When It's No Use Pretending

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17942, 22 May 1920, Page 14

When It's No Use Pretending

THE PRACTICAL WOMAN AND THE DESERT ISLAND

The gayest of ns have our moments ol hollow depression. Sooner or later we all have to give up pretending, even to ourselves, and relapse into unhappy candour, At no time, if one is a -woman, docs one feel more acutely miserable than when one faces one's mirror in a clear cold light and marks the first signs of the "going off" of one's charms. I know a very charming and sophisticated woman whose nightmare is that she may one day find nerself in the situation beloved \ by novelists—that is, alone or alone . on a dpsert island. "Just fancy," she wails, "having no comb or looking glass or hairpins,'and, worst of all, no tainmalite. Because, do yon realise that I should actually bo grey?" To see her soft brown hair one would suspect her of perverting the truth. But she frankly assures her friends that her hair would be nothing without an occasional timely application of a tonic made of bay rum and pure tammalite. "It brings back all the colour," she affirms, "besides making one's hair beautifully healthy. Why, I was in despair a year or two ago, because my hair was growing grey in streaks. But since I discovered tammaiite I haven't the slightest difficulty in keeping my hair its normal shade." And -what a difference beautiful hair makes to any woman. It excuses plainness, it enhances beauty. What man pictures the woman of his dreams with anything but soft, abundant hair? From Rapunzel to Melissande there is something romantic about lovely locks. It is deplorable nowadays to see naturally beautiful hair ruined

by neglect, curling-irons, harmful shampoos and the like. Many girls, otherwise careful of their good looks, think nothing of going to bed without brushing their hair. Without constant brushing Uie luiir can never .attain to that glossy "sheeny" look that is so delightful. A good brushing for 15 minutes night and morning should bo included in the discipline of every woman, plain and pretty. A stifHsh brush should be used, and it should bo always \ scrupulously clean. . It is not good enough to use just any shampoo when washing the hair. Clare should be taken to find the very best one, and then to keep to it. A really excellent idea is to use only stallax granules, which are obtainable at all good chemists. A teaspoonful of sUollax is sufficient for each shampoo, so a ilb package will last for a long time. This very simple shampoo gives splendid results. The delicious foaming lather it makes not only cleanses the hair thoroughly, but brings out every atom of its latent colour and brightness. The Lair dries quickly, and, though beautifully soft, it is quite manageable. When the scalp is inclined to be dry and the hair brittle it is a good plan to massage it with olive oil before giving it a stallax shampoo. There are few things which increase one's self-respect so much as the possession of lovely hair. It is a perpetual joy to oneself and others, and with a little care one can defy hairpin-scattering winds, and even trying, if romantic, situations on an uninhabited island.