Substitute for a Bath

Friction as a tonic to the nerves and skin is often more beneficial to the delicate woman than a cold bath, which would rob her body of more heat than she can well spare. The use of a flesh brush, a rough towel, or a loofah for those parts of the body that are covered by clothing induces a healthy glow and gives tone to the system. This "dry bath," followed by a sleep, will give youth to the "nervy" or worried woman, especially if someone can operate for her. In the ordinary way, when friction is going to be substituted for the bath proper, use a gentle but brisk motion; but for nerves and over-tiredness, try a long and leisured movement.

A doctor may order electric baths for poor circulation and undue perspiration, and the friction bath may also be used.

A word of warning needs to be said against the too-frequent use of vapour and hot-air baths, since these are apt to render the flesh flabby. If this happens, use the astringent bath (Monin) described on another part of this page. Air-baths, that is, fresh-air and sun-baths, when there is any sunshine, are aids to health, and therefore beauty.

After all, the whole secret of the beauty bath lies with a sensible appreciation of that clever saying, "The skin is the safety-valve of the animal machine."

Removal of Freckles

Of infinite value, for instance, is an old recipe for freckles. In the first place, it points out that freckles are exhibited mainly by persons of a bilious tendency.

Biliousness is aggravated by the heat of the sun, hence a fine crop of freckles is the result of many consecutive hot days.

The external remedy - to quote the authority - should be a mixture of lemon juice, borax, and sugar. All three must be mixed together, and left to stand for eight days before use. The best proportions are the juice of one lemon, three ounces of sugar, and one of borax.

Another recipe culled from the same source is bullock's blood stirred into alum, a cupful of the former to two ounces of the latter. This mixture must remain in a phial for three months, exposed during that time to the sun as often as it deigns to shine.

The bilious condition, in addition, should be remedied. For this no better recipe exists than to substitute a fruitarian diet for the usual meat one, with its aftercourse of pastry and other rich confections.

A Cure for Sunburn

Sunburn either beautifies or disfigures. Since, therefore, it often is a disfiguring agent, perhaps it is advisable to discuss its cure. Our grandmothers found salvation in the oatmeal-bag and in elderflower concoctions. The least untidy way of using the oatmeal is to have it always ready in a little muslin bag, which should be moistened and rubbed rather vigorously over the face.

After drying the face and neck, it is advisable to use another oatmeal-bag just as the modern woman would use a powder-puff. Light flicking with a handkerchief must, needless to add, wind up the little process.

The elderflower preventive of sunburn should be used as a lotion night and morning. Every chemist sells an elderflower lotion, but it is quite easy to make.

The flowers used should be freshly gathered. A quarter of a pound of flowers - weighed after they have been plucked from the stalks - should be added to three pints of boiling water. At the end of an hour the mixture may be strained and bottled ready for use. If it is desired to preserve it, a tablespoonful of spirits of wine should be added.

Skin Salves

The oatmeal-bag, also, is invaluable when used to treat that greasiness of the skin which is induced by enervated pores.

In the past, a sea-water friction was a popular and warmly recommended treatment, and by people living a long distance from the coast common salt in cold water was used largely as a douche.

Grapes, again, were taken frequently to brighten the complexion. Grapes promote a rapid circulation and a flow of blood to the surface of the skin; hence, if they are taken with a tumbler of cold water every afternoon, in place of tea and cakes, they do much to promote a really pretty glow.

An apple eaten overnight also brings colour to the cheeks, as does the homely onion, stewed, without butter.

An old recipe admonishes maidens not to shrink from this pungent food. The odour, it assures them, can be removed by eating parsley freshly gathered from the garden. Parsley, moreover, is a great beautifier of the skin when eaten very sparingly between two meals.

For Bright Complexions

An ancient preparation for the treatment of bright complexions was made from the pimpernel flower, one bunch of the blossoms boiled in a pint of rainwater. When the mixture is cool, add the juice of one lemon, and strain through a muslin bag. The mixture should be used only on alternate days.

Small eruptions and pimples on the face were treated with a mixture of ipecacuanha wine, one or two drachms; flowers of sulphur, two drachms; tincture of cardamoms, one ounce. The dose used was one teaspoonful a day until a cure was effected.

Our grandmothers made a.point of making these remedies at home in order to safeguard themselves against substitutes.

For Removing Warts

Below are appended some old-world cures:

Strong vinegar charged with common salt, rubbed in night and morning.

A plaster of ammoniac and galbanum.

Plain water with sal ammoniac added to it.

Common caustic applied regularly every night.

Acetic acid, however, is the cure supreme. This requires very careful use, as it burns the surrounding skin unmercifully. There are no lasting ill-effects from the burning, and after three days no marks will survive.

The best way of applying it is at the end of a common quill toothpick, cut to the finest possible point. A camel's-hair brush, such as usually is suggested, is liable to spread the application beyond the wart.

White Teeth

To whiten the teeth, rub the gums and the teeth themselves with sage. This is far better than the modern so-called antiseptics. The sage destroys invisible dental bacteria, whitens the teeth, and gives them the coveted pearly quality.

As sage dies down in the winter, branches should be plucked in September and hung in the kitchen to dry. Since, however, the leaves then become brittle, instead of applying them directly to the teeth, a certain number may every morning be put into hot water, and the lotion used when cold.

Another old and valuable recipe for the teeth may be prepared from borax, tincture of myrrh, and spirits of camphor - two ounces of the first, one teaspoonful of the second, one tablespoonful of the third. A wineglassful of the mixture in a tumbler of water is the right proportion for every application.

The following are good firms for supplying materials, etc., mentioned in this Section: Messrs. Thomas Belvoir & Co. (Toilet Preparations); De Miracle Chemical Co. (Hair Destroyer); Edwards Harlene Co. (Hail Tonic); Icilma Co., Ltd. (Toilet Preparations); Royal Worcester Corset Co. (Kidfitting Corsets).