THE CULT OF BEAUTY

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 205, 29 August 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE CULT OF BEAUTY

(By A SPECIALIST.)

BATHIXG, sleep and exercise are all three great beauty assets. Let us consider bathing first. In the 20 square feet of skin in one's body are more miles of sweat and oil ducts than a person could run in a day. The small blood vessels of the skin twine around sweat follicles and oil glands so that perspiration and oil can be taken from the blood. Upon the proportionate mixture of oil and perspiration, depend the softness and smoothness of the skin. Now let us see how water of various temperature affects this intricate mechanism. Do you know why you feel that pleasant warm glow a ~few moments after a cold bath? Cold water closes the blood vessels and drives the blood into the large arteries and veins of the body. Thus the surface of the skin becomes chilled. Temporarily there is nothing to warm It up. Meanwhile the internal organs are over-heated because of the abnormal influx of blood. The return of this blood to the surface brings the tingling, warm sensation that makes the cold plunge seem worth a moment or two of discomfort. Actually the sudden shock of cold water may be distinctly harmful. A hot bath reverses the process. It draws the blood to the surface, Then, when you step out of the bath and begin the rub down, the evaporation rapidly cools the skin. Immediately the cool blood travels inwards, and you feel cooler, paradoxically, than you would after a cold bath. Water that is too hot or too cold shocks the body and should be avoided — a fact that is not understood, and is ignored by an amazing number of persons. Here are a few of the most important scientific rules for bathing which, if followed, will be found beneficial: — 1. Take a short bath. 2. Spend as much time drying the skin as you do iu wetting it. 3. Bathe in water at body temperature, or as near body temperature as possible. 4. Do not bathe while perspiring freely. 5. Do not wet the hair when you bathe. Scientifically, there is even n right and a wrong way to get into a bath. Whether it is a shower or a tub bath the hands should be placed in the water first. Next moisten the arms and shoulders and then the body. Wet the feet and legs last and finally immerse the body, rubbing it lightly with the hands. Move the body constantly while you are in the bath. In addition, care should be used both in the selection and the application of soap, which, if it is of poor grade, or if used too frequently, will roughen the ' skin and cause Irritation.

The Three Important Assets.

THINGS THAT MAKE FOR HEALTH.

The rule concerning avoiding of shock in bathing should be followed closely by persons suffering from weak heart or thickened blood. Fat persons upset their circulation and their disposition by taking cold baths in summer. Thin persons cannot afford to lose the heat extracted by a cold bath, and if they follow the practice they will lose weight. If relief from heat is sought, a short Turkish bath is better than a plunge into icy water. Points on Sleep to be Noted. Sleep eight or nine hours, select as large, airy and quiet a room as possible. Avoid the extremes of too much or too little covering. Wait until digestion is well under way before retiring. Do not arrange your couch so that the early morning light will strike your face. When you are sound asleep the eyeballs roll upwards under the lids and light does not affect you, but as your sleep lightens, after four or six hours, the eyes are more easily affected by light and respond to the reflex action by awakening you. Avoid stimulants before retiring, both in the form of tea, coffee, tobacco and mental excitement. Sleep is for the purpose of tissuebuilding under slow heart action and lowered blood pressure, and any influence in the body which interrupts this process, disturbs the sleep and its beneficial results. A cup of hot camomile tea on retiring is an excellent sedative to many and aids adiult sleep physiologically, just as it did in childhood, when we slept soundly after nursing. The Bald Facts. A prominent authority on the hair and the scalp has broadcast a warning to the short-haired sisterhood, which is, in brief, that they are heading towards a bald middle-age. The specialist declares that each separate hair is supported by a tiny muscle at the basa of the hair follicle, which grows proportionately stronger as the hair grows longer and heavier. Therefore, when a hair is cut, its muscle is deprived of normal exercise and becomes weaker and weaker, until it eventually loses ite function and the hair falls out. Men grow bald, not because they overwork their brains or wear tight hats, but because their locks are shorn every two weeks or oftener. The most beautiful and luxuriant hair is that which is allowed to grow untouched by scissors from babyhood on. If we do not heed this warning, we shall be forced to change the lines in the famous old "silver threads" song to read: Darling you are growing old, Bald spots show among the gold. Right and Wrong Living. Eight living makes the years pass smoothly without leaving their mark, wrong living and excesses of any kind impress the date of your birth upon the features, and they usually make a mistake of about ten years. If you don't want to be an old-young woman be temperate. If your youth is a blunder, your womanhood will be a struggle and your old age a torment.