Beauty Culture (Woodbury)/Chapter 7

Shoes should be changed every day to save both feet and shoes, two pairs of shoes as near alike as possible being ordinarily sufficient. This alternation helps each pair to hold its shape, as well as to last much longer.

Alternation of socks or stockings from day to day, like alternation of shoes, is a good plan. The stockings, when removed, should be turned inside out and hung up to get well aired. They may be worn three times without washing. If they are not thus changed, clean ones should be put on at least three times a week. If it is convenient, or one's purse permits, a change at the end of the day for evening wear is advisable.

Frequently it rests the feet to rub them with a soft towel, or special footcloth, expose them to the air for a few minutes, and then don the evening socks. In all this we are speaking of comparatively normal feet.

When one has particularly sweaty feet, special remedies for which condition will be given later, a much more frequent change of stockings naturally suggests itself. But one should not, without the sanction of his chiropodist, switch from one kind or one thickness of the same kind to another,

Stockings. Stockings of which the toe section is white or cream white are preferable. The tops may be ​of any fast color the fancy chooses. The dyes of colored stockings irritate the skin and often cause ulcers or soft corns by setting up inflammation between the toes.

Stockings should not be loose. When they grow so by frequent use and washings, they should be discarded. Loose stockings on tender feet by bunching in places cause irritation, and may produce inflammation if persisted in. Even if the creases do not seem at first to threaten any evil results, they cultivate the ground for corns and callosities. Stockings ought to fit snugly like a glove, but to possess elasticity enough not to interfere with the foot's expansion in motion.

Stockings are sometimes made with a special compartment for the "big toe"—the toe of honor, on which the burden of walking is thrown. In some cases, the use of such is to be particularly advised, and, if it could be made practicable, doubtless the whole stocking might be well converted into a foot-glove, with separate places for each pedal digit.

Heavily darned socks are just as deleterious as those with holes at the toes. Both kinds discomfort and irritate the wearer unless the feet are unusually tough.

It is desirable to have rights and lefts in stockings, though it is hard to persuade patrons to do so.

If the feet are tired and swell at night from too much standing, they should be bathed in hot water to which several tablespoonfuls of sea salt or even common salt have been added, and then be well dried and bound with white flannel bandages.

If the feet are cold, the bath should be followed with bandages of red flannel, or they should be rubbed with cologne spirits, witch hazel, or rum.

Upon arriving at home after the day's toil, it is well to rest the feet by putting on slippers with lower heels ​than in the shoes worn during the day. "Slipperod case" is as hygienic as it is sybaritic.

For persons who have sedentary occupation, a footrest, or cushion several inches above the floor, is advisable. This is particularly so when the floor is of stone, or cement or tiling, as in many business places, or when it is of wood, but has been exposed to cold or damp air. Many carpets retain dampness. Any floor covering that cannot be often taken up and thoroughly cleaned is dangerous to health.

A fine foot bath for tired feet is made by adding the following to the simple hot foot bath:

Tender feet may be rubbed to advantage with witch-hazel, to which spirits of camphor have been added, one or two teaspoonfuls to four ounces of the former. Also to rub a little pure olive oil into tender feet, as well as upon dry and cold feet, at night after the bath is beneficial.

Nail Trimming. The nails of the toes should be trimmed at least once every two weeks. All calloused skins should be very gently scraped off or ground down with a pumice stone after the bath.

The nails should be cleaned of dirt and accumulations, taking care not to injure the cuticle under the nail, since such injury will cause them to ingrow just as cutting them too short will.

The nails should be cut squarely and not rounded as are the finger nails. The nail of the large toe should be cut concave, that is, closer to the toe in the centre than at the sides.

​Dead cuticle or scales of scarfskin or epidermis should be scraped away with a blunt orangewood stick or cuticle knife, taking care not to injure the skin or make it bleed, since this invites poisoning either from stocking dye, if one is foolishly wearing dyed socks, or from the dirt which accumulates in the shoes combining with decomposing sweat.

All wounds made in pedicuring should be cleansed with an antiseptic solution at once and be covered with antiseptic absorbent cotton.

Mix and apply with cotton to wound. The above solution may be used on such wounds, or a solution of boric acid, 10 grains to each ounce of water, may be substituted.

Specific treatment of diseases of the foot will be described later.

If the feet are naturally weak and cold more or less of the time, much can be done to bring them into a healthy state by bathing them every night in a hot water and sea-salt mixture made as already described. While the feet are in the bath, they should be scrubbed vigorously with a fairly stiff nail- or hand-brush to arouse the circulation, and by the pressure of this increase of blood to the parts to invite better nourishment to the skin, which before long will become thicker and more able to resist sudden changes of temperature.

Cold feet are often the result of overactive brain work. If this is the cause, the life of the patron should be regulated, and outdoor exercise and calisthenics insisted upon. If the cause of this uncomfortable condition is due to any other physical disturbance, the pa​tient should be sent at once to a physician for proper medicinal care.

Advice for Patrons. You may truthfully tell your patrons in an incidental way the following facts:

Sore feet hasten the advent of old age.

Diseased feet cause premature grayness.

Every long-neglected corn may be the seed of a dozen gray hairs.

Shoes too small, or improperly made, cause injury to the feet, sometimes permanent.

The story of injured feet writes itself in wrinkles on the face.

High heels cause weak knees.

Weak knees pave the way to nervous breakdown.

Wearing of improper shoes indisposes one to take proper exercise.

Lack of proper exercise invites either adiposity or consumption.

Pressure of pain in any part of the body, long continued, seriously mars the expression of the face, disturbs and sometimes ruins the disposition, and may upset the brain at last.