The Washington herald., 1915-02-21
Work and Play in the Household F,a 1%s' Marshall
Preventing and Heal
ing Chapped Hands

Chapped hands are almost always
caused by insufficient drying after
washing, or perhaps the water was
icy cold and very hard or used 10,
hot. Both extremes are bad for the
skin.
To preserve the hands in good con-
dition in winter they Should, when
ever possible. be washed in tepid WA
ter and if this is softened by a SPOON
full of borax so much the better.
Be sure TO use n soap of good quail
ity and when drying the hands take
the precaution of rubbing each finger
separately.
If the hands are rubbed over once
a day with slice of lemon and a lit
tie cold cream, or if mutton talIow is
rubbed into them thoroughly before
going to bed at night there will he
little danger of the skin becoming
chapped or rough.
An Excellent Cold Cream.
An excellent and delightfully."- fraG-
rant cold cream for the hands, or the
race either. can be made as follows:
Take eight ounces almond oil: one
ana one-quarter ounces spermacetr;
one and one-quarter ounces white
wax. Sired the wax and the sperma-
ceti finely and put in Il china MARINA
lade jar.
\ small enamel ware saucepan will
do Stand it in another saucepan
about Il third full of boiling water
Keep this simmeriug until the in
gradients are entirely melted and then
add few drops of lavender oil ana
pour into small china pots
The little pots in which cheeke often
comes are excellent Tor the purpose
The preparation can he used as
soon as it is cool and will keep for a
long time.
An In, aIuabIe Lotion.
Another invaluable lotion for hands
that are inclined to be red in winter,
even though they do not chap badly.
Is made OF lemon juice, eau de cologne
and glycerine. equal parts of each
This can also be used for chapped
hands.
Keep Your Hands White.
To keep the hands white have lar
of oatmeal on the washstand and dust
little OF them after they are wash
ed and dried and then rub it off with
the towel.
Removing Fruit stains
Apple. potato and most other stains
can be removed from the fingers by
rubbing them with oaJmear wet with
lemon juice or vinegar
\ nail brush should be used for the
finger nails.
When the stain is quite gone wash
the hands with soap and warm wa
ter.
But do not an any account use soap
before removing the stain. as it will
then be very difficult to get ii OFF.
Houseworked Hands.
If you have a great deal of house
work to do and the hands get very
grimy. don't. if they are Inclined TO
CHAP and become red. scrub them hard
with a nail brush.
Rub them all over with little lard
Wipe this off with soft IsS and
most of the dirt will come off with
the lard.
Then wash the hands in soap and
lemon and they will be as fair and
white as if you never handled a
broom or washed pots and kettles in
your life
To Remove Ink stains Under the
Nails.
Always use an orange wood stick
for cleaning the nails. If the flesh
under the nail has become stained
with ink, fruit or anything else do
not try to scrape this out
Wind a little bit of absorbent cot
lOIl dIOuHu NIt VI the OEdHSS
wood stick. wet it in peroxide OF
hydrogen and thoroughly moisten the
flesh under the nail and the stain will
soon disappear.
Little known Remedy.
If the cuticle around the nail grows
over it in an unsigntly manner and
is ragged looking it can be greatly
improved with olive oil.
After washing the hands at night
with warm water and a good soap,
loosen the cuticle with the orange
wood stick as well as you can.
Then heat a tablespoonful of olive
oil, twist a piece of absorbent cotton
around your ever useful stick. satu-
rate this with the oil and swab the
cuticle thoroughly with II. The oil
will shrink the cuticle and keep it
smooth.
BY persevering in this treatment for
a week or two the most unsightly
nails can soon be brought into good
condition.