GRACEFUL HANDS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 400, 8 December 1932, Page 2

GRACEFUL HANDS

R. M.

Blomfield.)

HOW TO ACQUIRE THEM BEAUTIFUL WOMEN SJIOULD ' NEVER NEGLECT THEIR HANDS. SIMPLE METHODS OF CARE. (Specially Written for th'e "Post"

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A lovely hand is one of the most attractive possessions a woman can have, and it is difficult to imagine a woman as being really pretty who has not pretty hands comhined with her other attractions. Hands in most cases should receive a daily massage to mould the fingers to a more graceful shape and to anake the skin smooth. The treatment is hest given at hedtime. First scrub the hands well with soap and warm water. Put a little oatmeal in the water to soften it if it is hard. Rinse well and dry thoroughly. Next, apply some kind of cream to the hands; this may be a lemon bleaching eream if the skin needs whitening, or an almond cream or muscle oil if the hands are thin, or just pare cold cream m'ay be used. Massage each fingertip for several minutes, gently moulding the tip to a point. Do not neglect th'e back of the hands. Their massage with .a rotatory motion with your thumb and first two fingers, beginning on your little finger and working up and down each finger several times, massage the other hand in the same way. Maniiciuirinig. For manicuring, you need a long flexible file — it is economy to buy the very best you can procure — emery boards, curved scissors, orange wood sticks, cotton wool, chamois buffer, cuticle cream, cuticle remover and polish. After filing into the desired shape, soak th'e fingers in warnx soapy water before proceeding with your manicure. The skin around the nail should be very geixtly pressed back until the half-moons show — this may take some weeks if the cuticle is adhering closely to the nail — and elip off any rough edges with the nail scissors. The cuticle should never be cut if you can avoid it, pushing it back and softening it will usually control it. An emery board is a great convenience for smoothing off the rough edges of the nails that are left after filing. It is always a good plan to polish and buff the xxails well before applying a varnish — if desfred — as. this gives a much easier and smoother surface and also makes the varnish more waterproof. Let the nails dry thoroughly before you touch' them. Washing. In winter the water used for washing should never be cold, but warm, or at least tepid, and special attention should be given to th'e soap used. Whatever soap is used it should contain an excess of fat and should never be chosen for its scent. On the contrary, highly scented soaps are bad for the skin, owing to the amount of ethereal oils which they eontain. If you have a tendency to rough hands, you must get into the habit of wearing gloves at night and during the day as much as possible. The best type of gloves for daily use are chamois, or wool and silk, which' do not impede the circulation as much as gloves of kid. Tight gloves impede the circulation and as soon as they are removed the blood rushes to the hands and makes them more eonsupicuous than ever.

Chapped Hands. Nothing is better for chapped hands than an application of rose water and glycerine well rubbed in after washing, before the hands are perfectly dry, the drying process being finished afterwards. When badly chapped a few drops of pure glycerine should be well rubbed in and a pair of loosefitting gloves worn during the night. The application of pure, glycerine • to badly chapped hands is rath'er an heroic remedy, but it is more efficacious than anything else, all trace of roughness disappearing in the eourse of two or three treatments. Bear in mind, small hands are lxot neces'sarily a mark of beauty these days, and a large hand with wellshaped fingers, nicely kept nails, and satin-smooth skin is much more lovely than a hand which has only smallness as its reeommendation. Note. — The writer will be pleased to answer any questions regarding beauty culture which may be addressed to her care of the Editor, "Morning Post."