OF THE COMPLEXION

531. _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; but this is quite injury enough to preclude its use. The best cosmetics are early hours, exercise, and temperance.

532. _To soften the Skin and improve the Complexion._--Mix in a cup of milk a little flowers of sulphur; let it stand for an hour or two; then, without disturbing the sulphur, rub the milk into the skin. It will keep it soft and clear. It should be used before washing.

533. _How to treat Freckles._--Most of us have observed the effect produced on white paper by holding it closely to the fire: it changes rapidly from white to brown, and becomes scorched. Chemists tell us that most combustible things, both in the animal and vegetable world, have carbon for their basis--_so has the skin_; and, if it be exposed to the heat, it becomes, like them, spotted or charred. The iron and oxygen in the blood also assist to produce this effect. Thus we have the cause of freckles. Those who, like Richard Cœur de Lion, and Mary Queen of Scots, have red hair (which is caused by a red-colored oil, more strongly impregnated with iron than others), are most liable to freckles.

The most effectual means of removing freckles, is the use of those chemicals which will dissolve the existing combination. The freckles are situated in the second or middle membrane of the skin; and, before any other application, it will be advisable to soften the surface by the use of some mild balsam or paste.

534. _For Freckles._--One ounce of bitter almonds, one ditto of barley flour, mix with a sufficient quantity of honey to make the whole into a smooth paste; with which the face, more particularly where the freckles are visible, is to be anointed at night, and the paste washed off in the morning. After a few days the skin will be prepared for a chemical remedy.

535. _Another._--To decompose the freckles, by laying hold of the iron, the following mixture may be applied: Take one drachm of muriatic acid, half a pint of rain-water, half a tea-spoonful of spirit of lavender; mix well together, and apply two or three times a day to the freckles, with a camel's hair brush. The acid seizes upon the iron, and the oxygen is disengaged.

536. _Purifying water for Freckled Skin._--Take one tea-spoonful of liquor of potassa, two ounces and a half of pure water, and ten drops of eau de Cologne. Mix, and apply three times a day with a camel's hair brush.

537. _Cosmetic Lotion for Freckles._--Take a tea-cupful of cold sour milk, scrape into it a quantity of horse-radish. Let this stand from six to twelve hours; and then, being well strained, let it be applied, as before directed, two or three times a day.

538. _Preventive Wash for Sunburn._--Take two drachms of borax, one drachm of Roman alum, one drachm of camphor, half an ounce of sugar-candy, and one pound of ox-gall; mix and stir well together, and repeat the stirring three or four times a day, until the mixture becomes transparent; then strain it through filtering paper, and it is fit for use.

539. _Grape Lotion for Sunburn._--Dip a bunch of green grapes in a basin of water; sprinkle it with powdered alum and salt, mixed together; wrap it in paper, and bake it under hot ashes; then express the remaining juice, and wash the face with the liquid.

540. _Lemon Cream for Sunburn and Freckles._--Put two spoonfuls of fresh cream into half a pint of new milk; squeeze into it the juice of a lemon, and half a glass of brandy, a little alum, and loaf sugar; boil the whole, skim it well, and, when cool, it will be fit for use.

541. _A French Receipt._--Take equal parts of the seeds of the melon, pompion, gourd, and cucumber, pounded and reduced to powder or meal; add to it fresh cream sufficient to dilute the flour; beat all up together, adding a sufficient quantity of milk, as it may be required, to make an ointment, and then apply it to the face. Leave it there for half an hour, and then wash it off with warm soft water. Pimpernel water is often used on the continent for the purpose of whitening the complexion. It is there in so high reputation, that it is said generally that it ought to be continually on the toilet of every lady who cares for the brightness of her skin.

542. _Moles._--The author of "The Art of Beauty," whose work appeared in 1824, has very judiciously observed: "The common brown mole appears to be much of the same nature as freckles, and to be situated in the middle layer of the skin, or membrane of color. Moles are sometimes so placed as to improve rather than injure a fine face. They contrast with the delicacy of a fair skin, and give a pleasing archness of expression to the countenance. They are, however, most frequently found on women of a dark complexion. The coloring matter, as in the case of freckles and sunburn, is probably some chemical combination of iron. Moles have evidently a superabundant vitality, and a tendency to increased action, in consequence, perhaps, of the stimulus of the iron; and hence they are often slightly elevated above the surface, and the natural down of the skin is changed into a tuft of hair. The same cosmetic applications may be tried as for freckles, with gentle friction, but they are seldom successful. But it will be found very dangerous to apply depilatories to eradicate the tufts of hair on moles, as cancer in the face is not unfrequently the consequence of such applications."

543. _Birth Marks._--Let them alone, or apply to some eminent surgeon to attempt their removal.

544. _Worm Pimple, with black points._--They are very common, and very unsightly, giving the skin an oily, greasy, and dirty appearance. Their origin is to be traced to the obstruction of the fountains or glands placed immediately under the skin, from which a minute pipe carries off the perspiration. This moisture, not getting free egress, thickens and closes the pores: it then catches the dust and other impurities, floating in the atmosphere, and soon becomes black. If squeezed violently between the nails, this thickened matter will be driven out, in the form of a yellowish white worm, with a black head, which is nothing more than the extraneous matter just mentioned. That there is any vitality in it, is an absurd, but popular and prevalent error. These pimples generally cluster on the sides of the nose and on the forehead, whilst the skin around them is greasy. They should be thoroughly pressed out of every pore, or there they will remain, and no cosmetic will dislodge them. When this is effectually done, the following safe and simple application may be tried: take one ounce of bitter almonds and one ounce of barley-flour; mix them with honey, until they form a smooth paste, and anoint the skin at night. Gentle friction, either with the hand or with a soft glove, is also good. When this state of the skin is induced by bilious disorders, indigestion, &c., sulphur, purgatives, and other remedies must be taken to remove it; but not without medical advice, as they often are the reverse of effectual.

545. _Another simple Remedy._--Bathe the pimples several times a day with lukewarm water and a sponge, rubbing the sponge over a piece of yellow soap. There is a truly healing power in soap, which is surprising when we learn to appreciate it, and which is quite distinct from mere cleanliness.

546. _Wash for Pimples._--Dissolve half a drachm of salt of tartar in three ounces of spirit of wine; apply with linen or a camel-hair pencil.

547. _A Paste for the Skin._--Boil the whites of four eggs in rose-water; add to it a small quantity of alum; beat the whole to the consistence of a paste. This will give great firmness to the skin.

548. _Cold Cream._--Take two ounces of oil of sweet almonds, and one drachm each of white wax and spermaceti, or half an ounce of white wax alone, which scrape very fine, and put them with the oil into an earthen dish, to melt slowly on the embers, and stir it till it becomes quite smooth. When it is cooling, add one ounce of rose-water, and put it into a gallipot, closely covered. It should be a very thick cream.

549. _Fard._--This paste is useful in removing sun-burnings, effects of wind on the face, and accidental cutaneous eruptions. It must be applied on going to bed. First, wash the face, and, when dry, rub the fard over it, and let it remain all night. Take two ounces of oil of sweet almonds, and the same quantity of spermaceti; melt them over a slow fire. When they are dissolved and mixed, take it from the fire, and stir into it one table-spoonful of fine honey. Continue stirring it till it is cold, and it is then fit for use.

550. _Court-plaster, or black Sticking-plaster._--Take half an ounce of benzoin, and six ounces of rectified spirit; dissolve and strain; then take one ounce of isinglass, and half a pint of hot water; dissolve and strain separately from the former. Mix the two, and set them aside to cool, when a jelly will be formed; and this is warmed and brushed ten or twelve times over a piece of black silk, stretched smooth. When this is done enough, and dry, finish it with a solution of four ounces of chian turpentine in six ounces of tincture of benzoin.

551. _An excellent Tooth-powder._--One of the best tooth-powders is made by mixing together one ounce and a half of prepared chalk, half an ounce of powder of bark, and a quarter of an ounce of camphor.

552. _Charcoal Tooth-powder._--Pound charcoal as fine as possible, in a mortar, or grind it in a mill; then well sift it, and apply a little of it to the teeth about twice a week, and it will not only render them beautifully white, but will also make the breath sweet, and the gums firm and comfortable.

If the charcoal is ground in a mortar, it is convenient to grind it in water, to prevent the dust from flying about. Indeed, the powder is more convenient for use, when kept in water.

553. _A safe Tooth-powder._--Cut a slice of thick bread into squares, and burn it till it becomes charcoal. Pound it, and sift it through a _fine_ muslin. It is then ready for use.

554. _Another Tooth-powder._--Mix hartshorn shavings, calcined and pulverized, three-fifths; myrrh, pulverized, two-fifths.

555. _A good Dentifrice._--Dissolve two ounces of borax in three pints of boiling water; before it is quite cold, add one tea-spoonful of tincture of myrrh, and one table-spoonful of spirits of camphor. Bottle the mixture for use. Add one wine-glassful of the solution to half a pint of tepid water, and use it daily. It preserves and beautifies the teeth, arrests decay, and induces a healthy action in the gums.

556. _Camphor Tooth-powder._--This excellent dentifrice is made by mixing prepared chalk, finely pulverized, and sifted through a fine muslin, with an equal quantity of pulverized camphor, prepared in the same way. It is a good preservative of the teeth.

557. _Orris-root Tooth-powder._--Mix equal quantities of finely pulverized and sifted orris-root and prepared chalk. Charcoal may be used instead of chalk, in both these receipts, but it must be prepared with great care, else its grittiness will injure the enamel of the teeth.

558. _To whiten the Teeth._--Mix honey with finely powdered charcoal, and use the paste as a dentifrice.

559. _Wash for the Teeth._--One ounce of myrrh, powdered, and dissolved in one pint of spirits of wine. A little of this dropped on the tooth-brush, is excellent for the teeth and gums.

560. _To remove Tartar from the Teeth._--1st. The use of the tooth-brush night and morning, and at least rinsing the mouth after every meal at which animal food is taken. 2d. Once daily run the brush lightly two or three times over soap, then dip it in salt, and with it clean the teeth, working the brush up and down rather than--or as well as--backwards and forwards. This is a cheap, safe, and effectual dentifrice. 3d. Eat freely of common cress--the sort used with mustard, under the name of small salad; it must be eaten with salt only. If thus used two or three days in succession, it will effectually loosen tartar, even of long standing. The same effect is produced, though perhaps not in an equal degree, by eating strawberries and raspberries, especially the former. A leaf of common green sage rubbed on the teeth, is useful both in cleansing and polishing, and probably many other common vegetable productions also.

561. _Obs._ Soap is not at all a desirable medium for cleaning the teeth, as, though it may whiten for the time, the alkaline process destroys the enamel.

562. _To fill a decayed Tooth._--When a tooth is too much decayed to be filled by a dentist, or the person is at a distance from one, gutta percha will be found an useful expedient. Drop a small piece of this substance in boiling water, then taking off as much as will probably fill the tooth nearly level, press it, while soft, into the cavity. Then hold cold water in the mouth on that side, to harden it. It has been known to preserve a tooth two years at least, and keeps it free from cold.