Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/147

for use. The face should be bathed with very hot water before applying the above. As a rule, hot water will take out most of the sunburn; no soap should be used.

A Shiny Skin.—To prevent a shiny skin use a small lump of camphor, or a few drops of the spirits of camphor, in the washing water.

To Cure a Rough Blotched Complexion.—Take a bran bath at least once a day. Tie the bran in a muslin bag and either boil it in the water or pour boiling water over it; besides this bathe the face two or three times a day in bran water as hot as you can bear it.

COMPLEXION HINTS.

A blotchy complexion can be improved by rubbing into the skin some flowers of sulphur mixed with a little drop of milk and left to stand a few hours before using. This is also beneficial for black heads.

For a greasy complexion nothing is better than tomato juice rubbed in and allowed to dry.

The juice of the water melon and cucumber are great beautifiers of the complexion. Fresh they are best, but the juice can be preserved in bottles.

THE HANDS.

THE hand is said to be an index to the mind and character. But when we consider how the hand alters and deteriorates through hard work we must doubt the theory. So many ladies, particularly in Australia, have to do their own work that it becomes utterly impossible for them to retain their pretty refined hands. Plunging them into hot water, washing, and especially wringing the clothes, destroys both the shape and texture of the hands. However, with care and attention they will recover much of their beauty when the necessity for hard work ceases. I have already given a very good pomade for whitening the hands, and I would impress upon those who use it, to do so regularly or no result will come from it.

The hands should be washed constantly and in warm water as a rule. When they have been doing kitchen work a lemon cut in halves and rubbed all over them before washing will help to cleanse, and is a great help in taking off the smell of grease, &c. You want to cut it, squeeze out the juice into a cup and rub the fruit part all over the hands, and the pure juice after if necessary, then wash in warm water with carbolic soap, or common yellow will do, and again with "pasta mack" used in the water, which gives a pleasant odour to the hands. The nails must be kept very short and well brushed, and a piece of pumice stone should always be kept on the washstand for cleaning the sides of the fingers where the dirt seems to get ingrained in the skin. Biting the nails is a horrible habit and quite spoils the shape of the