Читать книгу The Ladies Book of Useful Information - Anonymous - Страница 15

There are very few beautiful hands, but to make the hands beautiful rests, with scarcely an exception, with the possessor. Now that chiromancy has become so fashionable as to be a part of a great many entertainments, it is very desirable that the hands should present an attractive appearance. A soft, white, delicate hand, with neatly-kept nails, forms an important factor in a pleasing personal appearance, and is something any man or woman may possess themselves of with a little care. Of course it goes without saying, that requisite is perfect cleanliness of both the hands and nails. The best and purest soap should be used, and when soft water cannot be obtained, a few drops of ammonia, or a little borax, should be added to the water in which the hands are washed, and they should always be thoroughly dried. A lotion of one ounce glycerine, one ounce rose-water, ten drops of carbolic acid, and forty drops of hamamelis, is excellent to use on the hands before they are dried each time they are washed.

Persons who do housework should wear the India rubber gloves which are made for the purpose and can be purchased in any size for from $1.00 to $1.25 as they are with or without wrists.

Rubbing the hands once or twice a day in oatmeal tends to whiten them and make them soft and flexible.

The following bleaches the hands and arms and makes them beautifully soft and white:—

Bleaching Lotion.—Bitter almonds, ten ounces; iris powder, one ounce; pulverized horse-chestnut, two ounces; essence of bergamot, one dram; carbonate of potash, two drams; mix. Use on the hands after washing, and on retiring for the night.

Five grains of chloridated lime in a pint of warm water will whiten the hands and remove all stains, but as this is not always quite harmless to a delicate skin, it is perhaps better to remove stains with a cut of lemon, and use the preparation given above for whitening them.

Tight lacing and tight sleeves, and even tight shoes, will cause the hands to be an unsightly red, for which no lotion or care is a remedy. If, however, all the clothing is worn so as to allow a free circulation, and the directions which have been given are regularly and constantly followed, any hand will become white, supple and delicate—a pleasure to both possessor and beholder; and it is really worth the care, which after a little time becomes a fixed habit and so is scarcely noticeable, to have such hands.

To Make the Hands White and Delicate.—Should you wish to make your hands white and delicate, wash them in hot milk and water for a day or two. On retiring to rest, rub them well over with palm oil, and put on a pair of woollen gloves. The hands should be thoroughly washed with hot water and soap the next morning, and a pair of soft leather gloves worn during the day; they should be frequently rubbed together to promote circulation. Sunburnt hands should be washed in lime water or lemon juice. Should they be severely freckled, the following will be good to use: Take of distilled water, half a pint; sal ammoniac, half a dram; oxymuriate of quicksilver, four grains; divide the two last in spirit, and gradually add the water to them; add another half pint of water, mix well together, and it is ready for use. It should be applied as often as desirable, with a piece of soft sponge. If rose-water is substituted for distilled water, the effect is pleasanter.

Remedy for Chapped Hands.—The simplest remedy is the camphor ball, to be obtained of all chemists. Powdered hemlock bark put into a piece of muslin and sprinkled on the chaps is highly recommended. Or, wash with oatmeal, and afterwards rub the hands over with dry oatmeal, so as to remove all dampness. It is a good thing to rub the hands and lips with glycerine before going to bed at night. A good oil is made by simmering: Sweet oil, one pint; Venice turpentine, three ounces; lard, half a pound; beeswax, three ounces. Simmer till the wax is melted. Rub on, or apply with a rag.

To Cure Red Hands.—Wash them frequently in warm, not hot, water, using honey soap and soft towel. Dry with violet powder, and again with a soft, dry handkerchief. Take exercise enough to promote circulation, and do not wear gloves too tight.

Almond Paste for the Hands.—Take one pound of sweet almonds, one-quarter of a pound of bread crumbs, one half a pint of spring water, one-half a pint of brandy, and the yolks of two eggs. Pound the almonds with a few drops of vinegar or water, to prevent them oiling; add the crumbs of bread, which moisten with the brandy as you mix it with the almonds and the yolks of eggs. Set this mixture over a slow fire, and stir it continually or it will adhere to the edges.

Almond Paste for Chapped Hands (which will preserve them smooth and white).—The daily use of the following paste will keep the hands smooth and white: Mix a quarter of a pound of unsalted hog's lard, which has been washed in common, and then in rose, water, with the yolks of two fresh eggs and a large spoonful of honey. Add as much paste from almonds (well pounded in a mortar) as will work it into a paste.

General Remarks.—The human hand, regarded either with reference to its ingenious construction and usefulness, or to its beauty, stands alone, in its superlative excellence, in the whole animal world. In no species of animal is the hand so wonderfully formed and so perfectly developed as in man.

To preserve the delicacy and beauty of the hands, some little care, and more than that which is ordinarily bestowed on them, is required. Foremost in consideration must be the subject of cleanliness. Dirty and coarse hands are no less marks of slothfulness and lowbreeding than clean and delicate hands are of refinement and gentility. To promote softness and whiteness of the skin, mild emollient soaps, or those abounding in oil or fat, should alone be adopted for common use; by which means the tendency to contract chaps and chilblains, and roughness from drying winds, will also be lessened. The coarse, strong kinds of soap, those abounding in alkali, should be rejected, as they tend to render the skin rough, dry and brittle. Rain, or soft, water is the best natural water for washing the hands, as it cleanses them more rapidly and completely than ordinary hard water, and with the use of less soap. It may be advantageously used tepid, or even warm; but hot water should be avoided. Distilled water, when obtainable, is preferable to even rain water. In the absence of these, water that has been boiled and allowed to settle and cool may be employed. With hard water the hands are cleansed with difficulty, and though it may be readily softened by the addition of a little soda, such an addition tends to make the skin of a delicate hand somewhat hard and rough. If hard water must be used to wash with, the only harmless substance that can be conveniently added to it is a little good powdered borax. This will also cause it to exert a genial action on the skin. Oatmeal and warm water used every night and morning as a wash will whiten and soften the roughest and darkest hands.

Coarse, Red, Dark-Skinned Hands may be whitened by the occasional use of a few grains of chloride of lime, with warm water, in the manner mentioned above.

Roughness of the Hands, induced by exposure to cold and drying winds, may, in general, be removed by the use of a little powdered pumice stone with the soap in washing them. The subsequent application, particularly at night, of the above lotions, or of two or three drops of almond or olive oil, well rubbed in, will usually effect the object completely.

The hands may be preserved dry for delicate work by rubbing a little club moss (lycopodium), in fine powder, over them. So repellent is this substance of moisture, that if a small quantity of it be sprinkled on the surface of a basin of water, the hand, by a little adroitness, may be plunged to the bottom of the basin without becoming wet.

Excessive moisture or perspiration of the hands without obvious cause is generally indicative of debility, or disordered stomach, and requires corresponding treatment. Frequently washing the hands in moderately cold water often proves a local remedy for the inconvenience. The addition of a few grains of alum, sal ammoniac, or sulphate of zinc, or of a teaspoonful of vinegar, to the water greatly increases its efficacy. Extremely delicate and susceptible persons cannot always bear the excessive perspiration of their hands to be thus suddenly lessened, and therefore some discretion should be exercised by them in their attempts to check it.

The Finger Nails require special attention if we desire to preserve them in their highest condition of beauty and usefulness. To keep them clean, the nailbrush and soap and water should be used once or oftener daily, as circumstances demand. Once a day at least, on wiping the hands after washing them, and whilst they are still soft from the action of the water, the free edge of the scarfskin, which, if not attended to, is apt to grow upward over the nails, should be gently loosened and pressed back in a neatly rounded form, by which the occurrence of cracks and sores about their roots (agnails, nail springs, etc.) will be prevented, and a graceful, oval form, ending in a crescentlike space of white, will be ensured. The skin, as a rule, should never be cut, pared, picked or torn off, as is commonly done, and the less it is meddled with, otherwise than in the way just mentioned, the better. The ends or points of the nails should be pared once every week or ten days, according to the rapidity of their growth, which somewhat varies with the season of the year and the habit of the individual. This is best done with a sharp penknife or nail-knife. Scissors are less convenient for the purpose, and have the disadvantage of straining and distorting the nails during the process.

The length and shape of the nails, both for beauty and use, should exactly correspond with the tips of the fingers. Nails extending beyond the ends of the fingers are vulgar, clawlike, and inconvenient; whilst if shorter, particularly much shorter than the fingers, they are unsightly and of little use, and cause the tips of the fingers to become thick and clumsy. Biting the nails should be avoided as a dirty and disagreeable habit, and one utterly destructive to their beauty, strength, and usefulness.

To remove stains and discolorations of the nails, a little lemon juice or vinegar and water is the best application. Should this fail, a few grains of salt of sorrel, oxalic acid, or chloride of lime, each diluted with warm water, may be applied, care being taken to thoroughly rinse the hands in clean water, without soap, afterwards. Occasionally a little pumice stone, in impalpable powder, or powdered cuttlefish bone, putty powder (polisher's peroxide of tin), may be used along with water and a piece of wash-leather, flannel, or the nailbrush, for the same purpose. The frequent use of any of these substances is, however, injurious to the healthy growth, strength, and permanent beauty of the nails. The common practice of scraping the surface of the nails cannot be too strongly censured, as it causes them to become weak and distorted. Blows on the nails, and, indeed, violence to them in any form, also distorts and marks them.

The ladies of Oriental nations commonly dye the nails; and amongst many savage tribes the same practice is adopted, and is not confined to the gentler sex. Amongst Western Europeans, and Americans, white and regularly-formed nails are alone esteemed.

Chapped Hands are common among persons with a languid circulation, who are continually “dabbling” in water during cold weather, and particularly among those with a scrofulous taint, who, without the last, expose their ungloved hands to bleak, cold winds. The best preventives, as well as remedies, are the use of warm gloves out of doors, and the application, night and morning, of a little glycerine, diluted with twice its weight of water, or a little cold cream, spermaceti cerate, salad oil, or any other simple unguent or oil, which should be well rubbed in, the superfluous portion being removed with a towel. This treatment will not only preserve the hands from the effects of cold and damp, but also tend to render them soft and white. Deep chaps which have degenerated into sores should be kept constantly covered with a piece of lint wetted with glycerine or spread with spermaceti ointment, the part being at the same time carefully preserved from dirt, cold, and wind. It is said that a once favorite actress, celebrated for the beauty of her hands, even when in the “sere and yellow leaf,” covered them nightly with the flare of a calf or lamb, with the fat attached, over which was drawn a glove or mitten of soft leather. The application of a little glycerine or fatty matter, in the way just indicated, would have been equally effective.

Warts, like chilblains, are too well known to require description. They chiefly attack the hands, and particularly the fingers, but sometimes occur on other portions of the body. They may be removed by rubbing or moistening their extremities every day, or every other day, with lunar caustic, nitric acid, concentrated acetic acid, or aromatic vinegar, care being taken not to wash the hands for some hours after. The first is an extremely convenient and manageable substance, from not being liable to drop or spread; but it produces a black stain, which remains till the cauterized surface peels off. The second produces a yellow stain, in depth proportioned to the strength of the acid employed. This also wears off after the lapse of a few days. The others scarcely discolor the skin.

To Cause the Skin to become Satin-smooth, and to Smell like a bunch of Violets.—Any one using the following preparation will be noted for the fair softness of her complexion and the delicate perfume which emanates from her person. For ladies who like perfume, and care for a satin-smooth skin, the following is an invaluable toilet preparation:—

Have your druggist mix for you one ounce tincture of orris, one ounce tincture of benzoin, ten drops oil of neroli, and ten drops oil of lemon. To use this perfume, add a tablespoonful of it to about a pint of warm water. It will turn as white as milk, and the real perfume will be given off, whereas while in the bottle it has anything but a pleasing odor. Now, after your bath, just take a soft cloth and go over yourself with this milk, dry thoroughly, and you will smell like a bunch of violets. The perfume may be altered to suit you, or you may add any handkerchief extract, but don't omit the benzoin, for that is what gives permanence to the perfume and softness and smoothness to the skin.

To Cause Those Who have Lost the Bloom and Fairness of Early Youth to Regain Them.—Many ladies who as young girls were fair with a lovely rosy bloom, lose these beauties very early in life; very many do this at twenty, or very little later, and become sallow and heavy-eyed, thus losing their principal charm. Now, this is very easily remedied. Go to your druggist and ask him for some iron pills and for some simple purgative to take with them. Get from him directions for taking both, and take strictly according to his directions. In a very short time you will again be fair and rosy and your eyes bright and sparkling; in fact, you will seem to have renewed your youth, and, indeed, you will feel like another person, so light-hearted will you become, in addition to your return of beauty.