bristles as stiff as you can
use without irritating the scalp too much, and keep it clean. Don't drag a
fine comb through the hair. The proper comb has regular and even teeth,
rounded, not sharp. If a tooth becomes split, remove it; it will break the
hair. Wire brushes are nothing more or less than combs, and are not as
good for the hair as good bristle brushes. Keep combs and brushes clean.
USE OF POMADES.--Hair that is dry and brittle really requires some
oleaginous preparation, used in moderation. Yellow vaselin is good. Part
the hair and rub it into the scalp with the tips of the fingers. A
sufficient amount will find its way to the hair itself to relieve the
dryness. Cocoanut oil is also good. Never apply anything of this kind to
the hair itself, which is simply made greasy. The benefit should be to the
roots. The application of vaselin may be made a couple of days before the
monthly washing, or if the hair is very dry, may follow it. Remember not
to overdo the matter. It does not follow that because a little is good,
more is better.
A specialist on the hair who makes biennial trips abroad to advise himself
as to the most recent methods and treatment, in a moment of confidence
admitted to a customer that after all pure cold water was as good a hair
tonic as he knew of. "Do not wet the hair." he said. "Dip the tips of your
fingers in cold water and rub the scalp, wetting it and at the same time
massaging it. Do this as faithfully as you would apply a tonic, and in all
but certain exceptional cases it will be as beneficial.'
CLIPPING THE HAIR.--It is a good plan to clip the ends of the hair once a
month to keep the growth even. If the hair splits, trim to a point above
it, as the tendency is for the split to extend further up the hair-shaft.
DANDRUFF.--Dandruff is the scaling off of dead cuticle. In excess, it
becomes a disease, forming so thick a scale as to kill the roots of the
hair and cause it to fall out. It is rightly called "itch dirt."
Cleanliness therefore helps a cure.
An old-fashioned recipe for dandruff calls for five ounces of bay rum, one
ounce of olive oil, one ounce tincture of cantharides. Dr. Leonard advises
free applications of sweet oil for the purpose of softening the scales,
then a washing with warm water and castile soap, or the "green soap" of
the pharmacy. If the disease is bad, or obstinate, apply a little oxide of
zinc ointment.
[BEAUTY AND THE TOILET 795]
WASHING THE HAIR.--One suspects that those who advise washing the hair
once a week have more of all eye to the increase of their business than to
the welfare of their customers' hair. The egg shampoo has been advised.
Use a soap made of vegetable oil if possible. Never rub soap in the hair,
and be very careful to rinse thoroughly, to get all the soap out using hot
water for washing, then graduating the temperature till the final douche
of cold. Do not use ammonia, soda or borax on the hair.
COLOR OF THE HAIR.--Nature has suited the hair to the complexion in every
case, and we cannot improve upon her idea of harmony. That is why any
attempt to change the color is so unsatisfactory. The "bleached blonde" is
always recognizable; so is the woman who dyes her faded locks in vain
effort to retain her "youth." As the hair changes by natural processes the
complexion changes to match it, so that we never get a chance to improve
upon nature's handiwork.
In Elizabethan days, wigs were worn to harmonize or match with the
costume. Queen Elizabeth had over eighty. Think of purple hair? Yet some
dyes give a purple tinge to the locks.
DYED HAIR.--Dyed hair is a sorry makeshift at best. Far better let nature
have her way. There is but one hair-dye that is not positively harmful,
this is henna, and its use entails no end of trouble because it must be
frequently renewed,--some use it every day.
To prepare the dye, get a quarter pound of henna leaves; to this add two
quarts of cold water. Let stand on the back of the range where it will
steep slowly for four or five hours. Add three ounces of alcohol and
bottle. Apply with a tooth-brush. It gives a sort of reddish-brown color.
Women whose hair is prematurely gray often use this, declaring their white
hair prevents them from obtaining or holding business positions. But where
hair has whitened prematurely there is always a freshness and vitality
about eyes and complexion that bespeaks youth.
Physicians strongly deprecate the use of hair dyes. No matter how
strenuously the label insists on "absolute harmlessness," the dye relies
for its effectiveness upon the presence of lead in some chemical
combination. The frequent application of lead to the scalp induces a
certain dangerous form of poisoning, which results in paralysis. If "dye
you must," pin your faith to henna.
[796 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
GRAY HAIR.--"The only thing to do with gray hair is to admire it." This is
true. Nothing so sets off an aged face like the crown of silver. To color
it is a great mistake. There is absolutely no cure for it; the one thing
we can do is to make it a beauty. Gray hair is due to the exhaustion of
the pigment or coloring cells of the hair, supposed to be occasioned by
the lack of a regular supply of blood.
For the progressive whitening of the hair due to the advance of age,
curative agents are rarely of any avail, especially if the trouble is
hereditary. Not that gray hair and baldness are handed down from father to
son, but that the peculiarities of constitution which produce them are
inherent in both. Nervousness, neuralgia, a low physical condition, aid
the falling and blanching of the hair, and the victim should build up the
general system. Preparations of iron and sulphur, taken internally, are
supposed to supply certain elements of growth and pigment-forming power to
the hair.
A solution of iron for external application to the hair, calls for two
drams each of citrate of iron and tincture of nux vomica, and one and
one-half ounces each of cocoanut oil and bay rum. It may be mentioned
here, that faithfulness in treatment means even more than the tonic
applied. To gain any real benefit, one must be persistent in application.
Hair often turns gray "in streaks" to the chagrin of the victim. Or it
whitens above the forehead and temples and remains dark at the back.
Nothing can be done for this.
Gray hair should be kept scrupulously clean, and requires more frequent
washing than hair that holds its color. A very little blueing in the
rinsing water gives a purer, clearer white. For this use indigo, not the
usual washing fluid which is made of Prussian blue. Five cents worth of
indigo will last a lifetime.
A HAIR TONIC.--A lotion Dr. Leonard recommends for the hair, especially
where it is coming out calls for two drams tincture cantharides, half an
ounce nux vomica, one dram tincture capsicum, one and a half ounces castor
oil, and two ounces of cologne. Apply with a bit of sponge twice a day.
A preparation which is tonic in its properties and is also said to darken
gray hair, and which certainly contains nothing injurious, calls for one
ounce of sage and a pint of boiling water, allowed to stand twenty-four
hours in an iron pot, and then filtered through filtering papers.
Digest half an ounce of pine tar in a pint of water for forty-eight hours,
stirring occasionally; filter, and put with the other fluid, then add one
pint of bay rum, one ounce each of cologne and tincture of cantharides,
two ounces of glycerin and ten ounces of distilled water. Apply daily,
using a tonic brush.
THE HAIR AND HEALTH.--The condition of the hair is largely predicated on
the condition of the general health. In health, it should be abundant,
glossy and bright--"live"--in color. A low physical condition may make it
look dry and dead, and induce falling out. Take care of the general health
for the sake of the hair as well as for the sake of the complexion.
[BEAUTY AND THE TOILET 797]
THE HANDS.--One of the woman's continuous tasks is trying to keep her
hands clean, and one thing that militates against their good looks is
careless washing. They are washed indiscriminately in hot or cold water,
the soap not properly rinsed off, nor the drying complete. To keep them
soft and white, wash in soft, tepid water, dry thoroughly, then rub in a
little cold cream or compound of glycerin, or fine cornmeal. Use rubber
gloves in dish washing, and if you must have your hands in soapy water for
a long time, after washing them in pure water rub over with a few drops of
lemon juice or cider vinegar. This kills the potash in the soap that has
been used.
CARE OF THE NAILS.--It is a luxury to have one's nails done by a manicure,
and if one can not afford this, always, it is profitable to have it done a
few times and carefully observe the process, because the nails are a very
important part of the care of the hands.