Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/40

 BEAUTY BEAUTY CULTURE FOR WOMEN No. I THE CARE OF THE COMPLEXION How Good Complexions may be Preserved — The Improvement of Bad Complexions — Soft Water the First Essential — How Water may be Soitened — The Ideal Soap — An Inexpensive Complexion Salve Made at Home for Sixpence — Massage C YSTEMATic carc of a complexion will keep it, condition till the lucky owner attains a ripe old age. There is no need, at this date, to point out that a woman with a good complexion is good-looking, no matter what her age or what the cast of her features, so there is no need to dilate on the import- ance of taking care of the skin. But systematic care of a had complexion will improve it till in time it becomes good. This is important. Now, there are two ways of carrying out a systematic treatment for the skin, the first being attainable only by the woman of leisure and some means. This is a weekly visit to some reputable beauty doctor, who, with creams and washes and, most of all, massage with delicately trained fingers, coaxes youth back to a jaded skin. Use Soft Water The second is home treatment by oneself. I have lately come across two quite old ladies with beautiful complexions, the skin being firm, clear, and tinted rose on cream, and each declared that she had never used any art. But one always used rain-water, the other never would use water that had not been boiled. Ninon de I'Enclos, who was said to own her own complexion at the age of eighty, and was considered even then to be a beauty, had nothing more magical as a complexion-wash than freshly gathered dew or fresh rain-water, brought to her every morning in sealed bottles. It thus appears that soft water is an essential to the toilet of every woman. Hard water is as much responsible for spoiled complexions as hard living — a notorious despoiler. If the water be unpleasant to the touch, requiring a lot of soap in it before it will lather, and leaving a crusting of mineral matter on the side of the basin, beware of it. Boiling softens it. So does borax or lime- water — this latter being a quick, simple, and inexpensive plan, since a few pennyworth bought at a chemist's will soften several jugfuls. A delightful way of softening and perfuming water is with fine oatmeal, to which has been added one-fourth part of powdered orris-root. Mix, tie in a muslin bag, and drop into the jug at night. Change every few days. The only real merit about a good toilet soap is negative. Do not expect a soap — unless it is specially medicated and prescribed by a doctor — to take active part in the making of a complexion. The ideal soap is bland, superfatted, and pure, and is a medium for removing the grease of the skin in as mild and unobtrusive a manner as possible. It should therefore be used at the end of a day, rather than at the beginning, so that the pores of the skin may be left to work freely during the night. Simple as this may sound, the nightly wash is better than any remedial tonics or washes. Once a week the face, neck, and arms require a special treatment and massage, which will be described later. Should the skin feel stiff, chafed, or burnt, gently rub in after washing some nice emollient cream. Wipe any superfluous cream away with a soft old linen handkerchief before retiring. The Morninir Toilet At the morning toilet the face should not need soap. If you feel you must use something with the cold water, which is to brace the skin up for the day rather than to cleanse it, let it be a handful of fine oatmeal. A final touch may be given with a solution made in the following way : Add, drop by drop, and shaking the bottle as you mix, half an ounce of simple tincture of benzoin to a pint of elder-flower water. Cork well, and shake before using. This solution costs less than sixpence to make, and may be used during the day, instead of soap and water. A complexion properly cared for seldom requires powder, but a good powder is harm- less enough if it be washed from the skin at night. The general care of the complexion is summed up in a recognition of the fact that the skin is like the leaves on a delicate plant. It is not so long ago since a woman with a poor complexion had to content herself
 * ^ if it is in the first place good, in excellent