Soutane

“ 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. ”

“ For generations sulphur ointment has been a standard remedy, and nothing else is needed, although many other remedies and combinations have been recommended. A warm bath should first be taken to soften the skin, and soap used vigorously to remove the dead epidermis covering the cuniculi. ”

“ Bathe face, neck, and hands with Turkish Lotion at night, letting it dry on. Wash off in the morning with a very little pure white castile soap and soft water. If the water is hard, add a very little dissolved borax. This will prevent and cure greasy skin, freckles, tan, wrinkles, pimples, blackheads, crow's-feet, blotches, sunburn, chapped hands, sore lips, rough skin, etc.
To Cure Sallowness: Use as above directed, and ask your druggist for some good iron tablets. Take as directed. In a short time your complexion will be beautifully white and rose-tinted. ”

“ The prevailing opinion among medical men is, that the latter is by far the more efficacious in most disorders, and more conducive to health than the former; because, where a person continues immersed in saline water for some time, it enters into the pores of the skin, and by that means is more likely to be of benefit in cutaneous or other disorders for which it is usually recommended. ”

“ What troubles you now is really a very simple matter. The sulphur kills the outer layer of the skin and that causes the flaking and cracking of the skin which annoys you. Now what you should do is to leave off the ointment for a fortnight or more and see how you get on. If the acne gets worse, then return to the sulphur ointment, only use it diluted with an equal quantity of lanoline or vaseline. ”

“ The stimuli of cutaneous organic sensibility vary remarkably in their degree of intensity. 1st. The strongest are fire, cantharides, the alkalies, the acids sufficiently diluted by water not to act but upon the vital forces and not to alter the dermoid texture by the horny hardening, the juices of many acrid and corrosive plants, certain fluids even produced in the economy, as those of cancers, &c. All these stimuli redden the skin when they are applied to it. ”

“ SKIN BALSAM, Glycerin—Glycerin Haut, Balsam. A mixture of 1000 parts glycerin, 120 parts orange-flower water, 1 part each oils of neroli and bitter almonds. (Hager.)
SKIN COSMET′ICS. The simplest, cheapest, and most generally employed cutaneous cosmetics are soap and water, which at once cleanse and soften the skin. Soap containing a full proportion of alkali exercises a solvent power upon the cuticle, a minute portion of which it dissolves ”

“ Experiments in the laboratory and in practice have shown that it is not the dissolving action on the skin substance in the narrow sense which is desired in bating the derm with dogs’ dung, but in order to prepare the hide for the manufacture of a soft and elastic leather, the albuminous intercellular substances and more particularly the layers of fat lying at the roots of the hair, in the corium and in many cases also on the epidermis, must be dissolved and thereby the fibrils of the skin loosened. ”

“ By absorption they produce skin diseases not without danger and very difficult to cure. Hence when handling the wet tissue the fingers should be protected by India rubber tips, and any yellow, stains on the hands should be rubbed with a dilute solution of aqueous ammonia, and the hands well rinsed in water. ”

“ When we consider the functions of the skin, with its myriads of minute glands, innumerable little tubes, employed in removing the worn-out, useless matter from the system, we cannot fail to appreciate the utility of frequent bathing with soap and water. Unless these excretions are removed, the glands become obstructed, their functions are arrested, and unpleasant odors arise. Many persons think because they daily bathe the face, neck, and hands, dress the hair becomingly and remove the dirt from their clothing that the height of cleanliness has been reached. ”

“ We speak of the sweat gland secreting sweat out of the blood brought by the capillaries which are wrapped round the gland.
47. Now we can understand why the inside of the mouth is red and moist. The mouth has a skin just like the skin of the hand. There is an outside epidermis, made up of cells and free from capillaries, and beneath that a dermis or true skin crowded with capillaries. Only the epidermis of the mouth is ever so much thinner than that of the hand. The red capillaries easily shine through it, and their moisture can make its way through. ”

“ Get off all, or as much as possible, of the flesh and fat, then make a solution of alum, salt and water—four parts of salt to one of alum, as much as the water will contain. Dissolve the alum and salt in hot water, and when cold immerse the skins, and in about 48 hours the skins will be cured. Wash in a weak solution of washing soda and water to cleanse from any particles of fat. Sheep or goat skins will require to be left longer in the solution. ”

“ Absolute dryness of the skin is all-important. At least once a day, the sacrum, buttocks, shoulder-blades, heels, elbows, malleoli, or other parts exposed to pressure, must be sponged with soap and water, thoroughly dried, and then rubbed with methylated spirit, which is allowed to dry on the skin. Dusting the part with boracic acid powder not only keeps it dry, but prevents the development of bacteria in the skin secretions. ”

“ There are probably some two or three millions of those tiny sweat pores in a human body, which afford an evaporating surface, according to the anatomist Krause, of about eight square inches. The sweat is a watery, slightly saline fluid, with slight—very slight—traces of grease, some small cell-like particles, and some carbonic acid and other gaseous matters, which exhale from the skin. The more oily secretion of the skin comes from a different set of openings with their associated glands, the sebaceous glands, which are associated with the hairy surfaces of the body. ”

“ When the skins have been tanned and the fleeces well washed and dried, tack them up in an air tight room—or in doing one skin a packing case will do—place a pan of powdered sulphur under and light it, letting the fumes have free access to the wool. If there are not too many skins to do, the box or case is the most convenient, doing one skin at a time. If in a room, it must be made air tight, or the fumes will escape. ”

“ It is obvious that, the blacker the pigment, the less light and heat will be transmitted to excite these glands into activity. In the second place, there is a continual transudation of sweat from the minute vessels of the surface of the body through the epidermis at every point. The thicker or the more oily the scarf-skin, the less will the amount of this transudation be. If it be both thick and oily, as in many dark races, the quantity transuded will be reduced to a minimum; if it be thin and not oily, as in the fairest members of the white race, transudation will be copious. ”

“ Beauty and health of the skin can only be obtained by perfect cleanliness of the entire person, an avoidance of all cosmetics, added to proper diet, correct habits and early habits of rising and exercise. The skin must be thoroughly washed, occasionally with warm water and soap, to remove the oily exudations on its surface. If any unpleasant sensations are experienced after the use of soap, they may be immediately removed by rinsing the surface with water to which a little lemon juice or vinegar has been added. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Pimples must never be irritated. Breaking or bruising the skin only adds to its diseased condition and general irritation. If the complexion is unsightly with red blotches, a solution of boric acid in boiling water, used warm, will be an effective lotion. Its application should, of course, be combined with proper living as laid out above, care being taken as to diet, exercise and the tepid daily bath. A good cold cream should also be used. ”

“ 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. ”

“ They are only fit to be used on the advice of a doctor. Most of them are out and out humbugs, and make up for their richness in drugs by their poorness in good, pure fat and alkali. Moreover, what may suit one particular diseased condition of the skin is quite as likely to be injurious as helpful to another. Any drug which has the power of curing disease is almost certain to be irritating to a healthy skin; and nothing can be put into a soap beyond pure, sweet fat, or oil, and good soda, which will make it any better, or more wholesome, for a healthy skin. ”

“ Many soaps are positively injurious to the skin. In this, as in other matters, judgment and caution must be exercised. A free use of a good skin soap, with warm or hot water, may be recommended for [109] the weekly or semi-weekly bath when the primary object is cleanliness. The soapy lather should be vigorously rubbed over the body, by the hand or a small coarse towel, so as to remove all excretions from the pores, all greasy deposits of the sebaceous glands, and all dead scales from the cuticle. ”

“ Among the necessities of life there is one to which few people pay the attention they ought, and that is Soap. Yet it is undoubtedly a most important matter, for the skin is a very delicate and sensitive organ, and the constant application of impure or inferior Soaps injures its texture, and gives rise to numerous cutaneous troubles. Most people are content, so long as it appeals to the eye and the sense of smell, without stopping to consider that perfumes may be employed to hide defects. ”

“ Attention to the state of the skin is of great importance in a hygienic point of view. The perspiration and sebaceous matters which are naturally poured out upon the surface of the body, with an intermingling of particles of detached epidermis, fragments of fibres from the dress, dirt, etc., if not removed, gradually form a crust which soon materially interferes with the due excreting action of the skin. ”

“ What you should use is a highly concentrated soap like Viderm Skin Cleanser which penetrates the pores and acts as an antiseptic. When followed by a quick application of Viderm Medicated Skin Cream, specks of irritating dirt and grime are quickly washed out; they dissolve and disappear, leaving your skin clean, clear and free of the specks that often bring out pimples, blackheads and other externally-caused skin troubles. ”

“ The skin, partly for this reason, and partly because it shares in the general disturbance of nutrition, becomes dry, harsh, and scaly; after a time the face, and especially the nose and neighboring parts, assumes in many instances a violaceous hue, the minute superficial cutaneous veins are enlarged, and acne is common. The resulting appearance is almost characteristic of the habits of the individual. Alcoholic subjects frequently suffer from pruritis, urticaria, and eczema. ”

“ The skin, in which disturbances so readily occur at the time of the menarche, requires careful attention, all the more because it is precisely at this age that young girls have the greatest need of their personal charms. The skin of the face, which is often disfigured by comedones and acne, must be carefully guarded against the accumulation of sebum in the sebaceous glands by sedulous washing with warm water and a good soap. ”

“ These should invariably be selected of the finest kinds, and used sparingly, and never with cold water, for the alkali which, more or less, mingles in the composition of all soaps has an undoubted tendency to irritate a delicate skin; warm water excites a gentle perspiration, thereby assisting the skin to throw off those natural secretions which, if allowed to remain, are likely to accumulate below the skin and produce roughness, pimples, and even eruptions of an obstinate and unpleasant character. ”

“ Eczema.—This is the most common of all skin affections. It is a non-contagious, inflammatory disease of the skin, sometimes acute, but more often chronic, attended with itching and desquamation or loss of cuticle. With the itching may be a feeling of heat and tension in the part.
Eczema is a local disease, brought about by a local irritation in the skin; but, in addition to this, there is generally a predisposing cause, as some disorders of the digestive tract, a bad condition of the blood, and so forth. The skin, like other organs of the body, depends on the whole system for its nutrition. ”