A Plain Beauty Talk

by Mrs. A.J. Wilder, Mansfield, Mo.

Editor Home Department

Women Can Afford to Spend Time on Their Looks

"Beauty is but skin deep" says the old adage, and most of us would be glad to know it was as deep as that. Why ugliness should have been made a virtue , in the teaching of our youth, is passing strange. We all admire beauty of character, but the possession of it is no excuse for neglecting our personal appearance. Indeed it seems to me there must be a fault in the character when one is satisfied with anything less than the best she can make of herself. It is not vanity to wish to appear pleasing to the eyes of our home folks and friends, nor is it a matter of small importance. To be well groomed and good to look at will give us an added self-respect and a greater influence over others.

It is more difficult for country women than for those in the city to make a well-groomed appearance, for they usually do rougher work and they cannot go to a beauty parlor and have themselves put in trim as the city woman can. However many barber shops there may be in a country town, there is almost never a beauty parlor for the women.

Until we can make a change in things, and have our beauty parlor in town where we can have the same attention that men do at theirs-- oh yes, the barber shop is a man's beauty parlor! They have things put on their hair to prevent its falling out and to make it grow; they have soothing lotions and astringents and powder put on their faces. Don't let any of them tell you a beauty parlor is foolish or unnecessary, or any of those things-- until we can have our beauty parlor in town, we must do these things for ourselves.

We can make a very good job of it, too, with some good, pure soap, a bottle of dioxygen and some orange wood sticks, a bottle of glycerine and rosewater and a good tooth brush. With these aids, we can take care of our complexion, our hair, our hands and our teeth, and with these in good condition we shall have all the skin-deep beauty necessary for practical purposes; and this will help rather than hinder us in making a beautiful character.

There are a few simple things to remember in caring for the complexion. When washing the face it should first be thoroughly cleansed with warm water, using a good soap, then the soap should be well rinsed off with clear warm water. The warm water opens the pores of the skin and with the soap thoroughly cleanses them; the clear warm water rinses out the soap so it will not clog the pores. The face should then be well rinsed with cold water, the colder the better, to close the pores and tighten the skin to prevent flabbiness. Cold water is one of the best aids in keeping a good complexion if it is used in this way. It keeps the pores of the skin from becoming enlarged and brings the blood to the face, thus keeping up a good circulation in the minute blood vessels; and this makes the skin look fresh and youthful.

Cheap perfumed soaps are apt to be injurious to the skin and their use is risky. A good castile soap is always good and not expensive when bought a large bar at a time.

When washing the face, the skin should always be rubbed up and outward, because it is the gradual sagging down of the muscles of the face that causes wrinkles. You can satisfy yourself of this by a few experiments before a glass. A good cold cream rubbed into the skin just before the cold water is used, and then wiped lightly off with a soft cloth, will help to keep the wrinkles away and make the skin softer.

Face and hands should always be well dried after washing. If it is not the skin will become rough. Keep the bottle of glycerine and rosewater close by the wash pan and after the hands are washed and dried, while they are still damp, rub a few drops of this over them. Do this as many times a day as the hands are washed and they will keep soft and white.

Wrap a little cotton around the point of one of the little orange wood sticks, dip it into the bottle of dioxygen and wipe out the dirt from under the finger nails. Then take a little dry cotton on the stick and dry under them. This will do away with the annoying black line, for it cleanses and bleaches and does not make the nail rough, to catch more dirt, as a knife or scissors will when used to clean the nails.

There are many simple things in daily use on a farm that are splendid beautifiers. Washing in buttermilk will whiten the hands and face. Fresh strawberries rubbed on the skin will bleach it, and rhubarb or tomatoes will remove stains from the fingers. None of these things will do the least harm. Common table salt is one of the best tooth powders, and with a good brush and water will keep the teeth clean and white.

The hair should not be washed too often, for this will cause it to fall. Still, the scalp should be kept clean. Wearing a little dust cap over the hair while doing the work will help greatly in this, and such frequent washings will not be necessary.

When washing the hair, it is best to dissolve the soap in a little water, making a soft soap. Rub this into the hair with water until it lathers well, then wash it off. Repeat if necessary. When the hair is clean, rinse it well with clear warm water until the soap is all out, then pour some cold water over the scalp to close the pores of the skin. This will prevent taking cold and also act as a tonic to the scalp. The addition of a little baking soda to the water will lighten the hair and help to make it fluffy.

A tea made from common garden sage will darken the hair and help it grow.

Mrs. A. J. Wilder. "A Plain Beauty Talk." Missouri Ruralist (April  20, 1914): page 9. This article included a photograph of an unidentified woman, with the caption: "The possession of character is no excuse for a woman's neglecting her personal appearance."

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