CARE OF THE FACE AND HANDS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 163, 15 August 1914, Page 7

CARE OF THE FACE AND HANDS.

. Midwinter is a treacherous time of the year for thqse women who value their looks. Even those whom Nature' has endowed with a good skin and a nice complexion find it difficult to preserve its bloom during July and"August. The cold north-west and south-west winds mean to the majority of women blue and pinched noses, rough and chapped hands, and, worst of all, .chilblains. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and unless one is quitd indifferent to the ravages of the cold nights and mornings, it is just as well to take precautionary measures in time. Most of us have friends—dogmatic people — who assert that if only one uses plenty of soap and water, and plenty of friction with a rough towel, the skin will remain healthy and the complexion fresh, and that there will be no need to apply any form of creams and powders or other compounds. This -may appear to be very sensible advice, until it is tried. Undoubtedly good soap" and warm water are good thingg for any skin in the winter; but the scrubbing process with a rough towel is simply ruinous to a sensitive skin. After washing the face, it should never be more than gently rubbed with a soft towel, or it will become florid and rough-looking. Unless the face become very dirty

when motoring, it should not be washed more than onee a day with soap and water. It is far better for the skin to take the dust off with a little face cream or vaseline.. To keep the face in good condition during the winter a little cream or vaseline should hj& rubbed into it night and morning, a little powder being dusted over it in the;, daytime. It is quite a mistake to imagine that these things are injurious to the skin. On the contrary, if pure, that is made of beneficial and not harmful ingredients, they form, to a great extent, a protection against wind and cold in the winter, as well as sunburn in the summer. If a home-made facecream is liked, the following will be found very nice:;— Take of almond oil one ounce,- cocOa-bittter one. ounce ,and a half, melt together, and add boric acid in fine powder eight grains; 'essence of bergamot thirty drops, oxide of zinc eight grams. Beat all together till nearly cold. This must be gently rubbed into the skin. Then wipe over with a very soft piece of an old handkerchief, and dust a little powder on, the cream application. Simple lotion for toning down roughs ness and redness of the face is composed of oxide of zinc, four drachms; pure' glycerine, half an ounce; rose waiter,' three ounces. This should be well shaken, and applied to the face when the skin is quite clean. . Also, very excellent is this lotion: —Boracic acid, half an ounce; glycerine, half an ounce; simple tincture of benzoin, one teaspoonful; rose water, eight ounces. Shake well, and apply with a tuft of cotton wool. The hands soon become rough and sore if they are neglected in the winter, and speedy means must be taken to effect a cure, or they will become

cracked and chapped, and will take a long time to' return to a comfortable state. Fortunately, the cure,'.if- taken< in time, is byno means, a difficult one. A Very; old-fashioned but wonderfully, 'effectualremedy is to wash the chapped hahds thoroughly with pure white vaseline, or, if not obtainable, some clean, and .pure fatty substance. Pains must be taken to work the grease into the folds of the skin. Then wash the grease' off in . warm water, dry well, and use an application of glycerine and rose water, or if preferred glycerine and eau-de-Cologne. The glycerine must not form a proportion of more than one-third of its; co-ingredients.' Undiluted glycerine, which many people use, is often extremely painful to even the. roughest skin, and positive torture to delicate ones, especially those of children. An application recommended by a physician is thirty grains of boric acid, two and a half drachms of glycerine, mixed with the beaten yolk of one egg. This is, however, a preventive rather than at cure, and is used only, in eases ■wrher? the ;skin.is not cracked. After, a short course of this treatment improvement will at once be manifest. Soreness a'nd 'r&ughness will disappear ■as if by magic, and the hand's will .assume, £ w»hiteness and softnes of tex 7? turp to which they have been strangers. —Queen Bee in the 1 ' Australasian!