Madame Recamier’s Pommade.
This was communicated by this lady as being used in France and Italy, by those who professionally, or by choice, are engaged in exercises which require long and great exertions of the limbs, as dancing, playing on instruments, &c.
Take any suitable quantity of Axungia Cervi, i. e. the fat of a red stag or hart; add to it the same quantity of olive oil, (Florence oil is preferable to any of the kind,) and half the quantity of virgin wax; melt the whole in an earthen vessel, well glazed, over a slow fire, and, when properly mixed, leave it to cool. This ointment has been applied also with considerable efficacy in cases of rheumatism.
A Wash for the Face.
This recipe is well known in France, and much extolled by the ladies of that country as efficacious and harmless.
Take equal parts of the seeds of the melon, pompion, gourd, and cucumber, pounded and reduced to powder or meal; add to it fresh cream, sufficient to dilute the flour; beat all up together, adding a sufficient quantity of milk, as it may be required, to make an ointment, and then apply it to the face; leave it there for half an hour, and then wash it off with warm soft water.
A Paste for the Skin.
This may be recommended in cases when the skin seems to get too loosely attached to the muscles.
Boil the whites of four eggs in rose-water, add to it a sufficient quantity of alum; beat the whole together till it takes the consistence of a paste. This will give, when applied, great firmness to the skin.