Fashions and Furbelows

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18453, 2 May 1928, Page 13

Fashions and Furbelows

NOTES BY SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS.

DEAUNG WITH A DRY SKIN. A LITTLE DAILY CARE AND ATTENTION WILL KEEP IT IN GOOD CONDITION. Does your face still look freshly powdered hours after you have used your power puff? Of course, it’s a great comfort to know that it does, but —you’d be well advised to study your skin extra carefully in the mirror on the first bright morning that happens along. When you’ve removed all the powder from your face, does there still seem to be powder clinging to the skin? And is that a network of tiny', tiny lines, much too faint to be called wrinkles yet, about the eyes? If so, your skin is probably much drier than it should be: and if you want to avoid early wrinkles you had better start right away supplying it with the oils it lacks. A dry skin is usually very sensitive, and not only feels, but shows, the effect of exposure to cold, or heat, or wind. Simply protecting it with cream and powder is only a half measure; it is much better by proper “feeding” to help the skin itself to resist its enemies. Be very careful not to take away; from the skin what natural oils it does possess. Washing in very hot water tends to dry the skin very quickly, for. instance, so make a rule to use only tepid water for your face, except when you are going to apply skinfood or oil. At those times use quite warm water (still not hot, mark you) so that the skin will be more receptive. Banish coarse towels or face gloves into lifelong exile. And even with the softest of towels don’t rub your face dry, but pat it. Vanishing Cream. Choose a good skin-food or cold cream, and use it every night. If the skin is extra dry—if the glass shows you, for instance, a powdery effect, almost as though the skin were peelinguse the cream freely after washing at night, and wipe off only the superfluous cream before going to bed. It will be as well to use the cream as a powder base, too, and to keep away from vanishing creams altogether. When the skin is merely inclined to be dry, and your reflection shows a smooth, healthy texture unless you’ve been out in the wind or on a bitterly cold day, carry on with vanishing creams for day use, but use a cold cream generously at night. During the day use cold cream for cleansing l the face instead of water, whenever possible. Work it well into the skin, then wipe it off thoroughly with a soft towel or an old handkerchief. For Wrinkles. Now. what about those treacherous little lines? Docs your looking-glass show any trace of them? When it does, get a very small quantity of best oil of sweet almonds the next time you are shopping, and give them an oil bath. The oil is most effective when it is perfectly fresh, remember, and it very soon goes rancid, so don't get in a big bottle of it to save bother. Look to see how far the lines extend. Bathe this surface gently with warm water, or lay over it pads of soft rag wrung out of hot water, until the skin is nicely moist. Warm the oil very slightly by putting a little in a cup and standing this in hot water just long enough to get the chill off it: it i.s absorbed much more readily like

this. Now, with your finger-tips tap the oil into the skin wherever the lines show, until the skin has absorbed as much as it will. Quite close to the eyes just press the finger-tips gently. (Jive this oil treatment once a week if

the lines are very faint; twice if they begin to suggest wrinkles. In the winter heated rooms and long evenings in artificially-lit rooms are bad for the over-dry skin. Counteract them with extra cream, and if you get your face “scorched” by ljeing too near a tire, cream it well as soon as you possibly can. Beware 5f casual soaps. At home naturally, you have your own tried-and-tested toilat soap which suits your skin, but when you are visiting or staying in hotels, either take your own soap with you or depend on cold cream and warm water. Your hostess will assuredly give you a good toilet soap, but not all soaps, however excellent, suit a sensitive skin.