Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-12-01
BEAUTIFUL HANDS.

A pair of well-kept and well.cared-for
hands, white and shspely, is decided mark
of beauty and very desirable possession.
ANY mother may give her child tspering
fingers if she choose to take the trouble,
and those who have suffered from want of
a like care, if none others, will gladly take
the trouble. A daily pinching, slight Of
course, while the flesh is soft and yielding,
will in time give them the desired shape.
A child may be taught to do it herself.
Some mothers 20 30 far in their desire to
give their daughters beautiful hands as to
compel the little ones to wear steel thin
bles during their sleep. This is rather he
role treatment, against which the child nat
uraIly rebels, but the wise mother pays no
heed TO the little ebullitions of temper,
well knowing that in after days her daugh-
ter will rise up and thank her. Nine. Pat
terson- Bonaparte was the happy possessor
of a pair of most beautiful hands, and II Is
said that the exquisite taper Of her fingers
was acquired by this same disagreeable
practice of wearing thimbles. The first
great requisite toward beauty is absolute
cleanliness. This can never be attained
without the plentiful use of pure, soft wa
ter and good soap. Nothing keeps the
hands in SO good condition as rain water or
distilled water but as these are often un-
attainable, the next best must be made use
of. A bottle of ammonia and a box Of
powdered borax are indispensable toilet ar
ticles. a few drops of one or tiny bit of
the other in the hardest water will make 1t
soft and pleasant to the touch. Neither
very hot nor very cold water should be
used tepid water softens and clesnses
better than either. Extremes and sudden
changes in temperature should be avoided
also. Fine white Sandwich may be
dried and used again and again-poured
into the basin and used with the water,
will be found very efficacious in smoothing
rough places and in removing certain stains
which have not become too deeply settled
into the pores.
For whitening the bands there are vsri-
GUS preparations which may be used with
out harm. Glycerine, vaseline, cold cream
or mutton tallow, well rubbed in, with a
pair OF old gloves worn over night, will do
much to soften and whiten. The white Of
sn egg, with grain of alum dissolved in
it, spread on the hands and wrapped in old
linen over night, WILL so the chroniclers OF
Queen Anne's time say, make even soft and
fabby flesh firm and clear looking. Dat
meal and corn meal, both dry and moist,
may be used with good effect. The rough
est and ugliest pair of hands may be made
smooth and soft, if not white, in one
month, if the owner will but see to it tina;
they are well washed in warm water every
night, and rubbed with whichever Of the
simple preparations mentioned best agrees
with the skin-one or two applications will
discover that-and then incase them in q
pair of loose gloves, from which the ends Of
the finger have been cut.
Now that we have the hands shapely,
soft and white, let US turn our attention &c
the nails. The modus operandi of the pro-
fessional manicure is as follows: The finger
tips are put to soak in delicateiy colored
finger bowls half full of tepid water
slightly scented with perfume. After
twenty minutes OF patient waiting the op
orator takes one hand, and, with an ivory
blade, or dull pointed steel one, loosen'
and pushes back the cuticle from the hal
moon, which in most cases is nearly Oh
quite covered. This is often attended with
considerable pain, or at least discomfort
in stubborn cases some manicures use acid
but this ia not desirable, as it makes the
fingers very sensitive for days. When thu
flesh is well loosened all the superhuoul
part is cut away with a tiny pair of curvet
scissors made expressly for the purpose
The nails are then trimmed to the proper
shape Pointed French ones are considered
the latest, but people of the best taste fine
that an oval-shaped nail, little longer anC
about the shape of the finger, gives bet
ter taper to the fingers than the pointed
ones. However, that is matter OF indi
vidual taste; but no matter what tht
shape, they must be left to grow quite long
After filing, chamois polisher and pow
der are used until they shine beautifully
then comes a thorough washing and brush
ing in tepid water, and again are they pol
ished with the attendants bare hand, the OF
from the humah hand giving higher de
gree of polish on finger. nails as well as OF
wood. This process consumes about al
hour, and is rather enjoyable. Many peo
pie pay a stated sum quarterly and go t.
the manicure twice week, but this is no
at all necessary after they are once vel
attended to few minutes care and atten
ton daily will keep the nails in good order
Every time the hands are washed the fesl
should be carefully pushed back with tn
towel this will keep it loose and in GOO
shape, and two minutes rubbing will Civ
them good polish.-[ Dio Lewis Monthly