Personal hygiene and physical training for women

by Anna M. Galbraith

The wrinkles are not, as a rule, caused by any trouble in the skin itself, but in the underlying muscles, the tissues of which have become relaxed or weakened. The circulation of the parts may be stimulated, and so increased nourishment be secured by deep massage of the muscles, and, at the same time, the use of a good cold cream will aid in the nourishment of the skin.

The face should first be washed and steamed according to the directions already given. The massage of the face should always be carried out in a systematic manner. Begin with the forehead. Stroke with the two thumbs over the forehead, starting near the eyebrows, and work out toward the roots of the hair. In the second movement one hand is used to stretch the part worked upon, while deep friction is made with the tips of the fingers of the other hand.

For wrinkles about the eyes, stroke with the tips of the fingers, over and below the eyes, from the nose toward the temples. Great care must be taken not to apply too much cold cream about the eyes, lest some of it should get into them. For the removal of the “crow’s feet” at the outer angle of the eye stretch the part with the thumb and finger of one hand, and perform friction with the tips of the fingers of the other hand.

To remove the lines that run from the corners of the nose to the angles of the mouth, stroke with both hands, one on each side of the face, beginning at the center and lower part, and stroke upward toward the temples. This upward motion counteracts the drawn and pulled-down condition of the face.

For the cheeks, use both friction and deep kneading; pick up the muscles between the thumb and finger.

To remove wrinkles under the chin and a double chin, begin at the middle line, and with both hands make deep pressure upward and outward. To remove superfluous fat, make deep friction with the tips of the fingers. In the latter case, only use enough cocoa-butter on the fingers to prevent the friction against the skin. The benzoin preparations, already given, will help to contract the tissues.

A cold cream which is a good skin food is the following: Take of the oil of sweet almonds, 2 ounces; of spermaceti, ¼ ounce; of white wax, ¼ ounce; and of rose-water, ½ ounce. Melt together at a moderate heat, the oil, spermaceti, and wax, then gradually add the rose-water; stir the mixture briskly and constantly until it is cool, and continue the stirring until it has become uniformly soft and creamy. The Dover egg-beater will give it the desired creamy appearance.

The Hair.—From an esthetic point of view, a head of luxuriant hair is a matter of prime importance to the woman.

The hairs are peculiar modifications of the epidermis. The hair follicle is a cylindric-shaped depression of the skin, whose funnel-shaped mouth opens on the free surface. Immediately below this is a constriction, called the neck, which is the narrowest part of the follicle; the duct of the sebaceous gland, which supplies the hair with oil, opens at this point. The base of the follicle is bulb-shaped, to accommodate the hair-papilla and the hair-bulb. The hair-papilla contains the blood and nerve supply for the hair. When a hair is plucked or falls out, a new hair grows from the hair-papilla.

According to Pincus, the life of a hair ranges from two to six years, after which it falls out, to be replaced by a new one. In this way about fifty or sixty hairs are normally shed every day.