HOW TO HAVE PRETTY HANDS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume X, Issue 6, 11 February 1893, Page 140

HOW TO HAVE PRETTY HANDS.

Those women who are born with shapely hands and tapering fingers are to be envied ; but it is not form alone that constitutes a beautiful hand ; very much of the beauty depends on the velvety texture and the colour of the skin, and the well-trimmed nails that adorn the fingers. There are few of us who can afford to keep these important members in a really perfect condition, for, unfortunately, idleness is the one thing that agrees with them best Even the lighter branches of domestic work which come under the head of ‘ home duties,' or active pursuits, such as tennis, rowing, etc., are more or less disfiguring to delicate hands, but, with a few simple precautions, even useful hands can be kept very fairly white and smooth. An important point to remember is to wash them as seldom as convenient, but when this process must be resorted to it should be done as thoroughly as possible. Oatmeal gruel is particularly good for washing purposes, and especially if the water is hard. It is well to keep a jug of it on the washstand, so that it may always be at hand. Mix equal parts of the meal and powdered starch together, tie in muslin, and pour boiling water over the compound. Use the gruel with sufficient warm water added to make it just tepid. It is necessary to refill the muslin every two or three days, as the oatmeal soon becomes sour. Hot water should never be employed for washing the hands, as it renders the skin much more liable to chafe.

It is an excellent plan to rub a little lemon over the bands after washing, as it is of great assistance in keeping them smooth and white. Some skin is so naturally dry and harsh that it requites an emollient as much in summer as in winter. The cream for which I give a recipe is invaluable for beautifying the hands, but it is not everyone who cares for the trouble of making their own toilet preparations, and to these I would recommend a perfect skin smoother sold by the Health and Beauty Specialities Company, under the name of ‘ Hand Emollient.’

For the cream take equal quantities of white wax, refined honey, cocoa-butter, and almond oil ; put all together in a small earthen vessel, which place on a warm stove. When the ingredients are melted remove the jar, and stand it in a basin of cold water, and stir the mixture until it is cool, when it may be put into pots for future use. It is impossible to have pretty hands if the nails are not carefully attended to. Little instruments suitable for the toilette of the nails are sold in boxes varying in price from about Is to several guineas, so that no one need be without these necessary appliances. It is best never to cut the nails but to file them with a proper little file once in a week or ten days. The shape of the finger tips must regulate the trimming of the nails, which should follow the curve of the fingers as far as possible. If the skin surrounding the nails is kept in place by being pushed back after washing, it will seldom need cutting. When it does, however, the tips of the fingers should be soaked for a few moments in a little warm water to which a pinch of Californian borax has been added ; this softens the cuticle, and admits of its being more readily loosened, cut, and pushed into place by the little ivory presser. The nails should be kept well polished by means of a chamois leather pad, sprinkled with powder sold for the purpose. Some simple cream such as 1 have mentioned should be applied occasionally at night, before retiring to rest, to prevent the skin becoming dry, and the nails from breaking, which they frequently do from lack of nourishment. Gants yras are too well-known to need any description, and certainly are most useful in keeping the hands soft; but let me impress upon my readers the importance of having the | a’ms of the gloves perforated, so that the breathing process of the skin is not in any way interfered with. Jim’s Wire in Woman.