BEAUTY FOR THE LITTLE GIRL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23334, 28 October 1937, Page 21

BEAUTY FOR THE LITTLE GIRL

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A MOTHER'S TRAINING

If you neglect to train a child in the simple care of hair, skin, and nails, it will lead to grave consequences, and she will pay the penalty in adult life (says an Australian writer). This does not mean that you make her forward in the use of cosmetics, but that you train her so that when she does use them they will not be ridiculously applied. The very first things that you must teach your young daughter are the care of hair and teeth. As soon as she can toddle allow her to enter the bathroom with you and watch vou cleaning your teeth. Do not force her to do hers. This is fatal. It will become irksome, and she will shirk it. Make a game of it. Allow her to buy her own small toothbrush and sample tube of paste. Give her her own special brush holder Have a race to the bathroom every morning, and occasionally allow her to win Not always, or the game will become monotonous. If the teeth are decayed, have them attended to, and, if the front ones are crooked, have them straightened. If your daughter has crooked front teeth she will always regret it. CARE OF THE HAIR The care of the hair is a trifle more difficult. You must encourage her to brush her hair every morning. Pick the hair up in small strands and run the brush along from the roots to the points. Holding the head forward and running the brush down is the lazy way, and not at all satisfactory. And at what age should she have a permanent wave? This question is hard to answer. If her hair is stringy and untidy, she could have the ends loosely curled at a very early age. Do not allow her to have a full permanent until she is well into her teens. Nothing looks more unnatural than a child with an artificially-waved head of hair. The ends only should be done, and they should be very softly and naturally curled. Even though you may have a cheap wave yourself, remember that your child's hair is precious, so see that only the best sachets are used. After your daughter has had the wave, see that she has one or two oil treatments, so that any tendency to dryness can be counteracted. HER SOFT SKIN Her skin can be cared for by using olive oil soap or oatmeal soap and warm water. There should be no need for creams until she reaches 15 or 16 years of age. Naturally there are exceptions to this rule. If the skin is badly chapped in winter time, or sunburnt in summer, you will then use lotions. Honey and almond lotions are excellent for winter use, and may also be used in summer, although some mothers prefer ordinary milk for treating sunburn. When she reaches the age of 12 or 13 you can encourage her to care for her eyebrows and lashes. You can buy a small brush for the purpose, and have her brush them nightly with a little olive oil. This will encourage the growth, and also give the eyelashes a tendency to curl upwards. FORBIDDEN TWEEZERS You will absolutely forbid the use of tweezers for plucking.. If you allow her to start plucking hairs at this early age, she will rue it for the rest of her life.

Encourage her to look after her nails. File them and polish them regularly. A good cake polish and buffer are better than liquid polishes for children, and be sure to see that the colour is natural. If she bites her nails, dip them in a solution of bitter aloes. This wili soon break her of the habit. No powder should be used on the face until she reaches young womanhood. The first stage is really one of preparatory treatment, and encouragement of a pride in personal appearance.