Manicuring

Southland Times, Issue 19897, 16 June 1926, Page 11

Manicuring

(By a Woman Chemist.) Because the nails respond quickly to care or neglect, the daily “drill” should never be omitted. Once they have attained the desired shape and length, they must be kept so by the use of a file, and not with scissors. If the half moons, which are the hall mark of a well kept hand are not visible, care must be taken to uncover them. When the hands have been neglected, the cuticle (that is the hard skin at the base of the nails! will probably need to be cut away, but, afterwards, a little orange stick must be used to press it back, because the more it is cut the quicker it grows. The habit should be developed of pressing back the cuticle with the towel whenever the hands are washed. When the nails have been filed, and the “half moons” attended to, the next step is to polish. For this treatment a powder and a piece of chamois leather, or a small piece of cotton-wool are needed. There are various suitable powders, but French chalk is one of the best. Very little need be used, so long as the nails are rubbed vigorously. Occasionally a little toilet cream should be rubbed over, just before using the powder. Varnish and colours? No, they are not to be recommended, and certainly should never be applied unless the hand is in every way perfect. These extremes of fashion are liable to show up any imperfections. Hang nails, those tiresome little bits of skin that appear at the side of the nails, are never to be found on a well kept hand. They form negee ted cuticles, and when present they must be cut off. A little lemon occasionally rubbed over the nails and just at the sides, will be found helpful in preventing them from forming again. Some nails are very brittle, due to a defect in the general health. These nails can be kept in good condition by rubbing vaseline over them occasionally at bedtime, and leaving it on all night protected by gloves. When doing any work that is likely to soil the nails, a good plan is to dig them

into a piece of wet soap. The soap wiH then fill them up and prevent the dirt getting underneath. If there are any stains upon the nails, and vinegar or lemon juice will not remove them, a little tartaric acid must be placed upon the stain and the nail well rubbed with a wet cloth. To remove an obstinate mark underneath the nail, the following should be tried. Take equal parts of tincture of myrrh, tartaric acid, and water. The acid mast be dissolved ; in the water before the tincture is added, i Then let the nail soak in the solution for some minutes. Tomato juice is excellent for removing ink stains. A very harsh nail-brush however, must never be used because it makes the skin beneath the nails so rough, which causes them to pick up dirt very quickly.