The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-02
LESSON 1.
The. Care of the Skin.

The most attractive feature in fem
mine beauty lies in the texture and
color of the skin, and beautiful COM
piexion will redeem almost any other
fault In the face. The infants unde-
Veloped features have no beauty-time
and character have not yet stamped
expression on the face, but the soft
tints of the skin are exquisite. In the
young girl the strongest appeal lies
In the delicacy of her coloring and
mature woman without clear, un-
Wrlnkled skin Is sadly handicapped
Every woman desires a nice COM
plexion beyond anything else. and ev-
cry woman should possess it. 1 do not
believe in the necessity for yellow
discolorations, premature wrinkles
roughness and eruptions. Nine tenths
of these come from improper treatment
or lack of care. the rest from i'll health,
discomfort and worry; they can all be
avoided and in large measure over
come
Cnre of the Child.
Few women take proper care of the
skin, and this abuse dates from child
hood. Recently I paid a visit to what
seemed an ideally appointed nursery.
The mother, college trained woman,
married to man Of wealth. was able
to give her three little girls every ad-
vantage that science and means could
afford They were under the charge
of a trained purse. who seemed to take
perfect care Of them In every respect,
save that she did not know how to
wash their faces.
How longed to interfere when
saw her scrub each face vigorously
with a square of rough toweling, rub
bins their faces downward and drying
them in the same manner, without
thoroughly. rinsing away the soap she
had too lavishly used. What was
wrong? Why, to my mind, everything
was wrong-the cloth, the soap, the
manner in which they were used, and
the lack of proper rinsing.
Keep the Face Clenn-
This Is my rule for washing the face
of young child. During infancy moth.
ing rougher than absorbent cotton
thickens, square of soft linen is bet
ter, as 1t offers more resistance. The
cloth should be absolutely clean, that
after each using. Babies need no soap
on the face; when the children get to
the grtmy age soap may occasionally be
necessary, but it should not be applied
directly to the face or to the wash
CLOTH Instead, make a strong lather
of soap, dilute 1t until 1t is lukewarm.
and wash the face. gently. but thor
Follow this with thorough rinsing,
first with lukewarm and then with
cold water, until there Is no trace of
soap on the skin. Then wipe the face
with a series of gentle pats, never rub
bing the skin downward, but always
upward and across. In fact, never rub
the skin at alb simply pat 1t dry.
y,
fectly clean, every particle of soap
removed, the douch of cold water has
hardened 1t against contact with the
air, and 1t has not been stretched or
made coarse by hard treatment
Delicacy of the Human Skin.
There is no su Distance known so deli
cate as the human skin; 1t Is elastic to
great degree. capable of absorbing by
means of the exterior surface and the
capillaries that nourish 1t; it is keenly
sensitive to heat or cold, and 1t should,
| in short have the greatest possible
care But. on the contrary 1t is gem
orally very roughly treated. A woman
will spend hours washing and drying a
delicat piece of embroidery or lace.
or, fearing to trust her own skill, she
Will send 1t to professional cleaner,
but she will give half a minute to
washing her child's face. using strong
soap and a rough cloth as aids, and
a few years later. wonder why the
child has not good complexion,
Effect of Soap on the Skin.
am not a great believer in soap, but
1t is difficult to induce busy mothers to
entirely discard it. Be sure to get an
absolutely pure soap-it need not be
the most expensive on the market
and then bear in mind that even in
pure soap there is some free alkali
present. That is why l lay emphasis
on the necessity of thoroughly rinsing
the face after soap has been used.
(Lesson I to be continued)