FRECKLES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 December 1938, Page 8

FRECKLES

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

Each summer brings its recurrent crop of freckles, and sometimes .much heartburning to their sufferers. Although they are looked upon as blemishes by many, they are not always so. as in many cases they add a decided piquancy to a face which might otherwise be called plain.

' Fir.st decide, therefore, whether the freckles suit you or not, and if you think that you would appear more beautiful without them you can then follow some of the hints in this article. You must remember that there are two distinct types of freckles. First there are those which appear in summer and disappear in winter, and which, therefore, can be removed fairly easily; and, secondly, there are those which we have from early childhood and which are practically impossible to remove. This latter type of freckle is very deep-seated and will not respond to any simple treatment. It requires skin-peeling, which is not in the province of home treatments, and should only be carried out under the supervision of a very skilled beauty specialist or doctor. This type of treatment is much more fashionable in American than in Australia.

It is the girl whose freckles easily each summer time, and who loses her freckles in winter, who will find most help in this article. There are very many simple home remedies which she can try, and which will help her, from bleaching with either lemons or peroxide, to the more complicated bleaching packs. When either lemon juice or peroxide is used, a small quantity of skin food should afterwards be massaged into the face so that any tendency to roughness, caused by the burning action of the bleaches, can be counteracted. In simple cases like the above jt is the outer skin only which requires treatment.

Even though your skin may not respond to one treatment, do not despair, but try another. Some lotions will not have the slightest effect on one type of skin, whereas on others they will immediately fade the freckles. It is a case of try and discard until you receive satisfactory results. Prevention is Best. If you know that your skin freckles easily, your first thought should be towards protection, and this, to a certain extent, can be achieved by covering the face with a good bleaching balm, such as honey and almond lotion, or cucumber cream, afterwards applying a fairly heavy coating of dark powder. When coming indoors on' a hot day do not immediately wash your face with soap and water, as this will often bring the freckles closer to the surface of the skin and thus make them more noticeable. Always allow your face to cool down before any application of soap and water. If the freckles are very few, and are not very discernible, the following simple .home-made lotion will very often fade them right away. Take three tablespoonfuls of cucumber juice, and add the same quantity of pure alcohol. Cork the bottle tightly and allow to stand overnight. In the morning add; one tablespoonful of oil of almonds. This lotion can be dabbed on the freckled parts as often as desired. Fresh Milk is Good. If the skin is of an oily type, a mixture of lemon juice and rose-water dabbed on the skin each morning will often be quite sufficient to fade the freckles in three or four days. When using lemon juice on the face always experiment carefully first, as sometimes the lemon juice may have a reddening effect on the skin, and in that case it should be further diluted with rose-water. When the skin is extremely dry and sensitive, try using fresh milk instead of water to wash the face, and, if the skin will stand it, add a little peroxide to the milk. Milk has an extremely whitening tendency on skins, and on [ a particularly sensitive blond skin it is often quite sufficient to hold the freckles in check. There are two other methods of making the freckles less noticeable. One is to separate the white from the yolk of an egg, dab the white on the skin, ' and allow to remain on all night. It will dry rapidly, and can be washed off in the morning with warm water. The other method, which is slightly stronger, is to mix and apply the mixture to the freckled portions of the skin. This will fade them a trifle, and if during the day a peroxide based cream is used as a powder foundation it will also help the fading process. Another method is to add about one dessertspoonful of glycerine to about half a pint of cold water and to wash the face each morning with the lotion. After drying the face well, massage a little vanishing cream into the skin, and finally dust with powder, then lightly dust off so that just sufficient remains to make a normal make-up. Of course, most of the above remedies are for treatments where freckles are already apparent, but why not try and prevent them forming? Avoiding I the use of greasy face creams and using vanishing creams in their place will help. And remember that, although many consider freckles as a disfigurement, there are just as many other peoplewho consider them as a sign of a healthy outdoor life. So take courage, all you freckle-bearers, and remember that they do not always appear as bad to others as they may do to you.