Face powder

“ The powders usually sold by druggists are injurious to the complexion, owing to harmful ingredients. If a powder is perfectly pure, a moderate use of it will not harm the complexion, but if it is impure it soon causes the face to turn sallow and yellow. The following is perfectly pure, and is a splendid article, giving a lovely, refined complexion:—
Boston Burnet Powder for the Face.—Five cents' worth of bay rum, five cents' worth of magnesia snowflake, five cents' worth of bergamot, five cents' worth oil of lemon; mix in a pint bottle and fill up with rain water. ”

“ If you are going out in the sun or wind, follow with a little good talcum or rice powder, to protect the face from the raw winds, or, if the skin is inclined to be dry, apply a little cold cream before using the powder. ”

“ Face paint and powder make the skin look worse, for they hinder perspiration. Nothing of that sort will do the skin any good. You must eat as you should, and you must keep clean. Then your skin will be clear. ”

“ It should not be put on in thick layers, for then, as after the use of pastes and paints in general, lines may be created where they are not yet present and lines already existing may be hollowed out to veritable wrinkles. No powder should be visible on the face. ”

“ The preparation is undertaken only after an offering to Ki ́tshi Man ́idō of tobacco and a Midē ́ song with rattle accompaniment. The manner of using this powder will be described under the caption of “descriptive notes.” It differs entirely from the powder employed in painting the face by one who wishes to attract or fascinate the object of his or her devotion. The latter is referred to by the Rev. Peter Jones130 as follows:
There is a particular kind of charm which they use when they wish to obtain the object of their affections. ”

“ It was after that, emboldened by pleasure and success, that I went back to that first drugstore. The Encyclopedia volume I had taken from the library, besides containing the information I wanted on Colorado, had an article on Cosmetics. I decided powder was unnecessary, although I could understand easily enough how important it must be to the native women, with their thick skin and large pores and patchy coloring; that accounted for the fact that the men were mostly so much uglier ... and I wondered if Larry used it, and if that was why his skin looked so much better than the others'. ”

“ Burn a clove in the flame of a wax-candle, dip it into the juice of elder-berries, and apply it to the eye-brows. The powder, also, which is used in the East for painting the eye-lashes, and which is composed of antimony and bismuth, may be safely and advantageously used. Or, a paste prepared from powdered black lead, with eau de Cologne, or oil of myrtle, or essence of bergamot, will suffice for the purpose. When the eye-brows become long and shaggy, they give a ferocious and repulsive expression to the countenance. ”

“ Many of them merely fill up the pores of the skin and give it a pasty look. Numerous cases of eczema and other diseases have followed the use of paints. Of the advertised cosmetics, many are not only worthless, but actually injurious.
Certain applications to the skin of the face are permissible and beneficial. “Virgin milk,” which is a milky-looking mixture, composed of the tincture of benzoin and rose-water, renders the skin soft, and is said to prevent the formation of freckles. ”

“ Those remedies which are very unpleasant to the taste; those which deliquesce rapidly when exposed to the air, or are very volatile; and those which require to be given in very large doses, or which are not diffused readily in water, cannot, with propriety, be administered in the form of powder. Some substances cannot be reduced to powder unless they be very much dried, and the heat1372 necessary for that purpose alters their properties. ”

“ It penetrates the skin and removes
the secretions which if allowed to remain will cause blackheads and
pimples.
Wonder Face Cream contains no grease and will not grow hair. It will
remove tan and sunburn, give the user a fresh complexion, whiten the
skin, will gradually remove freckles and when used with massage will
remove wrinkles. One jar will convince you. If you do not think this
possible give it a trial.
Every person going out in the sun or wind, especially on automobile
rides, requires a face dressing, and only a non-grease cream can be
used. ”

“ These white garments are hardly ever clean and are unpleasantly discoloured with the turmeric which is so commonly and lavishly used. This powder is not only used as an aid to beauty, as in the south, but is supposed to prevent skin diseases; and even tiny children and grown men rub it on their bodies. ”

“ The cream may struggle bravely and heal the little eruptions for a day or so, but how can it possibly effect a permanent cure when the cause flourishes like a blizzard at Medicine Hat or a steam radiator in the first warm days of April?
Cold cream, pure powders and certain harmless face washes are godsends to womankind, but they can't do everything! They have their limitations, just like any other good thing. ”

“ Orris possesses no cleansing properties, but is used for its flavor and because it is most effective for masking the taste of the soap. Sugar or saccharine may be used for sweetening, and for flavoring almost anything can be used. Flavors should, in the main, be used singly, though mixed flavors lack the clean taste of simple flavors.
The most popular tooth powder sold is the white, saponaceous, wintergreen-flavored powder, and here is a formula for this type:
The first four ingredients should be in the finest possible powder and well dried. ”

“ Never Paint.—The use of white paint as a cosmetic affects the eyes, which it renders painful and watery. It changes the texture of the skin, on which it produces pimples; attacks the teeth, destroys the enamel, and loosens them. It heats the mouth and throat, infecting and corrupting the saliva. Lastly, it penetrates the pores of the skin, acting by degrees on the spongy substance of the lungs, and inducing disease. Powdered magnesia, or violet powder, is no further injurious than by stopping the pores of the skin ”

“ That is very cleansing, but as it is also drying, a face cream must be smeared on immediately after the face is rinsed and wiped. For some days it may seem that the pores are large and coarse and open, but they are simply undergoing a cleansing process that in the end will bring a lovely white, perfect skin. Whenever I hear women say that they never wash their faces, but use a cream instead, I always wonder if they really feel clean. I am sure I would not. Fancy the state of our hands were we never to wash them! And the face, having more oil glands, is in still greater need of soap and water. ”

“ Now, bring the mass into a shallow box lined with clean white paper and place it to dry in an airy room, but do not expose it to the air or sunlight. The next day the mass in the box is thoroughly worked through, this operation being repeated every day until the mass is dry. It is then again powdered, whereby it acquires a rose [Pg 282] color, and is then sifted. The powder is perfumed with peppermint oil 1 oz. and clove oil and cassia oil each 51⁄2 ozs., sufficient glycerin to prevent dust, being at the same time rubbed in. ”

“ A selection of receipts for such powders is here given. Their manufacture is not difficult; however, the weighing off of the constituents should be conscientiously done, and in mixing the powders with the volatile oils, etc., [Pg 257] care should be had not to cause any unnecessary dust and consequent loss of powder. After mixing, the powder is passed through a sieve.
Sachet à la rose.—Ground rose leaves, ground rose wood and pulverized starch each 50 drachms, Turkish rose oil 11⁄2, rose-geranium oil 21⁄2, oil of cloves 1, bergamot oil 21⁄2, musk tincture 1. ”

“ One dram each of camphor and flowers of sulphur in four ounces of rose-water is a good lotion for external use. Do not pick or squeeze pimples, unless pus has formed in them. Nothing is more disgusting than a face broken out in pus-filled pimples. See a physician if thus afflicted.
FRECKLES.—These have been poetically called "the kisses of the sun," but no girl cares for evidences of that sort of affection. Prevention is easier than cure. Simple home remedies are lemon juice and glycerin, sour buttermilk, and elderflower soap used in bathing. ”

“ Mineral oils must never be used. Glycerin not only makes the complexion darker and rather yellow, but it dries the secretions of the skin very rapidly, and a dry, harsh surface is the sure result. Vaseline—as we should know from its reputation as a hair tonic—will not prove a happiness to one.
The skin food should be rubbed in all over the face and far down upon the neck with a firm, circular movement. When the cream is partially absorbed begin the manipulations, starting at the forehead. Place the thumbs on the temples and in that way hold the skin firm and taut. ”

“ John Emerson is affixing a villainous mustache to Frank Stockdale. Spirit gum and crêpe hair are used.
Finally, lest you be left in the position of the man who starts his first ride on a motorcycle without [pg 21] knowing how to shut the power off, we may add that all this nasty mess of grease paint and powder and gum and hair will come off in an instant when cold cream is applied. It is hard to feel natural in make-up at first; but presently you will forget that you have it on at all.
All of the necessary cosmetics may be secured through any drug store or theatrical costumer. ”

“ In applying creams of any sort to the face, it is wisdom to leave the upper lip untouched with the cosmetic, although one may feel perfectly safe in using home-made emollients which do not contain animal fats. Heat, rubbing and friction are all conducive to the pests, and such oils and fats as vaseline, glycerin, olive oil and mutton tallow or suet should never be used. Depilatories likewise should be shunned. The powdered preparations are usually composed either of sulphite of arsenic or caustic lime, and merely burn the hair off to the surface of the skin. ”

“ Melt the first five ingredients in a porcelain kettle. Take from the fire, and add the benzoin and the orange flower water, fluffing it with an egg-beater till cold. This recipe will make five ounces, quite enough to prepare at one time. For those who dislike oily creams it will be found delightful, as the skin absorbs it. The mission of the skin food is to do away with wrinkles. Massage must, of course, accompany its application. For hollow cheeks or dry, rough skin it is unexcelled. Its fattening qualities plumpen the tissues and so raise the lines of the face and gradually obliterate them. ”

“ The various cosmetics sold by perfumers, assuming such miraculous powers of beautifying the complexion, all contain, in different proportions, preparations of mercury, alcohol, acids, and other deleterious substances, which are highly injurious to the skin; and their continual application will be found to tarnish it, and produce furrows and wrinkles far more unsightly than those of age, beside which they are frequently absorbed by the vessels of the skin, enter the system, and seriously disturb the general health. ”

“ A safe and excellent cosmetic is an infusion of horseradish in cold milk. (Withering.)
Hermann prescribes the following lotion:—Blanched almonds, 2 oz.; rose water, 8 oz.; orange-flower water, 2 oz. Make an emulsion, strain, and add sal ammoniac, 1 dr.; simple tincture of benzoin, 2 dr.
Skin paints and skin stains are employed to give an artificial bloom or delicacy to the skin. Rouge and carmine are the articles most generally used to communicate a red colour. The first is the only cosmetic that can be employed, without injury, to brighten a lady’s complexion. ”

“ THE POWDER STILL WORSE
So much for the liquid. The powder seems to be something entirely different, for, according to the chemist’s report, over 90 per cent. of it is inert, absorbent, talcum-like material. There is enough camphor and carbolic acid to give the powder an odor and thus mislead physicians, especially those who are in the habit of taking for granted that whatever statements nostrum manufacturers make are true. ”

“ Tannic Acid: in acidity associated with chronic catarrh and flatulence. Glycerin 1 minim, tannic acid 4 grn., as pill.
Acne.
Adeps Lanæ: topically.
Alkaline lotions: when skin is greasy and follicles are black and prominent.
Aristol.
Arsenic: in chronic acne; generally, though not always, prevents the acne from bromide or iodide of potassium.
Belladonna: as local application to check a too abundant secretion.
Berberis: for acne of girls at puberty.
Bismuth: as ointment or powder. In acne rosacea, if acute. ”

“ I tell you, it is not what I ordered; and what the stuff in the bottle really is remains to be seen."
He undid the wrapper, and cautiously tilted a few grains of the white powder on to a piece of paper, and peered curiously at it.
"Yes," he said, "it is like the sulphate of quinine, as you say; it is flaky. But smell it."
He held the bottle to me, and I bent over it. It was a strange, sickly smell, vaporous and overpowering, like some strong anaesthetic.
"I shall have it analysed," said Haberden; "I have a friend who has devoted his whole life to chemistry as a science. ”

“ The outer skin which has served its purpose is being incessantly cast off in the—form of whitish looking powder, but instead of being thrown clear from the body it clings to it and becomes entangled with the perspiration and oily material, thus forming an impediment to the free action of the skin. ”

“ Tooth Powders And Pastes.—Although the direct object of these is to keep the teeth clean and white, they also prevent decay, if it is only by force of mere cleanliness, and in this way (and also by removing decomposing particles of food) tend to keep the breath sweet and wholesome. The necessary properties of a tooth powder are cleansing power unaccompanied by any abrading or chemical action on the teeth themselves, a certain amount of antiseptic power to enable it to deal with particles of stale food, and a complete absence of any disagreeable taste or smell. ”