Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-12
FACTS ABOUT WRINKLES
THEY ARE THE TELLTALES OF
LIES ENCOUNTERS.
How They May BE Removed and What
One Should Do to Guard
Against Them.
From Harper's Bazaar.

Wrinkles are the handwriting OF time on
the human countenance. How much they
give expression and character. as well as
individuality, to 1t Is shown when the pho
tographer retouches the negative of a pic
ture and wipes them out Of existence. The
resemblance to the individual Is about the
same as the dried specimen of flower in
the botanist's herbarium Is to the one which
grows bright and vigorous. full Of life. in
the meadow or the forest. Wrinkles are
telltales Of life's encounters. They accu-
mulate in grief and in sorrow; they in
crease and grow ugly when the will loses
its grip on the thoughts and the nerves run
riot Each can ascertain the cause of the
wrinkles. and interpret the emotions which
have made lines and cross-lines upon his
or her own face, by assuming the muscu-
lar contractions that have produced them.
The principal wrinkles that mark the face
are those that appear on the forehead,
stretching across from one temple to an
other, from two to five parallel lines, or
from one to three upright ones. These lines
are reprehensible and unnecessary, the re-
suit of a pernicious habit of over-use Of
nerve force. an exaggeration of energy in
thought and speech. and accompanied by
self-consciousneSs They are usually formed
early in life, and parents should by per-
sistence prevent a child from acquiring the
habit. The lines of latitude are less noble
than those of longitude.
are those about the eyes. Those that are
at the angles. the GROW s-feet." are pleas
ant lines, and come from wrinkling the
skin in smiling or in laughter. In the
olden time the teachers of department and
good looks warned their pupils against
wrinkling the face In the display of hilari-
Gus emotions, because of these effects. The
long lines and the wrinkling of the delicate
tissues under the eyes are greater tellta1es
than any other OF exhaustion of vital forces
and the ravages of time But hardest of
all to deal with are the wrinkles about the
mouth.
Few are conscious of the part played in
the battle of life by the muscles of the
mouth. They. and not those about the
eyes, are called into action by every pass
ing thought and emotion Of being. If
thoughts are pleasant they relax; if mourn
full. there is a downward droop: If ener-
getic. they harden; if determined. they
compress the lips; If angry. they contract
still more; II humorous, they relax and the
mouth widens-the greater the merriment,
the wider the mouth-and the cheeks par
ticipate in the pleasurable emotions. and
| the parentheses. the two long semi-circular
wrinkles inclosing the lips, appear and
deepen with age.
The skin. responding to the muscular ac-
ton underneath, becomes creased and
TO the display Of muscular activity. The
wrinkles which more surely than any 9TH
ers tell Of the action of time are those
which run from the ears around the base
They are not expressive of emotion; they
are made by the bending of the head upon
the neck. The wrinkles Of the cheeks are
not numerous. and they require strong
agencies, such as sickness, grief and age,
to bring them out. Some of these wrinkles
are made by taking bad positions during
sleep, crushing the cheek upon the pillow
The soft, yielding flesh Is pushed upward,
making deep creases under the eyes at
the corners and on the temples.
To remove wrinkles. therefore, one must
XII ow their mechanism and their philosophy
In the first place, guard against a 1abby
and relaxed skin. This can be done by
dashing upon the face either very hot
water or very cold, or alternating them
and while doing this rubbing the skin with
the balls of the fingers Alcohol or cologne
toughens the skin and keeps it smooth. 1t
can be used with water equal parts 1t is
seldom that the skin of the face Is too dry
Tor the oily glands are especially active;
but in case 1t is, use instead of alcohol a
cold cream or an unguent made Of equal
parts of white vaseline, almond oil and
| lanoin, to which may be added few drops
Of violet extract. Steaming the face, mas
saying 1T and the use Of electricity are all
good to remove wrinkles. The end aimed
at by the employment of all these means is
to give elasticity and frmness to the skin,
which enables 1t to resist the action Of the
underlying muscles. If deep wrinkles have
come. such as the horizontal wrinkles of the
forehead, they can be removed by mechani-
cal means. After painting them with an
astrfngent. such as tannate Of glycerine.
put them on stretch by means of plaster
which will also be q means Of reminding
one not to wrinkle the forehead. Some per-
sens have a facial skin which reminds one
of russell apple which has been kept a
long time. These fine universal wrinkles
are generally the result of a querulous and
dissatisfied disposition. After all. the best
cosmetic and the most efficient preventive Of
these craven lines. Of time is a buoyant and
happy disposition, determination to mako
the best Of life.