The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-04-26
THE THING FOR WOMEN.
Cold Water is a Perfect Cosmetic When
Properly Used.

Properly Used.
| 1t requires considerable courage to
Jake cold morning bath in winter,
put there can be no doubt that it is
highly beneficial. The best authorities
upon the treatment of the skin and
muscles tell us that there is NOTHING
better than clear cold water for giving
hrmness to flabby tissues: and sinple
trial is enough to convince anyone of
the positive virtues that dwell in this
simple invigorant. Wash the face with
warm water and it will feel soft and
relaxed. as if every muscle hung loose
from its support; then quickly battle it
with cold water, and it will at once re-
gain its firmness and solidity.
The woman who habitually uses
warm or hot water upon her face will
bitterly regret it when she awakens to
the fact that the tissues have been SO
greatly weakened that nothing will re-
store their vigor and smooth the wrin-
kles.
If properly taken, cold bath is not
as startling as one would expect. Few
women can endure cold plunge. and
most advocates of this morning tonic
never immense the body unless they
are very strong or very fleshy.
10 take cold bath, first Law upon
the floor an old rug or strip of car
pet that will not be injured by wet
ting, and fill the bowl with cold water
Battle the hands, arms and face, douse
the shoulders and chest, and then in
troduce the feet one after the other,
and douse to the knees Each part
should be dried thoroughly as soon as
bathed, and then rubbed vigorously
until the skin is warm and glowing.
The entire operation will not require
more than eight minutes. The
woman who bathes in this way is
sure to have good appetite for her
breakfast and to feel at peace with all
the world. Cold water properly used
is perfect cosmetic for the plain wom-
an, for it will brighten and clear her
complexion; it is also an elixir for the
woman who is prematurely old, a
tranquilizer for her who is nervous or
irritable, and a fine tonic for the busy
woman whose strength is not quite
equal to the many demands upon it.
Bathing of every description has al
ways been a prominent factor in the
toilet processes of famous beauties.
Some misguided souls argue that the
face should never be washed with soap,
but surely a surface that is so con-
stantly exposed should be given as
thorough cleansing as any other part.
A good soap will not injure the most
sensitive skin, and if it is used twice
week night, being applied by means
of flannel wash-cloth, the face can be
kept perfectly clean. The proper time
to cleanse the body is at night; and
two or three warm baths a week, taken
just before retiring, together with the
cold bath every morning, will contri-
butte greatly to the average woman's
health.
A hot sea-bath at night is luxurious,
and it is now possible TO purchase a
prepared sea salt that will render an
ordinary bath very good imitation of
sea water. Rock or dairy salt can not
be successfully used in this way, as it
does not dissolve readily and does not
form the right sort of brine. Society
women loudly eXtol the virtues of Turk
ish and Roman baths as beautifiers
These baths open the pores and thor
oughly cleanse the skin, the steaming
being particularly beneficial. 1t is said
that the frequent fogs of Great Britain
are the cause of the charming COM
pleXions which are a national charac-
teristic Of the English race; and steam
or vapor baths benefit in the same
way. 1t is very unwise to battle too
long or too vigorously, as the fatigue
that is sure to follow will counterfeit
whatever good may accrue from the
nth. The Delineator