The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-11-22
WoMEN WHo Shave.
some Curious Facts Alssut Femenine
Boards and AEustaches.

Except where it Is in sufficient volume
to have commercial value IN side
show, a beard is far from being desira-
bic thing to have growing on woman's
face. Whiskers, mustaches, and hairy
mOles have always been, and probably
always will be, classed as disfgurements
for women, and not even Fashions
freaks have ever made them popular,
even for time Yet they have existed,
in all lands and in all ages, upon feIne-
nine cheeks of every class, from queen 20
slave. Depilatory nostruIns have been
among the adjuncts of the toilet since
the memory of woman runneth not to.
the contrary, and startling as the revela-
ton may be to many, myTiads of fair
hands are def in the use of the razor,
their cunning gained by stress of person.
al necessity in strife with nature. AS
rule, women depilitate or shave In secret,
relying upon their own skill; but of late
years professional practitioners have
come among us, introducing European
| customs, treating superfiuous hair with
scientific gravity, and gradually they are
building up large practice, especially
| among the wealthy
A Sun reporter interviewed one of
these practitioners-a bright, Vivacious
little woman, with strong foreign ac-
cent, who carries ons1ef business in a
great brown stone front house on west
thirty ghth street. She said: 81 have
been engaged in the removal of super
| fluous hair some twenty-five years, eight
or ten here In New York, and before that
in London and Vienna. In Europe
| did not have very great success. at
tended the Empress of Austria, and have
from her certificate to the good results
of my skill. 1 also attended, with like
success, many ladies of the Austrian
court. In Europe it is not as here. There
reliance is placed upon the skill of a
scientific practitioner. Here, ladies gen.
orally are prone to treat themselves, often
with terrible results. The drug stores
are full of nostrums which women use as
depilatories, quack stuffs in which are
poisonous acids and corrosive substances,
arsenic, aurum, sulphate of lime, and
other dangerous things. Often these
nostrums destroy the beauty of the skin,
some times producing frightful disfgure-
ments by the irritation they cause, and
seldom, if ever, do they achieve the end
for which they are employed. They
even cause the hair to grow quicker and
more stubby than it otherwise would
Many women shave, but that, too, is pro
ductive of bad results, as you can readily
understand.
"WhO are my patrons? OH people OF
1 C1dSSCS adIu Vi 1lI6, Du
generally from among the best; society
ladies who wish to adorn the social cir
Gle in which they move, and know that 6
visible mustache would be an insur
mOuntable obstacle to their doing so
Numbers of those who come to me arr
iyoung girls about to be married, who de
sire to present themselves at the altar a:
perfect as possible. I have had lady
here undergoing an operation at Il
O'Clock in the morning, and at in thu
afternoon of the same day she has stood
before the altar in the church No ont
seeing her face as smooth as an infant
at the latter hour would imagine that a
the former / took from her very decid
ed beard and mustache. Oh, yes;
, beard, | assure you. You may imagin
that those only have mustaches, becaus
they are most common; but tell you
well developed beard is not an infre
: quent thing. To a great extent, the,
bring it on themselves. If they woult
let the fuZZ alone they would not hay
: hair; but they are frightened at seeing
: and tamper with it. Often they catcl
D up the razor at once and go at it. Well
you know what shaving does to help tn
i, growth of a young mans mustache;
helps the young lady's also, in the sam
way. Not many actresses come to me
/, thing, imagine that they fancy som
little novelty in hair, if not too conspiC
uous, gives them piquancy and make
them attractive.
mo particular race or nationality, s
t far as l know, is more liable than an
other to have its women thus disfigureC
t though, in general way, the people c
: hot climates are most apt to show
4 strongly. 1t is most natural for brr
2 nettes to have hair on their lips, but the
r they are the easiest to get rid of it, as
l rule. Blondes are not so apt to be so Al
ticted, but when they are, their supel
f t1uOus hair is, strange to say, coarser an
: more stiff than that of the brunettes, an
: infinitely more difficult of eradication
4 When L commence the work of depilS
e ton on brunntte, her hair, where
t treat it, grows light and soft; while tina
of the blonde, on the other hand, become
E darker and more stubborn.
"Not in all cases is it possible to effeC
entire removal of the superfluous hair
, that is, permanent remoVal-for ther
are instances in which the tendency c
= nature toward masculinity, as evidence
by these external manifestations,
: stronger than any art that can be brough
2 to bear against it safely. ! know sue
. people when l see them, almost, thank
J to my long experience, and 1 tell then
! frankly that nothing that can do 70
them will afford them anything but ten
pOrary relief, Such case / hvae hat
recently. Indeed, here is letter fron
the young lady, dated less than weel
ago, as you see, in which she saws tn
doctors are taking very deep interest il
her case, which they pronounce tn
strangest on record. When she came t
fme she said she was nurse in a hosp
: tai, in female ward, and the patient
| used to take alarm at her, and imagin
: that she was young man, because he
l beard and mustache were so strong Sh
: shaved, and that made the trouble still
: worse. Not long afterward she inform
Z ed me that she had been forced to Civ
J up her place in the. hospital, because he
! voice was becoming SO deep and mascU
l line that, with the visible beard, patient
made sure she was young man in won
ems clothes. Then she went out on tn
2 street one day and the police arrests
her on suspicion that she was man Il
: disguise as woman. When her limo
: cence of that charge was demonstrated
{ superintendent WaIling gave her a ps
D per to protect her from the shame of sin
: liar arrests in the future. But she fel
so badly about it that she determined t
! adopt the habiliments of the sex whicl
! she most resembled. She gave up dress
q es and peticoats and took to wearin
coats and pantaloons. That is the wa
in which she dresses now DIR. w. wa
: made acquainted with her strange .cast
and took a deep interest in her, yer
: kindly exerting himself to procure he
Z employment as a private nurse, 70
I which she is admirably fitted
''Masculinity of brain, or muscle,
/ very apt to produce asuperfuous grewt
! of hair on the face, neck, arms and body
And that seems to be affected by chanl
; ed habits of life. A woman who ha
s never had any beard or moustache befor
! entering upon duties of an occupatio
I requiring masculine energy, strength (
: purpose, and application of effort, nee
: not be surprised if after that she become
hirsute. And the like change Ofte
comes to women by marriage.
In female lunatic asylums the D:
! tients are very prone to have boards
3 you see exactly opposite causes seem I
. produce like results The women VIII