The Value of Soap.—The eminent chemist, Liebig, asserts that the civilization of a nation is high in proportion to the amount of soap it consumes, and that it is low in proportion to its use of perfumes. The cleanliness and refinement of an individual may be measured by the same test. Soap removes impurity; perfume is often employed to conceal it.
Many soaps are positively injurious to the skin. In this, as in other matters, judgment and caution must be exercised. A free use of a good skin soap, with warm or hot water, may be recommended for the weekly or semi-weekly bath when the primary object is cleanliness. The soapy lather should be vigorously rubbed over the body, by the hand or a small coarse towel, so as to remove all excretions from the pores, all greasy deposits of the sebaceous glands, and all dead scales from the cuticle.
This lather must be carefully rinsed off before rubbing with the towels. For the cold tonic and other baths, it is better not to use soap.
Cosmetics.—The use of cosmetics for the complexion is a fertile source of disease. Many of these preparations contain lead and other poisonous mineral substances. The skin readily absorbs these, and the most distressing conditions often ensue.
Hair-dyes also contain lead and other objectionable ingredients. Although less harmful than cosmetics, being generally kept away from the skin, they rob the hair of its lustre and vitality, and should be avoided.
Caution.—Bathing, whether for cleanliness or for recreation, is a most healthful exercise, yet certain precautions are necessary.
1. Avoid bathing within two and a half hours after a meal. The sudden interruption of the process of digestion, especially by a cold bath, is apt to produce nausea. Cases of drowning, usually ascribed to cramps, have been due, in some instances, to interrupted digestion.
2. Avoid bathing when exhausted by fatigue, or from any other cause.
3. Avoid bathing when the body is cooling after perspiration.
4. Avoid bathing in stream or surf if experience proves that after being a short time in the water, there is a sense of chilliness, with numbness of the hands or feet.