THE CULT OF BEAUTY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 697, 25 February 1933, Page 20 (Supplement)

THE CULT OF BEAUTY.

Never Too Early to Begin Treatment. HOW MOTHERS CAN HELP. (By A BEAUTY SPECIALIST.) It seems absurd to say that a mother may be too fond of her children for their own good, and yet there is no doubt that maternal love often blinds a woman to defects and harmful habits in her own children, although she wonders why on earth Mrs. Next Door allows her little Sadie to spoil the shape of her lips by sucking her thumb, or permits little Tommy to breathe through his mouth. Although certain physical peculiarities run through families, in general, it is safe to say what the child will look like when he is grown up depends no more upon heredity than upon the way he is brought up, the care that is given his small body in babyhood and childhood, the habits he is allowed to form, and his training in the principles of hygiene and health. Beauty culture begins at the beginning of life. Many a man’s or woman’s appearance is marred irretrievably in the cradle. With the best intentions in the world, a mother or nurse will dangle a bright object close to baby’s eyes,

L where he stares at it by the hour, and j perhaps carries a fine case of cross-eyes ; through life as a result. Again prominent ears, that stick out ; from the head, were probably caused by l faulty placing in the cradle, where the L delicate baby ears were crumpled by the pillows. . Certainly, a mother who notices that - her child’s ears do not lie flat to the . head can correct the defect by putting . on one of the patent caps made for the ! purpose, when getting baby ready for | . bed at night, or can make a home-made i , cap which will hold the ears firmly in j place while lie sleeps. When you see a j grown-up with ill-placed and ugly ears, * you see someone who had a careless mother. A pretty mouth is the birth-. right of everyone, but many a mouth is • : spoilt utterly before its owner is old j ’ enough to speak the first word. The ] ; feeding ring looks harmless enough, but; ' continuous sucking on it distorts the 1 soft bones of the jaw and mouth, and causes adenoids, which still further 1 change the shape of the face later on. Too often parental selfishness lies at the bottom of the child’s habit of suck--1 ing something. It keeps him quiet, when : lie would otherwise be fretting and demanding attention. Mother wants to : talk to a caller or read a new novel, and ■ so in goes the comforting bit of rubber, and another mouth is on the way to ’ How many times do you hear it said, 1 “She would be pretty—if it were not for that mouth!” The Important Features. The mouth, nose and chin are the , three features which determine the : ugliness or charm of the face. When one is grown, there is little that can be done to change or improve them, and , what little is possible is painful and • expensive. But the baby’s soft little feature may be moulded and shaped almost like wax. There would be few pug noses, receding chins, mis-shapened jaws, and thick lips, if parents could be made to understand that their children’s appearance, as well as tlieir moral training, were part of their duty. Bow legs are another defect which may be ‘ avoided. Children who try to stand or 1 walk too soon, and especially fat children, are likely to bend their soft bones, ' and should be restrained from making such attempts by tying them into a high • chair if necessary. i Sometimes crooked development of ■ the bones comes from poor feeding, and then a doctor should be consulted. The j material for bones goes in through the j ! mouth, and must contain minerals and : : phosphates. If adenoids are present, , • they must be removed by a simple surgi■leal operation, or they will fill up the . nasal passages, cause mouth breathing. 1

make the nose small and undeveloped, the lips thick and the teeth badly placed. Any doctor can tell at a glance the “adenoid face” on an adult. Every parent owes it to his child to have his nose and throat examined by a specialist at various times between the ages of two and seven or eight. First teeth are often neglected, on the theory that they will soon be lost, anyhow. But a dentist will tell you that first teeth matter a lot. If they are kept brushed and healthy, the new set of teeth will be stronger. If the second teeth come up unevenly a dentist can straighten them easily, if they are taken in time. The habits of personal cleanliness cannot be initiated too soon if future beauty is to be assured. By making tooth brushing and bathing a game, a child can be taught hygiene and daintiness. Care of the hair should begin early. To most children hair is a troublesome “something” that gets full of knots and is for ever being combed. If the mother wants her girl or boy to have a thick, beautiful head of hair in later life she must take a few simple precautions now —shampooing their heads frequently —once a fortnight at least —in warm water with pure Castille soap, and rubbing a little pure olive oil into the scalp after it is dry. If this is done, the hair brushed and combed gently, the chances of a fine head of hair later on will be good.

WIND-SWEPT. HAIRDRESSING IN PARIS. There is still more short hair than long in Paris, and the wealth of long liair seen in England finds no parallel | there. Nor are there quite so many ) platinum and peroxide blondes, and, for j some unfortunate reason, this fashion is j j mostly adopted by the older women. If j | hair is long the Frenchwoman must see • to it that it is also entirely formal and (sophisticated. That is to say, if it is j long behind, it must be worn in the stiffest possible horizontal roll, which; will stand out by itself from the nape : of the neck and which often completes j | the hat and give it a sort of twist at j ! the end. Hats and hair become much! involved, and it is impossible to separate many of them. A hat is worn completely over one ear, where it forms a sort of j bandeau, including one side of the fore- ; head. On the other side the hair is swept down and plastered there to form the other side. There is no hint of anything that looks like hair in the ordinary | sense. The shorter kinds of hair are given the sculptured look by means of some , unguent which sticks the individual! | hairs together and makes them able to be moulded into any particular shape, j The wind-swept liair, which looks more like a yokel fringe or a Cockney quif in the wrong place, is popular, though it is used with discretion. A bald forehead may have a piece of wind-swept hair over one temple. Some of the short pieces of hair that are plastered here and there on the forehead to suit a particular hat look rather like a short feather that is dipped in oil. Portions of it coalesce and end in a little curve. Hair is brushed in any direction, but in every case it must adhere closely to the head and anything less wind-swept in appearance can hardly be imagined. Red dye is popular. FEATHERS SO CHIC. The finer the feathers the more interesting the hat. This form of trim- , ming is becoming extraordinarily popu- ; lar, for it can be used on a plain little 1 toque to soften that austere line of which so many women are afraid, or to introduce some delightful and unusual colouring into a sombre outfit. It is chic I to combine prettily shaded plumes and i velvet, spreading the feathers flatly over j more than half the hat and allowing ‘ only a glimpse of the velvet here and ; there. Or a row of fluffy flat feathers will ! be used to border i shallow velvet cap j 1 for afternoon we as*