Spotlight Upon the Hands

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 259, 29 July 1937, Page 7

Spotlight Upon the Hands

No Part of the Body Better Betrays a Woman’s Careless Neglect * Beauty Series, No. 21—By Beverley Joy. J-JANDS hovering among the teacups, hands over green baize cloth, hands that lightly hold a cigarette or are motionless on quiet laps—in all woman’s daily activities, s it is the hands that are noticed and judged. Yet hands seldom receive the same attention as face and even hair. Sometimes rough, coarsened, red or grimy, with ill-kept nails, they are often sad comment upon the habits of their owners. >

your hands be show hands. The skin of hands and arms, though of much firmer tissue than that of the rest of the body, is subject to so much exposure that it soon becomes quite coarse. Gloves, both for housework and street wear, help to preserve the skin. But perspiration soils and stains then, making the hands feel hot and clammy. Therefore, before putting on your gloves, dust the bauds with powdered orris foot, and you will minimise the effects of perspiration. Keep a good hand lotion always on your dressing table, and massage a little into the'skin immediately after washing. You will have gone more than half-way to keep the hands in perfect condition. Give your hands a warm olive oil bath every night regularly for a while. Allow the oil to remain on the skin, and put on loose gloves. before going to bed. After washing the hands in the morning, apply the following lotion: — Pure almond oil .. 3 ounces i Rose water 1 ounce Juice of lemons 3 ounces Mix well together and bottle. Wash the hands in warm water. Before they are quite dry, pour a little of the lotion into the palms of the hands and massage well into the skin, taking care to work it into aud under the

nails. This will work a wonderful change with rough, red hands, and it will also keep the cuticle and nails in perfect condition. When massaging the hands, rest the elbows on a table and work on each hand in turn with the other hand, using just the tips of the fingers to pinch lightly all over the hand. For Large Hands. • / TF your hands are large, try Wearing X a long sleeve with a point that comes well over the hand. Do not leave the sleeve perfectly plain, as you will liud a little trimming just above the wrist will make the hands- look smaller. Never on any account wear rings which contain large stones. A black cuff has a remarkably slimming effect on a wrist which is too large. ' If you use coloured nail polishes, use those with a natural tint. What ever else, not pillar-box red ; nothing looks more unnatural. It is the aim of the well-dressed woman to look chic, not cheap. When applying nail varnish, first make sure that the previous coating has been entirely removed, otherwise the effect will be ridgy. ■ If you find I hat the cuticle is inclined to lie troublesome, massage it with cream every night. In the morning, after drying the hands, dip an

orange stick in a bleaching fluid, and work gently round the base of the nail. Do this as regularly as possible. Of course, you realise that you cannot have nice nails if you bite them. How hard it is tp cure this habit, once acquired I Rett/fir it is a sign of nerves. If you smother - the fingertips with bitter aloes, you will find that the taste is so unpleasant that you will soon break yourself of nail biting. Even if you attempt it in sleep, the taste will soon waken you. For the Knuckles. TVfANY an otherwise pretty hand is marred by spreading knuckles. Rub the joint every night with warm almond oil. If the skin is lined and coarse, a pad of.absorbent cotton wool soaked in the oil should be bound loosely around each finger and left on all night. Superfluous hairs on the arms is another torture to the girl who desires to appear always immaculate. If the hairs are dark and show au intricate pattern on the skin, they are a decided embarrassment. When hair on the lower arms is profuse and dark, try sponging each day with peroxide of hydrogen (15 vols.). This will not only bleach, but at the same time weaken the nairs. Soon it will be easy, when washing, to rub all the hairs away with a soapy pumice stone. Hair under the armpits can be removed either by use of a good depilatory or with a safety razor. A word of warning. A depilatory must never be applied for at least two days after an anti-perspiration preparation has been used, lest it cause an unsightly and a painful skin eruption.