BEAUTY VIA THE BATHROOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 364, 26 May 1928, Page 20

BEAUTY VIA THE BATHROOM

By MARJORIE CROOME. Most women appreciate the fragrance which is imparted to a hot bath by bath salts, but few realise that there are many other ways of making a bath both beautifying and refreshing, at small cost. Oatmeal baths are particularly beneficial for the skin. Two handfuls of oatmeal and one handful of powdered orris root should be tied up in a muslin bag, and placed in the bath while the water is running. Allow the bag to remain until sufficient water is drawn. Another beauty bath is obtained by the use of a muslin bag filled with almond meal and the shavings of castile soap. Ammonia Invigorates Cloudy ammonia is amazingly invigorating, and can be prepared quite easily. Rut half an ounce of soft soap in a clean basin and mix it to a smooth paste with one tablespooniul of water, taking care to prevent the formation of lumps. Next add, very slowly, half an ounce of ordinary solution of ammonia, stirring all the time. Complete the preparation by gradually adding water_ until the mixture measures about half a pint. Keep in a bottle and use two or three tablespoonfuls for each bath, remembering that it must not be added until just before entering the bath. Try squeezing the juice of a lemon into the water. The fragrance is retieshing, and the juice softens and whitens the skin. The addition of pine water to a bath is strongly recommended for sleeplessness. This is made by placing some well-washed pine needles into a saucepan containing a little cold water, and bringing to the boil. Simmer for about JO minutes; strain off the liquid, and keep in a glass bottle ready for use. Lavender or Sage Lavender flowers or sage leaves tied in muslin and left to stand in a jug of boiling water, provide a delightfully aromatic lotion to add to a bath. Here is another recipe which will be found exhilarating. Mix two parts of tartaric acid with four parts of bicarbonate of soda, and keep in a tin with a well-fitting lid. Just before entering the bath, drop in a handful of the mixture together with a few drops of eau-de-Cologne or other perfume. The mixture causes an effervescence, which, if only momentary, is very fascinating.