Brushing

“ These feeble limbs are indeed cleansing brushes, with which he keeps certain portions of his person clean, applying them with the greatest ease to the whole surface of the abdomen, and under-side of the carapace or body-shell, while the delicate fingers [Pg 189] of the little hand are used to pick off adhering matters that cannot be removed by brushing. Then having done his washing, he cleans his brushes with his mouth, and snugly folds them up, and packs them away in their groove till he wants them again. ”

“ Brushing clothes is a very simple but very necessary operation. Fine cloths require to be brushed lightly, and with rather a soft brush, except where mud is to be removed, when a hard one is necessary, being previously beaten lightly to dislodge the dirt. Lay the garment on a table, and brush it in the direction of the nap. ”

“ The care of the skin is of paramount importance, and the first desideratum is to employ systematic and thorough rubbing and brushing of the surface from head to heel. The flesh brush or mitten made of coarse toweling, used by the patient for half an hour at a time night and morning, serves many admirable ends and is better than too much bathing. ”

“ So he undertakes his washing, cleaning, brushing, for which several kinds of brushes are used, as well as soap and a great quantity of water. (Many English men and women for some reason or other are specially proud of using a great deal of soap and pouring a large quantity of water over themselves.) ”

“ I have heard it said that too much brushing will injure the teeth, but don't you believe it! The sooner you become accustomed to a moderately stiff brush, that will do its work well and thoroughly, the better. All foreign matter must be constantly removed, else decay will come as sure as fate. A perfect state of cleanliness cannot be unless the teeth have proper and constant attention. By this I do not mean that you must cease all other occupations and take up that of eternal scrubbing. Simply keep your teeth clean. ”

“ Brush your hair regularly with a boar-bristle brush for stimulation and to cleanse your hair. Brush your hair carefully. Too vigorous brushing may break the ends of your hair. The same is true of combing. ”

“ A good rule for ensuring the regular brushing of the hair which may be taught to children (and perhaps good for busy women also) , is to brush the hair with fifty long strokes both at morning and at night. ”

“ The brush with moderately stiff whalebone bristles may be passed gently over the hair several times during the day, to brush out the dust and the dandruff, and to keep the hair smooth, soft, and clean; rough and hard brushing the hair with brushes having very stiff bristles in them, especially the metal or wire bristles, is of no service, but often irritates the parts and causes the hair to fall out. ”

“ When brushing the teeth, avoid using a brush with the bristles too hard. A medium- or even a soft-bristle brush is preferable. The lateral action of the tooth brush, commonly used, is of limited value. One should use a vertical or up-and-down movement, so that the bristles will reach the crevices between the teeth. It is the spaces between the teeth that particularly need cleaning and the brush should be used in such a way as to reach these. It is here that decay usually begins. ”

“ If otherwise, keep in narrow stall where the animal cannot turn even the head, feed from moderate level to avoid movement of the spine by the upward and downward movements of the head. Gentle brushing is useful as a means of cleanliness, and of toning up the muscular system. ”

“ When retiring at night give the hair a thorough brushing, not only for your own comfort and to promote a healthy condition of the hair, and remove all dust that through the day will naturally settle in it, but also to secure greater expedition in dressing in the morning ”

“ If clothes are wet and spotted with dirt, dry them before brushing them, and then rub out spots with the hands. The hard brush should be used as little as possible, and then with a light hand, as it will, if roughly and constantly employed, soon render the cloth threadbare. ”

“ Blind and weak and organised and worried and betrothed and resumed and also asked to a fast and always asked to consider and never startled and not at all bloated, this which is no rarer than frequently is not so astonishing when hair brushing is added. ”

“ Use a soft brush, and remember that overmuch brushing easily wears out cloth.
“Never let woollen clothes or furs go a sevennight without being brushed or shaken, for moths be always ready to alight in them and engender; so always keep an eye on drapery and skinnery.
“If your lord take a nap after his meal to digest his stomach, have ready kerchief and comb, pillow and head-sheet; yet be not far from him—take heed what I say—for much sleep is not good in the middle of the 67day, and have ready water and towel so that he may wash after his sleep. ”

“ The hair is jet black, without a single variation of tinge, and luxuriantly long and thick, and thus dressed remains for the week,—about the usual interval between their laborious process of bathing;—nor can they conceive the comfort other people find in frequent brushing and combing the hair. ”

“ It stimulates the circulation to the skin and thoroughly cleanses it. The friction bath is self-applied by means of two soft bristled brushes. Beginning at the forehead, the face and neck are thoroughly brushed, then each arm in turn (working upward from the hand to the shoulder) , then using both brushes together, the shoulders, chest, sides, abdomen, back and lastly the legs, brushing from the ankles upward. The treatment is continued till each part of the skin is in a glow. It will be hard to reach the back of the body, but do the best you can. ”

“ BRUSH, a domestic implement, consisting generally of a collection of hairs or bristles, fastened in a frame of wood, bone, or ivory; with, or without a handle; and used for various purposes. This simple manufacture is capable of great improvement; as we seldom meet with brushes, the hair of which is so firmly cemented, or otherwise secured in the frame, as to ensure their constant use, until the hair itself is worn out by mechanical friction. ”

“ But, as I stood upon the stairs, I could see that my hand was blackened; and the icy, galvanic feeling that assailed my nerves when I first touched the snuffers still tingled right to my elbow.
But I was free of my enemy; and marching with freely playing lungs into my bedroom, I closed and locked the door, set down my empty candlestick, changed my coat and vest for a dressing-gown and began to brush my hair.
It is my custom to brush my hair with a pair of brushes for ten minutes every night before retiring to rest. I find it strengthening to the brain. ”

“ Should paint, varnish, leather-bound whitewash or wall brush be found that has become loose from shrinkage, take a tablespoonful or so of water, open the brush and pour the water into the center. This will swell the parts and make the brush as firm as when first made.
New brushes when first put in work are apt to shed any loose bristles that have not been fastened when made, and while such loose bristles are always cleaned out before the goods are put up for market, not all such loose bristles or hair can be cleaned out, and such are sure to come loose when the brush is first used. ”

“ Bristles and fibers and hair are the brush of the brush. The finest brushes are of bristle and hair and the less fine are of fiber save where bristle would not function any better for the job than fiber. Hair is used in some brushes where fine work and delicate surfaces are involved. For example, the shaving brush is of hair, the silver brush of bristle, the whisk of fiber. A room wall brush, too, is often of hair to save the paper or wall finish. ”

“ A brush that gouges and does a chisel’s work is a poor brush, no matter what quality the fiber or brush mark. The brush you buy for your wall or your hardwood floor must not scratch, and must have nothing in its construction that can scratch. Likewise, the brush you buy for your toilet bowl must not scratch or wear the enamel and the bristles must be bristles, for if of fiber you will have your brush acting like a blotter. Your brush must clean and brush, it must not become a bacteria nestling haven. ”

“ There was a “do-as-you-please time” after dinner down on the lawn for an hour or so, and then the boys were mustered in the bathroom and initiated as to how to manipulate a tooth-brush, in a tooth-cleaning drill, Nathalie having supplied herself with three new brushes in anticipation of this procedure. ”

“ Care of Brushes.—The best of economy in brushes lies in your care of them. You should never let the paint dry on them nor go too long without careful washing. It is not necessary to wash them every day with soap and water, but they would be the better for such treatment. ”

“ Never soak a brush in water before using it in paint. Animal fat circulates in the capillary tubes of all bristles and hair, and if water is soaked into these arteries, the spring and elasticity of the brush is not only destroyed, but it speedily becomes a very much water-logged tool. To swell up a brush which for some cause has become dried out and shrunken, part the bristles so that the end of the handle is exposed, and pour in a small quantity of water, say three or four teaspoonfuls. ”

“ Dogs leaping and jumping, dogs running—the jog-trot of the terrier, and the easy gallop of the deerhound—here are interesting subjects for your pencil and brush. We might take up a brush fairly full of paint and sketch a little fresco of dogs in action. I say advisedly 'brush.' We can't stipple with a full brush. We must make up our minds, and draw, without hesitation, the thin or plump body, the long or thick legs, the short or pointed nose, the flowing or stunted tail. The fresco may not be very true to Nature but it will certainly teach us a good deal. ”

“ If it is of fiber, this brush will mat and become of no avail in short order. Such a brush can be used as a [260] bath-tub cleaning brush and will not break the back when functioning.
Baldness is the worst disease of bad brushes. Bristles and fiber must be stitched and anchored so as not to shed. The frosting brush would be a danger if a bristle were swallowed with a bite of cake. You probably know the agony of a clothes brush that sheds bristles. The backless twisted-in-wire brushes give brush area on all sides, and are so secured that the bristle is fixed indefinitely. ”

“ These two objects are best accomplished by their thorough cleansing with a moderately stiff brush. Too soft a brush is insufficient for the purposes of removing the accumulations which collect upon the teeth. ”

“ Tooth-brushes grow on every tree, for they abominate the thought of putting a second time into the mouth what has been once defiled by spittle, and break a fresh twig every day with which to rub the teeth. ”

“ One of the most useful brushes on the market is the vegetable brush. A little brush whose uses are many. If there are a few in a household they can be used for washing vegetables, scraping silk from corn, scrubbing poultry, scouring pots and pans, cleaning white shoes, sprinkling clothes, for they hold enough water, and scrubbing dishes.
For the kitchenette to-day the sink brush and dishwashing brush with their long handles are a boon for the housewife as she can keep her hands in condition by not getting them into hot water so constantly. ”

“ The hairs of this brush were so much longer than those in my old brush, that I had not proceeded far before I happened accidentally to pass the wet brush across the spine. Immediately the man became fixed in the attitude in which he happened to be as I was operating upon him. His features retained the expression precisely which they wore at the moment the wet brush had touched the spine, and, in short, the man was in a trance exactly similar to that in which I had found the old miser three months before. ”

“ Every morning wash them with plenty of soap and water, then with the brush, clean your nails, cut them, and beware of the dark crescent which gets the name of half-mourning; nothing can be more disgusting. ”

“ Feet—Bathe the feet in hot water at night, when tired. In the morning bathe with cold water after hot, to harden them for walking. Keep the toenails clean, and cut evenly.
Teeth—Next to a fresh, sweet skin the most beautiful feature of a truly beautiful woman is her teeth. The basis of beautiful teeth is a clean mouth. Teeth should be brushed at least twice a day. The best times are after breakfast and the last thing before going to bed. A brush with medium soft bristles should be used. Clean a new brush thoroughly with soap and water and soak in cold water to set the bristles. ”

“ Brushes may include the whisk broom, soft brush of bristles both short and long handled for floors, a long handled brush of wool or soft material for walls, ceilings, and cornices, a soft brush for furniture, a thin brush for radiators, a silver brush, and stiff scrubbing brush. The variety of brushes at a furnishing shop is very large, and interesting to study. It is economy to buy good quality when you can, and if cleaned and not abused they last a long time. Wash the brushes in soapsuds and water, drain and dry before putting away. A bamboo beater is convenient. ”

“ The brush is the handmaid of the artist's soul and must be responsive to his inspiration. The student is warned to be as much on his guard against carelessness when handling the brush as if he were a swordsman standing ready to attack his enemy or to defend his own life; and this is the reason: Everything in art conspires to prevent success. The softness of the brush requires the stroke to be light and rapid and the touch delicate. ”