CULT OF BEAUTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 237, 7 October 1933, Page 3 (Supplement)

CULT OF BEAUTY.

CARE OF THE SKIN

CLEANLINESS, A BEAUTIFIER.

(r.y A BEAUTY SPECIALIST.)

That baths are necessary to the skin of the body to keep it healthy, clastic, rosy and vigorous has been satisfactorily demonstrated by all writers upon sanitary and hygienic subjects. It is known that friction, together with baths, removes from the person, in fine, scaly flecks, all deadened and useless particles of scarf-skin, thus leaving the true skin clean and healthy, and overlaid with the new scarf-skin, which constantly reforms from its own urider-surfaee. Now, the face, being habitually exposed, and therefore subject to no friction, must necessarily depend upon that

which it gets from the daily use of the towel to assist it in throwing off the deadened particles of its epidermis. This friction is a secondary assistant, for moisture is first necessary to the loosening of the quite invisible particles, and unless tho face is washed, this assistant holds a useless office. The thousands of little pores from a daily application of unguents become clogged, both from inner and outer sources, and their excretions, seeking an outlet, return to portions of the person where, through the use of soap and water, the pores are unobstructed, and, being by this time in a noxious state, the result is a crop of pimples upon the unobstructed tract of surface. This is one of the rules that works both ways, for, when the face is washed daily and the person neglected, then the excretion seeks its ojutlct through the only unobstructed pore, and pimples form upon the face. It thus becomes plain that cleanliness must be inclusive, and that the face must be as regularly washed as any other part of tho person. It is not, however, advisable to wash it several times a day unless such ablutions are made imperative by one's occupation, nor should it be washed immediately before going out. Is Face Powder Harmful? We hear people say that face powder is injurious to the complexion, that it stops up the pores, and thus blocks Nature's process of elimination, causing pimples, blackheads and a muddy complexion. Quite the reverse seems to bo the truth. The right kind of powder, rightly used, is not only harmless, but it°is beneficial. It acts something like a veil. It protects the skin, if one is at all exposed to the elements, and particularly to the dust, smoke, dirt and germs that all air is permeated with; powder is almost a necessity if one wishes to preserve a smooth, soft skin.

This is true even in the country, because there we often find bare fields of dirt and dusty roads, and usually plenty of breeze to carry myriads'of tiny particles scurrying through the air. If one's face is at all moist, even if not oily or greasy, as it is likely to be if powder is not used, these tiny particles of dirt soon settle on tho face and remain there, whereas, if the face is powdered, it serves as a thin, protective covering to which dirt is not likely to adhere. It seems to be a question, then, whether a woman should powder her face herself with a fine, pure face powder, or whether she should let Nature powder it with dust and dirt.

While every man knows that most women use paint and powder, it is a grave question if this knowledge is not fatal to his rcspect for tho fair sex. No man admires an artificial woman. What he does not know does not hurt him. He may suspect that she uses many artifices and devices to enhance her beauty, but when a woman confirms those suspicions she is lowering herself in his estimation. It is quite possible that a man can love a woman with false teeth, false hair, a cork leg, a glass eye, false eyelashes, a false bust and a "false face," but it is quite certain that the more real and natural she is the easier will come his admiration. This does not mean that a woman shall not have false teeth, if she needs them, nor that she cannot touch up her hair nor add colour to her lips and. cheeks, and so on, but why publish it? Therefore, it seems wise and discreet for every woman to make her toilet in private, and keep her boudoir secrets secret. Hence, if she must powder in public, let her do so when the public is not looking.