Beauty Culture (Woodbury)/Chapter 26

The human body is constantly undergoing changes, the processes of waste and repair being in continuous operation. We are not the same to-day that we were yesterday, and to-morrow will find us different from to-day. The tissues that supply power for the use of our muscles and brains to-day will to-morrow be useless, worn-out material. Every thought, action, feeling, or emotion consumes the vital force of certain particles of body and brain. When the life and vitality have been used out of the tissues they become useless and as dead matter are taken into the circulation and expelled from the body through the skin, the bowels, the kidneys, and the lungs.

Growth is an accumulation of the repairing material. New tissues are constantly being formed to take the ​place of the used-up or worn-out matter. The materials for these new tissues are obtained from the blood and have been produced by the digestion of fresh supplies of food.

When any limb or part or the whole body is put in motion an increase in waste in its substance immediately takes place, followed, however, by a powerful reaction.

The blood is repeatedly purified during exercise by the exhalation of its noxious compounds in perspiration, and by being exposed at each inspiration to the action of pure, fresh air, which builds up the lost substances and adds good sound material for future use and exertion.

The states of reaction which arise with renovating power after exertion must follow each other in close and regular succession to produce any marked effect upon the development—in other words, the exertion must stop short of fatigue if development is the object, while for the reduction of adipose tissue, exercise beyond the point of fatigue will over-balance the ability of the blood to restore the loss, and there will be a breaking down or waste of flesh in proportion to the strain put upon the processes of repair.

Water is the agent by means of which our food is digested and the nutrient portions carried to the various parts of the body for the formation of new tissues. It is the expansion of water when vaporized by the heat of the body that affords the motive power to circulate the blood.

It is this constant waste and repair that is taken advantage of to increase or diminish the quantity of flesh or muscle in any desired part of the body.

General Development. If the face is thin, the cheeks hollow, the skin pale and dry, the causes are usu​ally (1) mental anxiety, the result of a high-strung, nervous temperament, (2) mal-assimilation of the food eaten, (3) lack of proper mental recreation, resulting from following one pursuit too continuously or eagerly, or (4) too much activity for the amount of relaxation or rest allowed.

The first thing to do is to give less thought to what you eat or its amount, eating what tastes best in reasonable quantity, chewing it well, drinking two to four extra glasses of clear, cool water per day. Take daily a quick cold sponge bath instead of a hot bath; breathe deeply at frequent intervals when out of doors; stir up the liver by exercising the back, loins, and hips; manipulate the face thoroughly, but lightly, with the finger tips daily, using as much olive oil or cocoa-butter every other day as the skin will absorb. Also take daily olive oil, either by itself or with a salad.

Be sure enough cool water is taken daily, especially before retiring at night, and on getting up in the morning. Stop worrying. Allow plenty of sleep. As a rule thin persons should go to bed and rise early. A cold quick sponge bath every morning followed by a few minutes of brisk friction or rubbing the entire body, and especially the feet, either with a moderately coarse towel, or the palms of the bare hands, is better than getting into a tub or under a shower.

Rinse the mouth and clean the teeth before going to bed, as well as when arising in the morning, and wash the hands and face before retiring, for this has a calming and soothing effect.

Diet. Many thin persons have good appetites and cat large quantities of food—in fact, eat more than their digestive apparatus can care for easily and dispose of ​properly. It would be folly to advise these people to add to the amount of food consumed. Here, then, is indicated two things necessary if such a person is to add flesh: First, fat-forming foods should be substituted for those that simply satisfy an empty stomach; and, second, exercises and stimulation must be given the processes of secretion of the digestive ferments.

Butler, olive oil, cream, rich cheese, puddings, candies, ice cream, fat meats, such as beef and mutton rather than poultry; mackerel and fat fish, thick pea, bean, or barley soups, nuts and raisins and the like, are to be eaten in as liberal quantities as the appetite will allow. Take care not to overload the stomach, however. Eat often rather than much at a time. Deep breathing, well ventilated sleeping apartments, moderate exercise, and, if then necessary, prescriptions like the following, will help add power to the digestive machinery:

Take a teaspoonful three times a day in a half glass of water.

The following is a celebrated formula for aiding flesh development. It is to be taken internally three times a day before meals. The dose is two tablespoonfuls in a quarter tumbler of water,

If the food is thoroughly masticated and the patient does not take on flesh, a physician's advice should be ​sought to locate some personal physiological idiosyncrasy.

To Increase the Bust. Strange though it may seem, it has been found that the bust yields to treatment and will show marked development much more readily than the face.

In developing the bust the muscles must be strengthened and stimulated to increase the deposition of adipose tissue.

This is accomplished by very gentle rubbing in either a straight or a circular manner. Begin with the under half of the bust, and work toward the nipple. The use of the vacuum massage cup as described on page 270 is often better and more gently effective than manual treatment of this very delicate area.

The treatment should be given daily and plenty of cocoa-butter, olive oil, or lanolin should be used.

Care must be exercised not to touch or press hard upon or in any way compress the skin or flesh, as the glands are very delicate and easily injured. The object is to stimulate in a gentle manner the circulation of the blood, causing it to deposit new tissue in the part of the body manipulated, and developing it to almost any desired size.

In addition to the massage manipulation, the following directions should be followed:

Before the massage, warm water should be applied to soften the skin and open the pores; after the massage a cold spray should play for a moment or two on the part, or, if this is not convenient, cold water should be dashed on it.

Spend five minutes every morning and evening at the open window inhaling the fresh air with the mouth shut, ​and the hands holding the window sash on a level with the shoulders. Take a deep breath, lifting the shoulders, as it were; hold the breath several moments, and let it go slowly. Repeat this for five minutes. This breathing can also he practised during the day while walking whenever you think of it.

Then in walking try to forget the feet as much as possible. Keep an "up" feeling, the head up and back, the chest up and forward. This will attract the vitality to the head and chest, and the habit established will not only help to develop the chest, neck, and shoulders, but will give lightness of foot and easy grace in walking.

To Make a Flabby Bust Firm. For a flabby condition of the bust the massage is done somewhat differently, and not so much cocoa-butter or oil of any kind is used. The strengthening of the muscles and the hardening of the flesh is now the object, rather than the increase of the amount of adipose tissue.

The manipulation should cover the whole of the bust. The strokes should be longer, and include several inches of the surrounding area. The pressure can be somewhat harder or firmer, and a greater amount of cold water dashed on the parts after each treatment, which should be given daily. A reclining position gives better opportunity for treatment, and for the deep-breathing exercises practised.

The following is an excellent preparation to be used during the massage:

A lotion of more ingredients is highly regarded by ​French women who pride themselves on their ability to keep a lasting firmness to their rather large busts:

A simpler remedy is the following cream:

Portuguese women are said to get satisfactory results from the following simple treatment:

Roil two whole small oranges in a pint of olive oil for three to four hours—the boiling to be done in a water jacket, that is, the oil and oranges are put in a pan set inside of another pan that contains the water. At night a piece of the boiled orange is gently rubbed over the bust. A few weeks' treatment, it is said, makes the bust much firmer and harder.

To Develop Thin Arms. Light calisthenic exercises taken daily and regularly, and a vigorous rubbing every other day with olive oil or cocoa-butter are usually all that is necessary to put the desired flesh on the arms. Since there is nothing to be injured by rough treatment, the work can be done with much less formality or care than in increasing the bust.

One who does housework should take a tight grip on the broom, clench the fists frequently, and make tense the muscles in both the forearm and the upper arm.

Because thin or scrawny arms are often plentifully ​supplied with coarse, dark hair, the fear of exposing this, if the arms become plump enough for sleeveless gowns, often discourages women from making an effort to improve them. This need not be, for the hairs can readily be removed wherever they appear by the use of one of the depilatories for which formulas are given on page 205.

Arms that are rough and red should be scrubbed nightly with soap and warm water—neither hot nor cold. Rub briskly with a coarse towel if the arms are rough, and a soft towel if they are red.

A little mixture of equal parts of glycerine and rosewater rubbed in after the hath is good. It must be borne in mind that before massaging with oils or creams the skin must be dry.

Bathing the arms in hot water and drying thoroughly before applying the creams or oil will help the skin to absorb it.

The best way to massage the oil into the arm is to fill the palm of the hand with oil, grasp the opposite arm, and rub round and round.

Bandages soaked in the oil and wrapped around the elbows at night will aid in fattening the arm and help beautify a rough elbow.

To Develop the Legs. Flesh and muscle can be added to the legs both by exercise and the liberal use of olive oil in massage.

If the calves are to be increased, rise on the toes, count five, and lower the body till the heels almost touch the floor. Repeat ten times; touching the floor with the heels on the tenth count. By repeating this exercise several times a day for a few weeks a noticeable increase in the muscular strength will be observed. Then do it ​but twice a day, and every other day give a massage, rubbing in as much olive oil as the skin will absorb.

The following exercise develops both arms and legs: Standing erect, with arms extended at the sides and parallel to the floor, bend alternately to right and left, letting the fingers touch the carpet (see Figure 158).

Fig. 158.EXERCISE TO DEVELOP ARMS AND LEGS

To Develop the Face. To increase the plumpness of the face or neck, a very gentle exercise, like massage or pinching or tapping of the portions to be developed is to be given twice daily. Care should be taken not to develop the muscles of the face or neck, but only so to stimulate the circulation that new fat cells are deposited a little faster than the waste is carried off. Tapping the checks with the tips of the fingers is perhaps the best for the delicate development of the face. The free ​use of cocoa-butter while manipulating the face will materially help the fattening process. Melt the edge of the cake of cocoa-butter over a candle or gas jet, and apply as much to the cheeks with the fingers as the skin will absorb, pinching gently the skin between the thumb and the upper edge of the first finger.

If no cocoa-butter is at hand use olive oil or lanolin.

A more elaborate formula for a face massage unguent and flesh producer may be made of the following:

Melt all together and stir in one dram of Balsam of Peru. After it settles, pour off the clear portion and add two drams of orange-flower water, stirring until it hardens.

Another cream that will fatten the face is composed as follows. It is to be kneaded into the skin.

Melt the first three; add the glycerine to the orange-flower water, and dissolve the borax in the mixture; then pour slowly into the blended oils, stirring thoroughly.

Besides those that come from the gentle hand massage and tapping, excellent results in filling out a thin face may be obtained through the regular use of the vibratory massage apparatus described in Chapter XXII, and also the vacuum massage cup illustrated on page 270.

​The Lips. Thin lips may be made a bit fuller by the use of this:

Biting the lips is the expression of a nervous temperament, as is also the habit of constantly wetting the lips with the tip of the tongue.

This wetting tends to dry them and rob them of their fresh color. The following salve often delightfully moistens and freshens them:

Melt the wax and olive oil together; tie the alkanet chips in a bit of muslin, and dip into the mixture for an hour or two. Strain through cheese cloth and add a few drops of perfume. This is also good for chapped lips.

A good pomade for chapped lips is made as follows: