Evening star., 1924-12-07

the money spent on beauty seems =
uahserous national tendency to some
peopIe- Ihey point out that decadent
nations always spend money extrava-
Sdht4g on luxurfes of this particular
sort. Others, however, saw that
Americas trade in beauty is not A
sign of looser morals, as II became
in Rome and Babylon.
a point made by Max Beerbohm
Is that in the old and decadent civil
lzation makeup was frankly arti
nclal. The Egyptians, for instance,
who were experts in an exotic art
| of facial decorations, thought that
vivid green line around the ewes
was beautiful. They also admired
green shadows beneath the eyes. This
sort or makeup may have been beau
ttful, as conventional design is
beautiful, but 1t would give the face
| an unhealthy appearance which
Americans today would not admire at
all
The underlying principle of Amer
lean beauty cults today is healthful-
ness, and the highest art in facial
makeup is the achievement of a
semblance of youth and glowing
vigor. Occasionally cosmetic prep
aration becomes a fad and is used
indiscriminately by persons on whom
1T does not look natural, as in the
case of the popular orange rouge Yet
the basic fact remains that as peo-
pie we admire and seek health and
the appearance of health and since
the beauty business allied itself with
this health idea 1T is on firmer ground
than it has ever been in its history.
The difficulty is that when a beauty
operator tries to raise health stand
aY.dC hry p-xt IN, t,-nn nfy,aa 1.
seeing that preparations are benefi-
cial and not harmful, he, or she, is
| getting into a business where expert
knowledge is required. The beauty
! parlors go farther with treatments
than the barber shops do, and the
| question frequently is raised as to
where the beauty shops province
| legitimately ends and that of the
medical specialist begans. This ques-
| tion is likely to go unanswered for
some time, but it is certain that the
| beauty trade is not going to be salts
| fed to sell offhand whatever a GUS
toner may casually ask for. 1t wants
| to prescribe to meet the needs of the
| individual.
The Louisiana Law.
Louisiana has taken the first big
step toward limiting beauty culture
| to persons who have proved their fit
ness to perform the usual work of a
hairdressing and beauty parlor. The
| Louisiana law requires beauty par
| lor operators to pass State examina-
| tion and to obtain a certificate. APP
prentices must have certain educa-
| tional qualifications and take a thor
| ough counse in the work they expect
| to do. A State certificate can be re-
/ fused or suspended if the operator is
| found guilty of inefficiency, or if he
| or she makes false statements in ad-
vertising. There are a number of
other provisions which set a stand
| ard for sanitation and efficiency in
the beauty parlors of the State.
! At it's recent convention, the Amer
lean Cosmeticians' Society adopted a
model bill, similar to the Louisiana
| law, providing for the licensing of
| practitioners of cosmetic therapy,"
| in the same manner that pharmacists
and physicians are licensed to prac-
tice their professions. They believe
| that some other States will enact
such laws when the Legislatures next
convene.
The suggestion of licensing cos
metic clerks Is still in the conversa-
tional stage. B. NJ. Douglas, member
of a cvosmetic manufacturing firm
says that clerks who sell beauty
preparations should be compelled to
| take thorough course of instruction
| in the manufacture, handling and use
of such preparations, and should be
: required TO pass an examination be-