Beauty Culture (Woodbury)/Chapter 17

The study of the care of the skin in health is of primary importance not only for its own sake, but because it gives information essential to the proper treatment of diseased conditions of the skin.

Washing the Face.—It seems almost foolish to have one's attention called to the washing of the face, and yet it is a fact that a vast majority of our people do it improperly. This fault is due to the habit of days of ages past and no correct or satisfactory reason can be given for the fact that the face is washed principally in the morning and very rarely at night before retiring.

Just the opposite method should be followed, as any one will see, who pauses a moment to reason upon it.

A light washing of the skin of the hands and face is usually sufficient to brighten it, to make it glow, not with the effect of the water alone but the rubbing and gentle pressing of the hands—the unconscious massage we all practise.

The correct method of cleansing the face is to cleanse it thoroughly at night. The reason is obvious. The person is exposed to the air all day more or less and whether at work in the factory or store or following outdoor ​duties, there remains the fact that much exposure results in the accumulation of dirt, dust of all kinds, germ life, and other impurities too numerous to count, upon the skin of the parts of the body exposed.

The skin of the face is particularly loaded with this filth on account of the many pores and the form of the contour.

If now the person is satisfied with simply rubbing off this dirt with a kerchief or as in most cases permits it to remain overnight—washing of the hands for the night meal being considered sufficient for decency's sake—then this person openly invites any of several of the skin diseases so often caused this way.

The Evening Cleansing. Instruct all your patrons to wash the face at night before retiring; and to do this thoroughly, not as a mere habit, but as a health-giving rule of absolute necessity. To fully carry out this, have the patron use a neutral clean soap such as white castile. This should be applied to the face with a fine camel's hair brush dipped into fairly hot water. A Turkish towel glove is best for coarse skins or when the patron is exposed to extreme dirt or smut as in factory life. Never allow the use of sponges. They are uncleanly and invite infection.

The face is thoroughly cleansed, every part being gone over with the brush, rubbing vigorously all the time. The soap is then rinsed off with clean tepid water, using two or three changes of water and the skin dried with a soft towel by tapping it dry in an upward direction always. Fanning, first very softly, then more briskly, is often found a pleasing and refreshing method of drying the skin. If a perfumed fan be used, take care that the scent be not strong, hut very delicate. Never rub the face in ​any and all directions. Such rough usage would only help to undo the massage results you have been trying to attain by gentle scientific means.

Of course, some patrons with exceedingly fine or delicate skins may use a suitable cream to cleanse the skin with instead of soap. There is no need for doing this if a pure or bland soap is used, but the cream may be used in the morning instead of the more thorough washing method of the night before.

The use of aromatic vinegars or toilet waters, particularly those containing irritants or alcohol, is to be avoided. These rob the skin of its fat and eventually leave it dry and hard and wrinkled.

Never in the process of washing the face irritate the skin; if the soap you use does so there is some impurity present and it should be changed at once.

The addition of a few drops of tincture of benzoin to the rinsing water gives it a slight aromatic odor and a tendency to contract the pores and to whiten the skin.

After drying the face, delicate cream is gently rubbed over the face with the tips of the fingers, rubbing upward. This should be left on overnight, using only sufficient to just cover the skin with a thin layer.

Preparations. The following recipes for skin creams, skin foods, and skin cleaners will be found harmless and effective:

A little pure rice or potato starch finely powdered may be dusted on over the cream. A first-rate simple powder is made as follows:

The oil of lavender or any other perfume is rubbed into the magnesia and then the other parts are added by constant stirring until the whole is evenly divided.

Face powders have been decried as harmful. They are harmful only when made of chemicals such as lead, ​arsenic, and bismuth or mercury. A powder made of proper ingredients acts as a protective to the skin, and its use will be later explained.

If an antiseptic powder is preferred, the following is excellent:

The Morning Cleansing. In the morning the face may be washed as in the evening, but less thoroughly. The use of a fine face cloth should take the place of the flesh brush, as it is not intended to widen the pore openings by mechanical means, but simply to cleanse them of fatty matter.

In place of the benzoin tincture used in the evening cleansing a tablespoonful or two of fresh almond meal added to the first rinsing water adds luxury to the process. The latter makes a creamy white mixture, very agreeable both in effect and odor.

The cream and powder follow next. While the powder is not essential at night, it is particularly indicated for a skin about to be exposed to harsh winds or the hot sun.

One precaution is to have the face thoroughly dry before using the cream and powder, otherwise an unevenness of the application appears while the danger of chafing is thereby invited.

Some persons have a very loose skin, not merely on the neck where looseness of skin is common, but on the cheeks and occasionally on the forehead. In such cases hold the skin gently with one hand to prevent its rolling about, while you massage with the other. After a few ​operations much of the looseness or flabbiness as a rule will disappear, unless the patron is of advanced age or of persistently irregular habits.

Again, you may meet with some skins of unusually delicate texture. In such cases advise the use of a gelatinous soap. The same applies to skins irritated by exposure or by the wrong manipulations of incompetent masseuses.

The operator should take particular pains to keep her hands in exquisite condition, soft, smooth, dry.

General Advice to Operator. Health, positive health, magnetic health, the kind that you feel so strongly in yourself you are tempted to fancy you could communicate it or radiate it to others, is an asset every operator should aim to possess, not only for its own valuable sake, but for its moral effect on your patrons. If they see you glowing with health and feel the vibrations of it under your fingers at once firm and supple, they are sure to have more confidence both in your skill as an operator and in any advice you may give them in a general way regarding the care of their own health.

But never thrust advice on a patron; if you must offer it, do so at first by way of roundabout suggestions, unless it is asked or unless you have been so long on familiar terms that your advice will not seem a piece of presumption or forwardness.

Also remember that some of the faults you are asked to correct have been brought about by direct carelessness or habit of the patron. Induce her to study facial repose; to stop wrinkling her face as much as possible in laughing; not to frown; to use her mouth normally, etc. Of course this must be insisted upon very diplomatically, as most women will tell you such a thing is impossible, and ​that they come to you for relief and beauty. But how can you build out the hollows of checks if the back teeth of both jaws have been removed and the space has not been filled by artificial ones? How can a frown be corrected if the patron has a faulty eyesight that causes her to screw up the features to frowns and squinting lines and crow's feet? Much can be done to correct these faults and earlier results be attained if the operator will firmly and honestly insist upon the patron doing for herself at least in part.

The health of the patron, her diet and mode of living must be noted, and she should be advised to see a physician to put her health into such state as to give her every advantage to secure early and pleasing results.