YOU AND BEAUTY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 112, 15 August 1941, Page 44

YOU AND BEAUTY

ARMS AND THE WOMAN AVE you ever solemnly inspected your elbows? Probably not. The most one ever sees of them is the front or side view. Yet they have as many potentialities for beauty as Katisha’s right shoulder blade, and these potentialities are too often neglected. Next time you are on a dance floor or a tennis court, notice people’s elbows. The dimpled one is all too infrequent, but its infrequency is the fault of Nature. However, even if you haven’t been blessed with dimpled elbows, it’s no excuse for having gnarled ones, If your elbows look scraggy, the best treatment is a brisk rub with nail-brush or loofah. This will remove any scaly flakes of skin, and also, by stimulating the circulation, do away with any tendency to permanent gooseflesh. If the skin on the elbows is discoloured, the best treatment is to sit at your desk or table with the elbows ¢omfortably ensconced in two squeezed half lemons. You can carry out this treatment quite comfortably while reading. Afterwards, finish the treatment by rubbing in a little cold cream, and allowing it to stay on all night. Hair on the fore-arms can easily be removed by rubbing gently with pumice or with one of those emery "mitts." First powder the arms liberally with talc, and then rub with a gentle circular movement. Quite often the hair can be rendered quite invisible merely by bleaching. Frequent applications of hydrogen peroxide will not only scavenge but weaken the hair growth. Often the beauty of the arms is marred by the thickness of the upper arm. Here are two exercises to reduce a fleshy upper arm: 1. Stand with arms stretched sideways, thumbs up. Slowly raise the arms till you feel the strain from shoulder to elbow. Lower slowly to shoulder level and repeat. 2. Lie, with elbows on the floor, forearms at right angles to it. Now, by lowering the forearms, touch wrists to floor backwards. Still keeping wrists on the floor bring elbows into waist. Repeat. If you want graceful hands and wrists and haven’t the chance to take up fencing, practise wrist flicking. Stand with arms bent, hands hanging limp and relaxed, like a dog begging. Now flick the hands up and down as rapidly as possible. This, by the way, is an excellent method of restoring circulation to cold fingers. Freckles on the arms can be dealt with by constant applications of peroxide or lemon juice. But if "freckle" means large brown blotch, protection during the hot weather is essential, and it is worse than useless undertaking any treatment now unless you are prepared to sacrifice summer freedom by either wearing long sleeves in the hot weather or by using some pro’ ve cream on the arms.