Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-26
THE HANDS IN WINTER.
How Chapping and Redness Of the
Skin May Be Avoided.

From the New York Sun.
One OF the minor ills to which human
flesh is heir when winters chilling blasts
search out and discover weak spots Is
roughness of the skin, particularly of the
hands.
The chief of this common. but
annoying accompaniment of cold weather
is that the skin, losing its elasticity because
of lack of natural secretion at time
that atmospheric conditions do not induce
perspiration, becomes unduly dry and con-
tracted and SO is liable to cracI-. 1t is
tender skin that will do this because
tender skins are thin and delicate and cam
not stand what rougher ones will.
Another cause is carelessness in drying
the skin after washing it, particularly II
II Is washed Immediately before going out
into the open air or directly after coming
In.
Very many persons in cold weather dare
not wash their hands either before going
out or Immediately after coming III, for II
they do, even though the water they use
be warm their skin will burn so as to be
painful, and it will look red besides.
They may avoid such an annoyance IL
they will rub on the hands little cold
cream or camphor ice, allow it to remain on
a moment or SO and then remove it with a
soft, old handkerchief, either of six or
cambria.
hands. arms and neck is fine oatmeal. Put
1t into flannel bag, boil II, and then place
1t in the water intended for additions; or
it may be kept dry N jar Oh ;ie toilet
table and some rubbed on the hands when
ever they are washed. Honey rubbed into
the skin while still wet, drying it in as the
skin is dried, is also a preventive Of chap
ping.
If hands were dried more carefully there
would be less roughness of the skin. A
, good plan is TO dry the hands well, after
using the towel, with old. soft s TX
handkerchief which will absorb any moist
ure left.
Glycerine is an old friend, but as alone it
is irritating to most skins II should be d.
luted with rose water or pure water; one
part of glycerine to three parts of rose
water. If about one dram of acetlc acid IS
used to one ounce of glycerine it helps to
remove any stains from the hands.
If a woman is wise she will take the pre-
caution to wear gloves when busting a
room or doing any kind of work that VIII
| soil her hands.
Not every woman can have a perfect
hand, but every woman can have a beauti-
| fully kept hand The perfect hand accord
| ing to FirenZuola, an Italian author Of the
| sixteenth century. who wrote Dialogue
| on the Beauty of Women" has fingers long,
! slender, taperng somewhat toward the tip.
| The nails should be transparent. like pale
rubies among pink roses and leaves of the
pomegranate flower; not long, not round
nor altogether square, but of a fair shape
and with very little boss, uncovered,
clean and well kept, so that at the base
the little white crescent is visible.
Above, beyond the flesh of the finger,
an edge should be seen wide small
knife is thick, without the smallest sus-
picion of black at the tip. And the whole
hand must be of tender. firm surface, as
though it were of fine silk or of the softest
cotton.
Tapering fingers are Indispensable to the
perfect hand Beauty often takes great
pains to acquire this shape. Nine. Pat
terson Bonaparte's hands and arms were
celebrated for their beauty-a beauty pre-
served even to extreme old age
In order to keep their shape and color
she wore long gloves continuously day and
night, and at night she also wore ten little
| thimble- shaped caps Of silver, which kept
her fingers finely tapering.
Queen Victoria was also noted for the
beauty Of her hand and arm. Age in no.
wise affected the beautiful curve Of wrist,
which was not the least attractive feature
of her remarka BILE hand and arm.
And cid writer, talking about Mary Stu
art tells how beautiful and white were her
hands, and adds that when she was in trou-
BILE they looked very pathetic and helpless
against her black gown.