Health and beauty hints ...

Chapter I

Massage — How to massage the face — Massage creams and lotk ns — Creams and lotions that whiten the face — Simple facial massage rules — Neck massage that prevents wrinkles — To prevent wrinkles at corners of eyes — That will beautify the neck , I

Chapter II

Hair — To cure oily hair — Daily care of hair — Home made tonics that nourish the hair — Night treatment for hair — Treatment for falling hair — Cold weather hair treatment— Tonics that may prevent grayness — To prevent hair being sunburned — Treatment for sunburned hair — Straight hair may be made to curl with oil — Lotions that keep hair in curl — To keep false hair clean and natural looking — How to delicately perfume the hair — Simple methods of removing superfluous hair — Simple treatment for dandruff — A cure — When dandruff causes hair to fall 12

Chapter III

Shampoos — Shampoo mixtures for blonde and brunette — How to give a dry shampoo — Hair needs air more than shampoos in summer — Drying hair with heat injures the roots 39

Chapter IV

Bleaches and Dyes — Lemon is bleach for tan and sunburn — Recipes for bleaching cream — Bleaches for red face — For removing yellow stains from neck — Black and brown dyes for gray hair — To color hair a beautiful golden tint — To restore

bleached and dyed hair to original shade 45

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CONTENTS

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Chapter VIII

Complexion — Astringent tonics that contract the large pores — Treatment for black heads and pimples — How to lance and cure a pimple — How to steam the face — How to use a complexion brush — To prevent freckles — Whiteners that remove freckles — Excessive drinking of coffee often causes eruptions Water drinking beautifies — Physical exercises that clear — Diet of fresh fruits and vegetables improves the skin — Brisk walk in rain clears 81

Chapter IX

Wrinkles — Summer preventatives of lined skin — Treatment to keep skin unwrinkled in spring winds — Care of eyes will keep away wrinkles — To prevent wrinkles caused by headache — To prevent cold weather causing wrinkles — Rest, not cosmetics, prevents wrinkles Beauty treatment to keep skin fresh.... 100

Chapter X

Face Powders — How to develop red cheeks — To put on powder so

it will not rub off — To protect skin in winter 1 15

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CONTENTS

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Chapter XI

Preparations — Nourishing cold creams — Buttermilk nourishing skin food and drink — How to make toilet lotions usually considered luxurious — Suggestions about compounding cold cream ingredients — Delicate purfumes compounded at home — Skin tonics for use in bath — Benzoine is excellent — Cleansing powders used instead of cold cream — Oily lotions for face instead of water — Glycerine lotion whitens and refines — To compound incense for burners 121

Chapter XII

Baths — When cold baths are healthy — Turkish baths may be taken at home — Sponge baths are as cleansing as tub baths — Hot baths for insomnia — Luke warm tub is refreshing in summer — Temperature must not shock nervous system — Perspiration cleanses the system — Remedies to regulate perspiration.. 144

Chapter XXI

Simple Remedies — Diet that will improve torpid liver — To remove liver spots — Hot water treatment for rheumatism — For sore throat — To prevent a cold — Cuts, bruises, etc. — Prickly heat — Preventatives of skin irritation — Poison ivy treatment — Cures for pains in head — Headache caused by heat — Weak nerves — Hot water is panacea for ills — Health drinks purify the blood — Exercises that may prevent indigestion — Fever blisters — Cracked lips — To cure habit of biting lips — For removing warts 214

Chapter XXII

Miscellaneous — How to acquire a soft-speaking voice — To cultivate a graceful walk — How unattractive mouths may be beautified — Suggestions for keeping warm in winter 245

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SPECIAL RECIPES

Page.

BLEACHES—

Bleach for Tan 45

COMPLEXION—

Astringent Tonic Skin Lotion 81

For Blackheads 83

Freckle Lotion , 89

EYEBROWS AND LASHES—

Eyebrow and Lash Tonic 160

FACE POWDERS—

Harmless Rouge 115

For Brunettes 117

FIGURE

Vaucaire Bust Developer 203

HAIR—

Tonic for Oily Hair 12

Tonic for Dry Hair 16

Dandruff Cure 35

HANDS—

To Whiten Hands '. 58

MASSAGE—

Elder Flower Cream 1

NAILS—

Polishing Nail Powder 67

TEETH—

Tooth Powder 179

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page.

Reducing the Chin Frontispiece.

Massage Showing Upward Stroke on Cheek — Must be Hard. . 2

Rotary Movement for Massaging the Neck 6

Giving a Dry Shampoo 40

Trimming Cuticle in Manicuring 68

Massaging to Improve the Arms 78

Eradicating Wrinkles by Using Adhesive Plaster 102

Keeping Waist Line Small , 112

Tinting Pale Eyebrows 164

Massaging to Reduce Swollen Eyelids 166

Cleaning Nails on Feet 194

Massaging thei Cheeks ., 218

Chapter I Massage

ELDERFLOWER CREAM FOR MASSAGE

Almond oil, one and one=half ounces; white wax, two and one-half drams; spermaceti, two and one=half drams; lanoline, one=half ounce; oil of bitter almonds, one=half dram; elderflower water, one and one=half ounces; witch hazel, one=half ounce.

Melt the wax and spermaceti in an earthen dish set in a basin of boiling water, add the lanoline, and beat in the oils slowly. Remove vessel from the heat and add the witch hazel and elderflower water.

Apply at night or before going out of doors. In the latter case dust on powder.

HOW TO MASSAGE THE FACE

TO massage the face, rub gently to increase the flesh and make the cheeks round; or, if a double chin or superfluous flesh is to be removed, rub vigorously to wear away the fat by friction.

Besides affecting the contour, massaging is to smooth away wrinkles by keeping the surface smooth and working to strengthen the cords, not to pull them down. It is a fact always to be remembered that the tendency of flesh on the face is to droop downward with age, so all muscles and cords must be rubbed up, to prevent their stretching.

Before massaging the face wash it thoroughly with hot water, not only to remove all dust, but to open the pores, getting them ready to absorb the unguent. Then the fingers are dipped into the cream, and work may begin at the forehead, rubbing it smooth all the time, while using a rotary motion, always with the upward part of the stroke harder than the downward. The cheeks are treated in rotary fashion, and so are the temples, while the chin must be given its share of attention. Around the corners of the eyes only the tip of one finger may be used, trying with each motion to smooth away the lines. Under the throat the stroke must be firm and strong, going up toward the ears in order not to cause the flesh to gather beneath the chin point.

In these movements, that the fingers may slide over the skin without pulling, and also to benefit the tissue, a lotion or cream should be used. Just which should be selected depends upon the original condition of the face: if too fat, an astringent lotion would be best; if thin, a flesh-making cream may be employed.

For an astringent an ounce of pure gum benzoin, dissolved in half a pint of pure alcohol, is excellent. It is also bleaching.

A flesh-making cream, which may be used when the face is thin, is made from two and a half ounces of lanoline, a quarter of an ounce of spermaceti, two and a half ounces of freshly tried mutton tallow, two ounces each of cocoanut oil and oil of sweet almonds, half a dram of tincture of benzoin, and ten drops of oil of neroli.

To mix the ingredients, melt the lanoline, spermaceti and mutton tallow in a china basin, and set in a dish of hot water. Do not let the fats become hot. As they soften

Photo by Joel Feder, New York FACE MASSAGE, SHOWING UPWARD STROKE ON CHEEK— MUST BE HARD.

add the oils, remove from the heat, and beat, slowly adding the benzoin and neroli. This should be a cream when cold. A less elaborate cream is composed of thirty grams of lanoline and twenty grams of sweet oil. These two are melted, as told for the foregoing cream, and when liquid one-half a gram of tannin is beaten in.

Any of these is applied in the same way. It takes at least fifteen minutes to massage the face, and longer time may be given. At the close of the treatment cold water should be dashed over the flesh to tighten and harden the skin, that has become soft from rubbing.

MASSAGE CREAMS AND LOTIONS THAT WHITEN SKIN

WHEN it becomes necessary to treat the complexion with a massage cream or lotion it is desirable to select one that will soften and also whiten. As a rule, any preparation that softens is likely to have a slightly bleaching effect, because the latter is included in a scheme of general improvement. But a woman who wishes the cream action to be less slow may like to try a paste made from two ounces of sweet almond oil, 160 grains each of white wax and spermaceti, fifty grains of powdered and sifted benzoin, 160 grains of rice starch, and seven and one-half grains of pure carmine.

The wax and spermaceti are melted in a cup set into hot water, the benzoin being added at the time. The oil is poured in as the fats are melted, and the cup removed from the heat. The liquid is beaten a moment with a fork, and the carmine and starch are mixed at the same time. Blending must be carefully done to prevent lumps. If perfume is wished, two drops of oil of violets should be added just before the grease hardens.

This cream, which, owing to the benzoin, is particularly whitening, is especially adapted to use on skin in the evening, before applying powder. It may also be rubbed over the cheeks during the day, wiping off any superfluous quantity before putting on powder. Its action on the skin is beneficial.

A person who objects to the use of grease, and still wishes to use a tonic, may like a lotion made from one and one-half drams of citric acid, five and one-half ounces of hot water, a dram of borax and half an ounce of glycerine. The borax and acid are dissolved in the liquid, the glycerine going in last. This may be freely used on the face at any time, wiping it off before going out of doors. When coming in from the street, if the skin is dusty, this lotion may be used as a cleansing agent, mopping the face freely before washing in warm water, then finishing with a cold rinse. Another lotion is made of two ounces of pure honey, half an ounce of glycerine, half an ounce of rectified spirits, and one and one-half drams of pure citric acid. The honey and glycerine are put together in a cup set into hot water, and, as the two mingle, the spirits in which the acid has been dissolved is added.

The grease must be cold before the spirits is mingled.

This, like the first lotion, may be used at any time, and the skin will be kept in better condition if the liquid is applied as a cleansing agent before water is used.

SIMPLE FACIAL MASSAGE RULES

FACIAL massage consists of the manipulation of the flesh in such manner that the tissues and muscles are stimulated and the surface circulation increased, so the ultimate effect strengthens and reinforces against the ravages of age and weather.

To accomplish these results both rubbing and kneading are necessary. For the former movement the fingers must slip over the skin firmly and evenly, and at the same time must work the muscles below the surface.

Before beginning either process the face must be washed, preferably with warm water, that the pores will be in a receptive condition for the soothing agent that is applied. Generally, cold cream is best, but if there is prejudice against it an astringent lotion or plain rose water may be substituted. The principal object is to use some emollient to prevent the fingers from sticking and bruising the skin.

Whatever application is chosen must be rubbed in large quantities over the flesh, and then the skin is in condition to treat.

Throughout this treatment it must be remembered that the object is to smooth as well as to strengthen the flesh; also that under no conditions must the muscles be pulled down. As a rule, the rotary motion is best, which is merely rubbing in circular fashion, making the upward sweep harder than the downward. Cheeks, chin, nose and temples require this stroke. The forehead should be smoothed if it is lined, otherwise it, too, will take the rotary treatment. About the nose, rubbing is done up and down, working into a rotary movement with the tips of two fingers when the region about the eye is reached.

To prevent or reduce a double chin both hands must be used at the same time, beginning at the point of the chin and rubbing up hard toward either ear. For the throat the circular movement is most effective. For this motion all the fingers of both hands are required, while the thumbs are used as braces, being firmly placed so they make the finger work stronger. It is only when ' 'kneading" that the thumbs actually work. Then they are needed to take up the flesh in large rolls, working and gently pinching it. ,

It is well to begin massage in the cheeks, starting with a small circle that is increased to extend over the entire face. During this process the thumbs may be placed under the jawbones, working up with a rotary motion until the position under the eye is reached, when only two fingers are required. Continuing, the temples should be reached next.

From there work on the chin, and then rub hard, and always up, along the jawbones, and under them, to the ears.

The operation will take at least half an hour, and should be done sitting before a mirror. At the close there should be a distinct sensation of glow in the face, and bright color. Washing in warm and then cold water is done.

Massage is better not done oftener than once a week.

NECK MASSAGE THAT PREVENTS WRINKLES

BY the time a woman is twenty-five years old she should devote at least ten minutes, night and morning, to massaging her throat under the chin. She may see no reason at that period for massage, but should she take the trouble, by the time she is forty she will not have the hanging "dewlap/' which, more than anything else, proclaims her no longer young.

Besides massage a good skin food is necessary. To make such, one dram of tincture of benzoin to an ounce of glycerine is essential, and when properly mixed is both astringent and tissue feeding. Better, however, is a lotion made from the yolk of a fresh raw egg, a tablespoonful of sweet oil of almonds, a teaspoonful of tincture of benzoin, and two teaspoonfuls of rose water.

This must be kept in a cool place when not being used, or it will spoil. It is used quite as any other massage cream, wiping off any superfluous quantity later.

'As to the treatment, it consists first in washing the neck thoroughly, that no dust shall remain to be rubbed in. The water must be as hot as can be borne with comfort, and the washing will take at least three or four minutes, because the pores are to be opened by the gentle heat.

Wiping must be carefully done, and the surface, from chin to the base of the throat, covered with the cream. Then massage can be started. For this both hands are required, and the motion must be chiefly a rotary one, using the tips of the fingers and making the upward stroke stronger than the downward. The stroke should come up toward the ears at the finish. Incidentally, this treatment will do much toward reducing or preventing a double chin.

During this process the fingers must constantly move over the surface, and the base of the throat must not be neglected, for an observing woman, who remembers, knows that the tell-tale cords that are so homely stretch from the collar bone line to the chin. The greatest attention is given always to the very center of the throat, rubbing rather hard there to stimulate muscles and tissues.

That done, the movement is alternated by a stretching, beginning by bringing the finger tips together directly under the chin and pulling up hard toward each ear. This is precisely the same motion that is gone through with to reduce a double chin.

The end of this treatment should leave the throat red and smarting a little, but the sensation will soon wear off, and the skin regain its normal condition. The tissue builder given is whitening, as well as softening, and may be used for the hands, putting on gloves afterward.

MASSAGE TO PREVENT WRINKLES AT CORNERS OF

EYES

THAT part of the face about the eyes requires especial attention to ward off an appearance of old age, and I would like to impress all women, but especially young girls, with the importance of daily massage about the eye corners, for such treatment tends to prevent that network of tiny lines that is so apparent in a strong light, and that makes one seem haggard. The least defect in the sight renders these lines more conspicuous, for such trouble makes an unconscious rigidity of the muscles near the lids which develops pronounced wrinkles.

It would be excellent if a girl would devote about five minutes to the care of her eyes every night. Let her dip a finger into cold cream after the face has been washed, and rub this, with a gentle rotary motion, all over the cheek bone, beginning just in front of the temple and working slowly down over the bone beneath the eye. At no time may the fingers be more than half an inch below the line of the lower lid. Such treatment as this will keep the tissues of that section constantly nourished and the skin soft at a time when most women begin to look drawn.

Puffiness under the eyes, which is most disfiguring, sometimes is merely from fatigue, although not uncommonly it indicates internal trouble. In the former case rest will restore the normal condition. As soon as any swelling becomes evident a person should lie down in a darkened room. By the bed or couch there may be a basin of hot water, and two cloths are required. One of these, hot and wet, is kept constantly over the eyes. A rubber bag is not a substitute in this case, for it will not adhere to the skin. The cloths must be kept as hot as the skin can endure without smarting, and they should be kept on for fifteen minutes.

In ordinary cases a further rest of half an hour will complete the cure, but sometimes the application of a cream is beneficial after the final cloth has been removed. This lotion should be gently massaged into the flesh. An excellent lotion for this treatment is made from ten grams each of lanoline and vaseline, five grams of sweet almond oil, and three grams of sulphate of aluminum. To prepare, melt the lanoline in a cup set into hot water, adding the almond oil as soon as the former is soft. Remove from heat, and beat in the sulphate before the cream hardens. This is rubbed in with an even, gentle stroking that will take five minutes. After that any superfluous amount is wiped off.

Swollen lids usually yield to the same treatment as that given for puffiness under the eyes, which includes an astringent that is soothing. The formula for this consists of five grains each of powdered alum and sulphate of zinc in a gill io HEALTH AND BEAUTY HINTS

of distilled water. It is bottled, and shaken until the powders are dissolved, then filtered through coarse brown paper. Boiled water may take the place of filtered. To use, the lotion is poured on a soft cloth and the eyes are mopped.

MASSAGE THAT WILL BEAUTIFY THE NECK

WITH attention the homeliest neck may be made pretty, a fact that is of importance these days, when gowns cut out at the throat are so fashionable. This care, however, does not include a mere washing of the skin with a wet wash cloth, as many women do. For, unless nature has endowed one with a pretty throat, it is only persistence that will develop beauty.

To begin the improvement, I consider massage necessary, and because that cannot be given without an application of some soothing agent that helps the fingers to glide over the skin, the selection of a quality that nourishes and refines is a special consideration. If the skin is naturally white and soft, the simplest kind of cold cream will be effective; but if, as is often the case, the flesh is brown and muddy, it behooves the toiler for beauty to select a preparation that will clear and bleach.

A treatment of this kind that I like consists of mixing equal parts of the raw white of one egg and almond oil. These are beaten thoroughly and rubbed into the flesh. When there are hollows in the neck, and the throat is inclined to scragginess, the massage must be firm and brisk, to promote circulation. To do this to best advantage the fingers should be placed against one spot and held there while the knuckles are bent, thus kneading the skin below

HEALTH AND BEAUTY HINTS n

the surface. Then the finger tips are dragged over the surface in rotary motion, trying to work the food into the pores. If the throat is sufficiently developed, massage may be very gentle, only enough to create a little friction, which will cause the pores to absorb more than they otherwise would.

The paste recommended is left on over night, and in the morning washed off with tepid water, or, instead of water, camphor water with one-third glycerine may be used as a substitute.

In addition to this cream a lotion made from fifty grams of rose water, two and one-half grams of borax, five grams of spirits of camphor and two and one-half grams of tincture of benzoin must be used. The latter dries on, and may be applied during the day — indeed, as often as one wishes. It is an excellent complexion wash.

If the neck be decidedly thin, a cream that will give more nourishment to the skin is desirable, and for this purpose there is a formula consisting of two ounces of sweet almond oil, 1 60 grains each of white wax and spermaceti, fifty grains of powdered benzoin, 160 grains of rice powder, and seven and one-half grains of pure carmine.

To mix these ingredients melt the fats in a cup set in a pan of boiling water, and as they heat add the benzoin. Do not allow the grease to become too hot, or it will not congeal. Remove from heat, beat, and put in the rice powder and carmine as the mixture cools. Scent, if desired, with any essential oil.

This is best used when dressing for the evening, or whenever a low gown is used. It is an excellent "make-up" cream, and feeds the tissues. If evenly applied, powder dusted on afterward improves the appearance of the neck.

Chapter II Hair

TONIC FOR OILY HAIR

Tincture of alcoholic cantharides, one dram; tincture of capsicum, one=haIf dram; tincture of nux vomica, two drams; cocoa oil, three-quarters of an ounce; alcohol, two and one=half ounces. Shake before using.

Massage nightly into the scalp with the finger tips.

TO CURE OILY HAIR

EXCESSIVELY oily hair is the result of a diseased condition of the scalp, that is sometimes serious, as it makes the glands enlarge and throw off exudations too rapidly. This trouble is usually caused by an unhealthy condition of the system, and is difficult to control, except by internal treatment.

For instance, a person so afflicted, who suffers from indigestion or other internal ailments, must give her body proper nourishment, to bring it to a comparatively normal state, before local applications will be effective.

An oily scalp must be shampooed with discretion, and a tar or sulphur soap should be used, in connection with raw eggs, when cleansing the hair.

One of the best of such cleansing agents is a combination of a tablespoonful of lime water to each raw egg, the mixture beaten together, and massaged into the scalp. The lime water has a beneficial effect upon the enlarged glands.

Washing must be done in warm water, using no soap, and the final rinse should be with cold water, in order to contract the pores. Even in extreme cases of exudation shampooing is not to be done oftener than once in three weeks. Should the hair become heavy with grease during the intervening weeks much of it can be removed by sprinkling the locks thickly with fine corn meal, which is brushed out after absorbing the dirt, with a long but soft-bristled brush. It is important that the bristles shall be soft, for stiff ones overstimulate the scalp.

A mixture of three drams of glycerine and four ounces of lime water should be kept on the dressing-table, and the scalp wet with it every night. This lotion must be rubbed in with the finger tips. At the end of three weeks half an ounce of tincture of cantharides should be added to the original proportions, treatment continuing in the same way. The reason that cantharides is not used at first is because of its stimulating properties, and the fact that the scalp must be soothed, as it were, before it can be toned to normal condition.

A decided change of treatment sometimes benefits a person, who may discontinue the use of the lime water combination at the end of three weeks, substituting a tonic made from half an ounce of castor oil, half an ounce of strong liquid ammonia, an ounce of best French brandy, and three ounces of rose water. This may be applied every other night.

Still another suited to the condition is two gills of old whiskey, with as much rock salt as will dissolve in it, a teaspoonful of glycerine and half a teaspoonful of flour of sulphur. This may be used every night.

I believe it is not possible to bring into good condition a scalp that is excessively oily, if pompadour cushions are used, for they heat and excite the glands to an unhealthy degree. Another important factor is gentle usage of the scalp. It should not be irritated. A fine-tooth comb must not touch it, and a hard brush must be avoided. In dressing the hair each day the locks should be carefully treated. Only by such attention to details can a cure be effected.

DAILY CARE OF HAIR

HAIR is greatly affected by the treatment it receives each day. For example, I believe it impossible for a woman who does not brush and braid her tresses every night to have as luxuriant locks as one who regards this routine, which includes, among the so-called "trivial" points, that hair shall be thoroughly dried after shampooing, and that the center of the scalp shall not be damp when pins are put in.

Incidentally, a sun bath gives the head as much tone and , vigor as it does the body, and to dry one's hair in the sun after washing it is ideal. Some rubbing with soft, thick towels should be given at first, and as the moisture begins to disappear one should settle oneself comfortably in the sun, let the locks be loose, turning them occasionally, that all shall have an equal chance to absorb the bright rays. So important do I regard this treatment that I consider it an error to wash the hair on a damp or cloudy day.

Direct heat should not be used for drying after a shampoo. For example, to spread the hair on a radiator or before a register is to invite grayness, because in this manner the natural nourishing oils are dried and the hair is starved into losing its color. Friction and sunlight are the only two beneficial agents.

There is a curious superstition among hair specialists that singeing should not be done except when the moon is new. Many persons believe this superstition, though not one can give a reason for it. All maintain that unless burned at the beginning of a moon the hair will not grow.

Singeing is undoubtedly one of the best ways of treating hair that is impoverished or not in normal condition. Even the healthiest tresses sometimes require the ends treated in this manner, as it gives a new impetus to growth without running danger of "bleeding," as it may from clipping. When the ends are dried and split they should be subjected to burning, which is done in this way by professionals: Take strands of hair, twist them tightly — that there will be no draught — and then quickly run over each a lighted taper, that burns the tiny ends sticking out and does not affect the long growth. It is an operation that seems simple, but requires great skill. It should not be done oftener than once in three months, and sometimes at longer intervals.

There is a theory, strongly advocated by some specialists, that a child's hair should never be allowed to grow more than six inches. The basis for this statement is that the longer the hair the more difficult it is to draw nourishment from the scalp, and that a child's head should not be subjected to such a strain. When there is pronounced weakness in the hair this may be tenable, but in ordinary cases I think a child's locks may be left to grow at will, taking care that they are well brushed and carefully treated.