Evening star., 1924-12-07
REGULATING BEAUTY DOCTORS
BY FREDERIC J. H4SKIN.

How much about beauty culture
should a beauty parlor operator be
expected to know? And should a
salesgirl at the cosmetics counter be
required to know as much about drug
preparations as a drug clerk knows
about drugs? These questions are en-
crossing the beauty trade, and laws
and regulations to settle them are
being eagerly discussed
Agitation on this subject was
really started when the BARRIERS
began to insist that hairdressers
should get BARRIERS licenses in order
TO trim women's hair. number OF
courts rejected the BARRIERS argu-
ments.
Nevertheless, great publicity was
given to the fact that BARRIERS are
licensed and arc expected to. have
some knowledge of hygiene and
physiology on which barber-sh
practices are based; whereas beauty
parlor operators are not held UP to
set standards in most places. 1t was
pointed out that cases of BARRIERS
Itch have greatly diminished since
BARRIERS were made to conform tc
definite sanitary regulations, and that
beauty parlor lawsuits would be less
frequent If beauty experts who treat
the skin and hair were required to
know something about such matters
as sanitation, first aid, the structure
OF the skin and even chemistry and
fundamental principles of bacteri-
ology.
Beauty culturists, after thinking
over all of this, decided to welcome
regulation of their work They saw
an opportunity to raise their occu
patton from the level of a. simple
| trade to more impressive rating
somewhere near that of a profession
Workers In almost every occupation
in this country seem anxious to raise
the prestige of their calling The
real estate dealer wants to be called
a realtor and to rank his work with
the professions. The electrical ex-
pert wants to be known as an cleo
tragist and to limit the term to per-
sons who have certain training and
ability. The beauty culturists are
no exception, and apparently the time
| is just about ripe for them to make
beauty therapy imply a certain def
| mite degree of skill.
In the times when painting the
lily has been a secret rite, it has
always been surrounded by much
hocus- pocus and consequently by
many hazards. Each beauty tried tc
keep for herself alone any marvel
| Gus youth preserver. Harmful ant
ridiculous preparations as well al
sane ones were concocted by attend
ants anxious to gain favor. There
was no way to regulate this sort
of business.
In other times artificial beauty
aids have been used almost exclu.
sively by women who were willing
| to be considered daring. Women re.
| garded a shiny nose as badge o1
respectability. With the public hold.
| ing up it's hands in horror at arti-
| fetal good looks, there was, of course
| no demand for safety in cosmetics
That any one who wore rouge ant
| powder deserved to get a skin disease
or lead poisoning would have beer
! the verdict of the multitude.
Pursue beauty Openly.
But now respectable American
women and girls pursue beauty
| openly and as a matter of course
| They do not try to pretend that q
marcel wave which came from the
hairdresser's shop IS a natural asset
Orange or. pink cheeks out of a boz
are apparently as satisfactory to the
| owners as home e-grown color. Some
| s76,O00,0 900 worth of cosmetics an6
perfumes were manufactured las
| year in the United States alone, Il
say nothing of the large amount o1
| imported cosmetics sold here an6
the huge sums spent for messages
permanent waves, and other beauty
| treatments.
The condition that is indicated b3