C. J. FOLSOM, Bookseller and Stationer, 40 FUI.TOi\, One door above Pearl.st. N. Y. Cj UCSB LIBRARY O >. /^i Jk •. I' TOILETTE HEALTH, BEAUTY, AND FASHION: EMBRACING THE ECONOMY OF THE BE.IRD, BREATH, COMPLEXION, EARS, EYES, EYE-BROWS, EYE-LASHES, FEET, FORE- HEAD, GUMS, HAIR, HEAD, HANDS, LIPS, MOUTH, MUSTACHIOS, NAILS OF THE TOES, NAILS OF THE FINGERS, NOSE, SKIN, TEETH, TONGUE, &c. &c. INCLUDING THE COMFORTS OF DRESS AND THE DECORATIONS OF THE NECK ; ALSO THE TREATMENT OF THE DISCOLORATIONS OF THE SKIN, CORNS — ERUPTIONS — SPOTS — PIMPLES, SCORBUTIC OR SPONGY GUMS, TAINTED BREATH— TOOTH-ACHE— CARIOUS, OR DE- CAYED TEETH— WARTS— WHITLOWS, PREVENTION OF BALDNESS, GREY HAIR, ETC. WITH DIRECTIONS FOR THE USE OF MOST SAFE AND SALUTARY COSMETICS — PERFUMES — ESSENCES — SIMPLE WATERS — DEPILATORIES, AND OTHER PREPARATIONS TO REMOVE SUPERFLUOUS HAIR, TAN, EXCRESCENCES, ETC. AND A VARIETY OF SELECT RECIPES FOR THE DRESSING ROOM OF BOTH SEXE3. BOSTON: ALLEN AND TICKNOR. ia34. Charles A. GJreen, Printer, 19 Water-street. CONTENTS. Page. introduction ix CHAPTER I. Cleanliness 1 Use of Baths, 2 CHAPTER H. Toilette of the Hair 3 Head-dresses of the Ancients Ancient Britons Jewish and Grecian Women Roman Ladies, &c. - - 4 Head-dress of a Trojan . . . . ~\ the Athenians - - - - ^ 3 — 10 Israelites . . . . ) Ladies' Hair in the reign of Charles n. - - 11 A Man of Fashion in 1052 12 Hair at the end of reign of Charles L - - - 13 Periwig, when introduced ----- 14 Bequest of a large Black Wig - - - - ib. Patches, some Account of ib. CHAPTER HI. Forehead and its Decorations - - - - 15 Observations on the French Curls as now worn - 17 Opinions of Lavater and Winkelmaii - - - 18 Criticisms on the Hair as worn at the Present Day - 19 Milliners and Painters ib. Heads, Complexions, Statues, Shapes, Busts, Re- marks on -------20 Imitations in Hair-dress - 21 Monstrous Head-dresses, Bonnets, &.c. - - 22 CHAPTER IV. Formation and Structure of the Hair - - - 22 Analysis of the Hair 23 IV CONTENTS. Page. Chevalier's Remarks on ditto 24 Vegetation of the Hair, &c. 26 CHAPTER V. Causes of Grey Hair 28 Baldness ib. Dr. Darwin's opinion, &c. 29 CHAPTER VI. Attentions necessary to the Preservation of the Hair 32 Scurf, cautious Removal of ib. Health of the Head, &c. ib. CHAPTER VH. Hair Ointments 35 Powders -------- ib. Washes, &c. to preserve, &c. - - - - ib. Recipes, No. 1,2, 3, 4, 3 40 To make the Hair grow, and prevent its falling - 41 Recipes, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - - - - 42 CHAPTER VIII. Directions for staining the Hair - - - - 43 Compositions and Tinctures - - - - - ib. Recipes, No. 1,2, 3, 4.5, 6, &c. - - - 43 Method of Dying the Beard and Whiskers, Eye- brows, &c. 49 CHAPTER IX. Removal of superfluous Hair - - - - 51 Depilatories 53 — 51 CHAPTER X. Cosmetics : — Genuine Balm of Mecca, &c. - - . - Virgin Milk • Description of, by Lady Mary Wortley 65 Cosmetic Oils 68 to 72 Cosmetic Washes 73 Denmark Lotion ib. Pigeon Water - - - - - - - ib. Wash a la Marie Antoinette - - - - 74 Washes to look Young ib. Vine Water - . . . . - 75 CONTENTS. V Page, Rose and Pimpernel Waters .... 75 Strawberry Water 76 Barley Water ib. Cosmetic Pomades for Wrinkles, Pimples, &:c. 77, 78 Observations on Cosmetics 79 CHAPTER XI. Injunctions relative to the Refinement of the Skin - 84 Pomatums for the Skin 83 Lipsalves - - 86—88 CHAPTER XH. Paints for the Face 88 Origin of the Art ib. Observations on 89 1. On White Paint 90 To make white Paint for the Complexion - - 9? A Salve used as Paint 92 2. On Red Paint ib. Predilection in favor of Rtxi - - - - ib. Vegetable Substances ib. Mineral ditto 93 Turkish Method of preparing Carmine - - ib. A Secret to ellace Wrinkles - - - - 95 To compose the Montpellier Toilette - - - 96 CHAPTER XHI. On the Mouth and Breath 97 Causes of tainted Breath, and Treatment 98, 99 To make a fragrant Quid - - - - - 100 Bilious Pills ib, CHAPTER XIV. On the Lips 102 CHAPTER XV, On the Teeth and Gums 102 Toothpicks, Remarks on 103 Economy of the Teeth and Mouth - - - 104 ClIAPTKR XVI. On the Mouth, Tongue, Throat, Teeth, and Gums, - lOG Formation of Tartar on the Teeth - - 107 Whitejiess of the Teeth, how lost - - - - ib. To correct Black Teeth . . . - ib VI CONTENTS, Page. To preserve the Teeth 108 Accidents of the Gums ib. Tincture for the Teeth - - , - - - ib. Mixture for decayed Teeth 110 Coral Stick for the Teeth lU To make the Gums firm ib. On False Teeth 112 On Dentifrices or Tooth Powders - - - - 113 CHAPTER XVII. To relieve the Tooth-ache without removing the Tooth 117 CHAPTER XVIII. On the Ears .... 123 CHAPTER XIX. On the Eyes and Nose 124 Washes for, &c. 126 CHAPTER XX. On the Eye-brows 128 CHAPTER XXI. On the Eye-lashes 130 CHAPTER XXII. On the Beauty and Expression of the Eyes and Eye- brows - - - - - - - -133 On Black Eyes 135 On Blue Eyes 136 On large and small Eyes ib. CHAPTER XXIII. On the Hands and Nails 137 To improve the Beauty of - - . - - 139 Chaps, Remedies for 140 Warts and Chilblains, Remedies for ... 142 CHAPTER XXIV. On the Nails ... - - 147 CHAPTER XXV. On the Feet and Toes 101 CONTENTS. VU Page. CHAPTER XXVI. Corns and Bunions. Remedies for ... - 153 On the Shaving Toilette I06 Economy of the Razor ib. Lotion for a Scurfy or Tettery Chin - - - 157 Shaving Liquid 159 Tr-nsparcnt Soap ib. O 1 Hones and Razor Strops ib. To choose and preserve - ib. Accidents in Shaving, to remedy and prevent - - 160 CHAPTER XXVII. Ablution by means of the Bath, &.c. — The Warm Bath, a Cosmetic, &c. 162 An Aromatic Bath .,..-. 166 An Emollient Bath for the Feet .... 167 A Cosmetic Bath ib. Bath of Modesty ib. CHAPTER XXVIII. The Economy of Dress 169 Animal Wool 170 Linen Cloth ib. Flannel 172 CHAPTER XXIX. JVeckcloths, Stocks, JXecklaces .... 175 CHAPTER XXX. The Graces 178 CHAPTER XXXI. Fashion and Dress 187 CHAPTER XXXII. Concluding Advice to the Ladies ... - 191 CONTKNTS. APPENDIX. Page, Miscellaneous Recipes fou the Toilette : 1. Eau de Cologne 194. 2. A Kalydor for the Complexion - - - 195 3. Bags to scent Linen ib. 4. An agreeable sweet-scented Composition 196 5. A sweet-scented Bag to wear in the Pocket - ib, 6. A Cosmetic Wash-Ball - - - - 197 7. Madame Pompadour's Wash-Ball - - - ib, 8. A cool evaporating Aromatic Lotion, for the Face, Hands and Neck ib. 9. A perfume for Gloves 198 10. Another ib, 11. The Fountain-of-Youth Water - - - ib. 12. To make the Hair and Whiskers curl - - 199 INTRODUCTION, IT has long been a subject of general complaint— and justly BO — that every work which has hitherto appeared, professing to have the affairs of the toilette for its object, in which so many personal attentions are combined, and principally a healthy condition of the body with a corresponding complex- ion, has been greatly deficient in useful information and prac- tical application, to such a degree, as to leave the readers doubtful, and often not a little puzzled how to act, in consult- ing the high and flattering expectations, that, through such equivocal mediums, have been held out to them. Indeed, it may be safely asserted, that every cosmetic or beautifier of the skin, the composition of which is kept a secret from the public, is a false and fraudulent commodity — extremely dan- gerous, always uncertain, and in the majority of cases decid- edly inert. Hence then, our firm opinion that a work which shall treat such subjects in an open, candid, and unprejudiced manner, without partiality or afl'ection, and on professional princi- ples, seems to have been long wanting — a work of this kind, we repeat, in which the health and personal appearance of every class of society may be consulted with benefit and safe- ty, and in which, by the explanations laid down, people may be enabled to draw a correct inference between w hat is actu- ally wholesome, and that which is decidedly deleterious, is the object of our present labours ; but how far we have suc- ceeded in establishing this intention, must be left to the judgment, as well as the opinion, of others. Having, in the present volume, treated of the most impor- tant subjects of the toilette, and introduced many simple, though no less efficacious means of counteracting diseased action, and promoting a healthy appearance of the skin, with the substances used for correcting many errors connected therewith, we shall lay before our readers at once a brief out- line of these operations, in the various provinces to which more particular attention has been directed : — namely, X INTRODUCTION. I. Baths, of every description, for the promotion of health,, cleanliness, and exercise. 2 Cosmetics, generally of various compositions, for the pu- rification of the skin, and to produce a healthful bloom on the countenance and other external exposed parts. 3. Depilitories, or such substances as may be safely em- ployed for the removal of superfluous hair from parts of the body where it may be neither seemly nor conveinent. 4. Z>?/es, to change the color of the hair, whiskers, and eye- brows. 5. Lotions, or washes, for healing and renovating, as well as beautifying the skin, wherever it may be injured by the heat of the sun, — as for the removal of tan, freckles, or scurf j for the eyes, &c. 6. Lip-salves, for preventing and healing chaps or excori- ations, and giving a healthy appearance to the orifice of the mouth. 7. Oils for the hair — to purify, preserve, and prevent it from turning grey, or falling prematurely. 8. Powders, for various cosmetic purposes. 9. Perfumes of the richest and most permanent odor, for the person, clothes, wardrobes, &c. 10. Paints, metallic and vegetable — their dangerous prop- erties when of the former description — and to prepare the lat- ter for certain uses 5 with directions and admonitions relating to them — when and where serviceable. II. Pomades, of various kinds and fragrance, as well for the hair as the skin. 12. Razors. To select and preseve them for constant use. Strops, and soaps for shaving; and the easiest methods of re- moving the beard, as well as guarding the face from acci- dent, &.C. 13. Tooth Powders, of various compositions, as well as the most celebrated ; their various properties, and the materi- als of which they are compounded. These, with the whole range of the other incidental appen- dages relating to the toilette, including also the medical treatment of Corns, Scorbutic or Spongj' Gums, Chilblams, Tainted Breath, Discoloratlons, Toothache, Erutions, Carious, or Decayed Teetli Excrescences, Warts, Pimples, Whitlows, Spots, UCT10>. XI These are the principal subjects, to which the most minute attention has been directed; and in which, at the same time, though distinctly connected, are embraced the economy of some of the most important structures and functions of the body, with a view to health ; such, for instance, as those parts which require constant attention — namely. Beard and Chin, Hands, Breath, Lips, Complexion, Mouth, Ears, Mustachios, Eyes, Nails of the Fingers Eye-brows, and Toes, Eve-lashes, Nose, Feet, Skin, Gums, Teeth, Hair, Tongue, Head, generally Whiskers, &c. The wish to enjoy perpetual youth, and consequently to avert the approaches of old age, is probably one of the most predominant and pardonable, and a rational desire to improve and beautify the surface of the body becomes, in consequence, no frivolous pursuit. It excites as much interest and is pro- ductive of as beneficial consequences, as the exertions of many pseudo-philosophers, who devote the toil of years to ar- range their notions in a certain systematic form, but who are not fortunate enough to attain the great object of their labors. We have had many opportunities to observe that the desire of beauty, when restrained within moderate bounds, may prove a source of virtuous and laudable pursuits, and may also be greatly instrumental to the preservation of health ; at the same time, we arc equally as persuaded that this desire is pursued by methods not the most proper, and that, from not having a just idea of beauty, females make many valuable sac- rifices, not only of things essential to health, but sometimes to life itself. These considerations, and the means of avert- ing evil consequences, by the adoption of empirical prepara- tions have, we trust, been amply explained. Cleanliness, activity, and flexibility of the skin, are, con- sistently with our subject, the principal requisites to the health of individuals, as well as of whole nations. But, in- stead of contributing to its improvement, very little attention is comparatively paid to it, except to the skin of the face and hands, which, but too frequently are made the fallacious in- dex of hcallh. Indeed we arc convinced that most of the pa- XU INTRODUCTION, tients and valetudinarians, who take so much pains to refresh and fortify the internal parts of the body, by invigorating po- tations, seldom, if ever, pay any regard to their external sur- face — an object of equal importance, and perhaps standing in much greater need of corroborants than the former. Hence it happens that the skin of convalescents is observed to be particularly relaxed and obstructed; that they are liable to particular colds upon the least change of temperature, and that every day of their recovery renders them more suscepti- ble of relapses. The children of the people of the middle and lower ranks, in this country, are perhaps better managed than in most countries on the continent, because frequent and daily bath- ing is nowhere so generally practised as in England. As soon, however, as children attain a certain age, this practice again is as generally neglected ; and after the tenth or twelfth year, the surface of the body is no longer thought of. Thus a foundation is laid for numberless evils, and particularly for that scorbutic taint, which too often prevails among the low- er orders ; and which is more or less connected with other unfashionable complaints among the higher ranks. We then begin to accustom ourselves to sedentary habits, to think, and partake of the pleasures of society. The lady, the man of fortune, and the ill-fated man of letters, all require more ac- tive exercise than they actually take, which alone can pro- mote a free perspiration, and refresh the surface of the body ; but by their indolent habits, the whole machine is in a lan- guid state, and the skin becomes contracted, obstructed, dis- colored, and debilitated. The husbandman, indeed, labors diligently ; and though, by perspiration, his skin preserves more life and activity, it is neither suiFiciently clean, nor prevented from being obstruct- ed by perspirable matter. The artist and manufacturer carry on their pursuits in a sedentary manner, and in a confined and impure air 3 the latter, in the duties of his occupation, gener- ally employs unwholesome substances, so that, at length, in some parts of the body, he loses the feeling of this organ en- tirely. The voluptuary and the glutton do not sutfer less than the former, as tlicy impair the energies of the skin by ex- cesses of every kind, and take no precautions to preserve its elastic texture. And if we add to the list of predisposing causes, an inconstant climate, which at one hour of the day braces, at another relaxes the surface of the body, alternately heats and cools it. and consequently distracts its uniform ac- INTRODUCTION. XIU tion ; it will be easily understood, that the skin must for these reasons become vitiated, and hence a source of many of our most fashionable positions. The just proportion of the fluids^ and the circulation of the blood, are also determined in no small degree by the skin 5 so that if these fluids become thick and languid, the whole mo- mentum of the blood, is repelled towards the interior parts. Bathing, which could nearly obviate all these effects, is not merely a cleanser of the skin, enlivening and rendering it more fit for performing its offices 5 it also refreshes the mind, and spreads over the whole system a sensation of ease, activi- ty, and pleasantness. It likewise removes stagnation in the larger, as well as in the capillary vessels; gives an uniform, free circulation to the blood ; and preserves that wonderful harmony in our interior organs, on the disposition of which our health and comfort depend. In the body of the work, we have constantly endeavored to show that beauty and health, are inseparable companions. The female, therefore, who takes the greatest care of her beau- ty, will, all things else being equal, enjoy the best health, and defer till the latest period, the melancholy arrival of frigid and decrepid age. It is, therefore, we repeat, from particular attention to the skin, that we have to expect health and long life, a comfortable old age, and perhaps also, an effect still more rare, the complete renovation of the physical constitu- tion — the restoration of youth — which could not fail to crown the triumph of cosmetics. The possibility, in fact, of at- taining to extreme old age, is so clearly demonstrated on the authority of ancient as well as modern patriarchs, that we have no occasion to say more on the subject. Numerous are the instances that might be quoted in proof of this asser- tion ; and that this renovation is possible, and that in part attributable to the good condition of the skin, which is invig- orated by diet, air, and exercise, is neither a paradox nor a new broached opinion. Most of the physicians, ancient as well as modern, who have devoted their attention to the means of prolonging life or restoring the vigor of youth, have invariably recommended particular care to be taken of the skin. The skin has such intimate relations with the internal organs, that the condition of the former has an astonishing influence on the latter. When the sensibility of the surface is impaired — when the myriads of orifices that are designed for the continual purification and renovation of our fluids XIV INTRODUCTION. are obstructed, if not closed, — when the subtle nervous tex- ture is nearly deprived of its energy, so that it becomes an impenetrable coat of mail, is there any reason to wonder that we are so often harassed by a sense of constraint and anxiety, and that this uneasiness, in many cases, terminates in a de- sponding gloom, and at length in complete melancholy ? Paints must not be confounded with Cosmetics, which often really do impart whiteness, freshness, suppleness, and brilliancy to the skin, when it is naturally deficient in those qualities; consequently they assist TS ature, and make amends for her defects; and it may be affirmed, that they are to beauty what medicines are to health, when properly and timely administered. Paints are far, however, from answer- ing this purpose. They are not only incapable of embellish- ing the skin, but those who make use of them are extremely fortunate when they do not contribute to increase their de- fects. They cannot give the skin the desired qualities — they only imitate them in a manner more or less coarse : in a word, they may be aptly denominated corporeal hypocrisy. Formerly, in the composition of these paints, mineral sub- stances were only used ; under which name was qualified every composition, white or red, which females with pale faces made use of to heighten their complexion, imitate the colors of youth, or artificially to supply its absence. The most ancient paint, and that which has enjoyed the largest favor, was antimony. To embellish and produce fine large black eyes, the women rubbed the eye-lashes and eye-lids with a needle that had been dipped in the liver of antimony : the Syrian, Babylonian, and Arabian women still employ this substance for the eyes; and also use it to preserve their eyes against the intensity of the sun's ray. The Grecian and Roman women paint the eyes black, as well as the Asiatics; but as this paint does not repair their faded color, they invent- ed others, namely, the white and red. Throughout nearly all Asia and Africa, the people paint different parts of the body white, red, yellow and green, ac- cording to their ideas of beauty. For a length of time the Russian women were in the habit of using rouge, plucking out the hairs of the eye-brows, and painting them artificially. The Greenland women daub their faces with white and yel- low ; the Zemblian women make blue streaks on their fore- heads and chins; the Mingrelian women paint the whole lace, the eye-brows, forehead, the nose, and cheeks; the Japanese paint the eye-brows and lips blue; the Arabians apply a INTRODUCTION. XV blue color to the lips, and the most exposed parts of the body, which they convey into the flesh by means of a needle made expressly for the purpose. In Turkey they make their eyes blacker by means of a dye which is injected into them ; m like manner, they change the color of the hair, the hands and feet, yellow and red. The Moorish women use molybdena to dye the eye-lashes and eye-brows. In fine, the women of Asia. Africa, and some parts of America, paint various parts of their body, color the hair, and tattoo themselves in a variety of ways, according to their own views of beauty and taste — indeed, paint appears to be the insepara- ble appendage to the toilette of the ladies of all countries. The practice of painting began to be adopted in France and England during the time of Catherine de Medicis. It was not till long afterwards that it became general 3 but during the last century it arrived at such a pitch, especially among the higher orders of society, that none but individuals of the lower classes durst appear in public with faces such as nature had formed them. It cannot be expected that persons unacquainted with the composition of cosmetics, or paints, should be able to discrim- inate between a vegetable and a mineral preparation. So many pernicious nostrums are advertised of the latter class, all for the pretended purpose of beautifying and embellishing the human face, that too frequently instead of accomplishing the desired object, they obstruct many of the most impor- tant operations of nature, which insensibly consume the vi- tal heat, check the perspiration, and lay the foundation of cutaneous as well as internal diseases, which sap the con- stitution, and end in deformity and disease. Thus, from the implicit credulity of some, and the exuberant imagination of others, observations and experiments, however incompatible with sound reason . and philosophy, have been multiplied, with the avowed design of establishing proofs or refutations of this or that absurd opinion. In this manner have fanati- cism and imposture falsified the plainest truths, or forged the most unfounded and ridiculous claims 5 insomuch that one glaring inconsistency was employed to combat another, and folly succeeded folly, till a fund of materials has been trans- mitted to posterity, sufficient to form a history of the subject of no contemptible magnitude. In proportion as people value their lives, comforts and conveniences, in the same ratio ought they to distrust nostrums of every description, be they either for internal use or external application. XVI INTRODUCTION. Bears' grease, certain oils, balms, balsams, kalydors, &c., are so many galleries held up to the credulous, as to reflect discredit on human penetration and sagacity, when their adoption is preferred on the solitary ipse dixit of the vendor, to the more simple processes and preparations which nature, with the aid of cleanliness, is certain of effecting, without either danger or disappointment : we cannot recommend any of the advertised nostrums either for the hair or the com- plexion. THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. CHAPTER I. CLEANLINESS. As a preservative of health the value of cleanliness must be obvious to every sensitive mind, whether in- deed it be considered in a medical, a moral, or a cos- metical point. Personal cleanliness, and every thing connected therewith, is a principal duty of man : an unclean and dirty person is never in health, and, at best, is always a loathsome and disgusting sight. It is better to wash twenty times a-day, than to allow a dirty spot to remain on any part of the skin. On places where impurities are suffered to obstruct the pores of the skin, the insensible perspiration is not only suppressed, but the absorption by the skin also ; and if the whole body be, as it were, covered with a crusted coat of perspirated matter, it is impossible under such dis- gusting circumstances to possess sound blood, or enjoy good health. 2 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. The body, and particularly the joints, ought to bo frequently washed with pure water, especially in sum- mer, when the perspirable matter, being of an unctuous, clammy nature, obstructs the excretion by the pores. The face, neck, and hands, being most exposed to tlie air, dust, and the like, ought to be daily washed, morning and evening. Attention should also be paid to the ears, by occasionally cleaning them out, that the sense of hearing may not be impaired by the accu- mulation of indurated wax, which, from its acrid na- ture, may prove unpleasant as well as injurious. The whole head ought to be frequently washed and cleaned, as it perspires much, and is, besides, exposed to the dust and other particles in the atmosphere. Washing opens the pores, while the comb, by its close application to the skin, removes the viscid humors and renders them fluid. The use of baths, too much neglected, ought to be more generally introduced. It is not sufficient for the great purposes of cleanliness and health, that a few or more wealthy families repair every season to watering places, or that they even make use of other modes of bathing, either for health or amusement. A very dif- ferent method must be pursued, if we sincerely wish to restore the vigor of a degenerated race : we mean here to inculcate the indispensable necessity of domestic baths, so well known among the ancients, and so uni- versally established all over Europe a few centuries ago* BEAUTY, AND FASHION. CHAPTER 11. TOILETTE OF THE HAIR, AXD HEAD-DRESSES OF THE ANCIENTS. ' Fallen is thy hair, and beautj- is no more.' The ancients considered the hair of the head as the principal ornament of beauty. Venus herself, says Apu- leius, were she destitute of hair, would cease to charm her husband, Vulcan ; * and agreeably with this idea, we find the poets often representing the loss of this embellishment as fatal to personal beauty, in language of similar import to the above line. We meet indeed with scarcely any description of a fine and beautiful woman or man in the Poems of Ossian, witiiout the hair being introduced as one of the greatest ornaments of their persons. Boadicea, the * 'Take away the hair of a beautiful woman, strip her brow of this ornament, and had she even descended from heaven, were she engendered by the sea, were she Venus herself, accompanied by the Loves and the Graces, begirt with her Cistus, and perfumed with the most exquisite odors, if she appears with a bald head, she cannot please- Even her Vulcan would think her disafireeable.' 4 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, heroic queen of the Iceni,* is described by Dis, with very long hair, flowing over her shoulders, floating in the air, and reacliing down below the middle of her back.t The ancient Britons were extremely proud of the length and beauty of their hair ; and it was es- teemed a considerable honor among the ancient Gauls to have long hair. Hence Cagsar, upon subduing this people, made them cut ofi* their hair in token of their submission. The hair of both Jewish and Grecian women, engaged a principal share of their attention ; and the Roman ladies seem to have been no less curious with respect to theirs. They generally wore it long, and dressed in a variety of ways, ornamenting it with gold, silver, &c. On the contrary, the men among the Greeks and Romans, and among the later Jews, wore their hair short, as may be collected from books, medals, and statues. This formed a cliief distinction ^ The Iceni, in the ancient geography of England, inhab- ited the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and Hunt- ingdon. Their heroic queen Boadicea, being defeated and ill-treated by the Romans, poisoned herself. A. D. 61. t We learn from Juvenal and Horace, that, among the Romans, nothing was deemed more essential to the beauty of a young person, than a fine long head of hair — ' Loose to the wind her golden tresses streamed.' Petrarch. But they had a custom of cutting it short about the age of seventeen, and of keeping it so ever after. — See Spence's Pohjmetes, abridged by Tindal, 2d Edit. p. 115. BEAUTV, AND FASHION. O in dress between the sexes ; an observation which il- lustrates a passage in the apostle Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians.* We read of a Trojan, in Homer, who had his hair * instarred with gems and gold,' and Madame Dacier informs us, that the Athenians were accustomed to put little grasshoppers of gold in their hair. Others, we are told, perfumed their hair with large quantities of fra- grant oil, and powdered it with gold-dust. t Those to whom nature had refused this agreeable ornament, sup- plied the defect by art. The Greeks, and after their example the Romans, wore false hair ; a custom which * The Israelites wore their hair very long, and they thought nothing too valuable to enhance the beauty of that highly prized ornament. Josephus informs us, that the guards of king Solomon had long hair floating down their shoulders, and that they every day powdered their hair with gold spangles, which glistened exceedingly when the sun shone upon them. t This practice of embellishing the hair with gold powder, which certainly proves the high value that was set upon it, was not confined to the Jewish nation alone. Some of the Roman Emperors adopted this fashion, as we are informed by Trihellius, PoUiO; and others, concerning the Emperor Gallienus, and by ^lius Lampredius respecting the Empe- ror Commodus. Suetonius also relates, that when Nero appeared upon the stage, either for the purpose of playing on the lyre, or reciting verses of his own composition, which his soldiers, with drawn sabres, obliged the spectators to applaud, he had his hair sprinkled with gold pov.der, that he might resemble Apollo. U THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, has at times greatly prevailed in other countries, not ex- cepting our own* The Greeks, and other nations, when mourning for their deceased relations or particu- lar friends, tore, cut off, and sometimes shaved their hair, which they laid upon the corpse, or threw into the pile, to be consumed together with the body : and this was deemed a token of violent affection. Thus Achilles and others, in Homer, offer theirs to Patroculus : ' O'er all the corpse their scattered locks they throw ' and the little Cupids, on the death of Adonis, accord- ing to Bion, ' Shear their locks, excess of grief to show ' Again ; ' When insatiate death had ravished the youth- ful and blooming Temas,' Her loved companions pay the rites of woe, All, all, alas! the living can bestow ! From their fair heads the graceful curls they shear, Place on her tomb, and drop the tender tear. — Sappho. * Among the Romans, those who were bald, and would not wear a wig, had recourse to a method which to us ap- pears truly extraordinary. They caused hair to be painted on their bare skull, with perfumes and essences composed expressly for that purpose. In verification of this, the exist- ence of so strange a custom. Martial, in an epigram on Phoebus, thus addresses him: 'your counterfeit hair is a falsehood of the perfume which imitates it ; and your skull disgracefully bald, is covered with painted locks ; and you have no occasion for a barber for your head, Phcebus ; you may shave yourself much better with a sponge.' BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 7 This custom is taken notice of in the Scriptures, (see Ezek. xxvii. 31.) It is recorded by Herodotus, that Mardonius, the Persian General, after one of his de- feats, cut off his hair in token of his grief; and Plu- tarch tells us, that when Alexander's friend Hephestion died, that 'mighty robber and murderer,' to express his sorrow, ordered the manes of all his horses and mules to be cut off. The Gauls, before the establishment of the monarchy, wore their hair very long ; and this custom, says Pliny, gave the whole country the appellation of the hairy Gaul, (Gallia Comata.) But, on the foundation of the monarchy, the kings, desirous of having a distinctive mark of their pre-eminence, reserved the right of wear- ing long hair for themselves and the princes of the blood. Their subjects were forbidden to wear long hair ; and this custom continued till the twelfth centu- ry, when Pierre Lombard, Bishop of Paris, at length prevailed upon the king to repeal this prohibition. During the early period of the monarchy, the hair was held in such veneration, that if the object was to de- grade a prince, his head was shaved. In this mannner Clovis treated Casaric, whom he had conquered. The son of that king, involved in the same disgrace, said to his father, in order to comfort him : ' My hair, which has been cut off, was nothing but green branches, which will grow again, for the trunk is not dead.' People, at that time, swore by the hair of their head; and this oath was then held as sacred as when a man now-a- days — swears ' upon his word and honor." 8 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Traitors implicated in one and the same plot, were sentenced to cut off each other's hair. Tredegonda caused the hair of a mistress of her son-in-law to be cut off, and hung up at the door of the prince's apartment. This sort of proceeding was at that time considered as the height of barbarity. A very singular custom of those times likewise proves the great estimation in which the hair of the head was held. In saluting any one to whom it was intended to show the greatest mark of respect, the highest compliment that could be paid was to pluck out a hair from his head, and present it to him. It is related that Clovis pulled a hair from his head, and gave it to St. Germier, to prove how highly he esteemed him, and that the courtiers who witnessed this action of the monarch, were eager to pluck each of them a hair, and to present it to the virtuous bishop, who withdrew enchanted with the politeness of the court. Very grave authors have written some very extensive commentaries on the weight of Absalom's hair ; though the question, we believe, is still undecided ; and it is more than probable that it will never be again agitated. We read (Sam. xiv. 25, 26.) that it weighed no less than 200 shekels, which, if computed by the Jewish shekel as calculated by Bishop Cumberland,* amount to the ^ Jewish doctors greatly differ in estimating the weight of the shekels so often mentioned in the Old Testament. One in the cabinet of Louis XVI, is said to weigh 268 grains: BEAUTY, AND FASHION. i) enormous ponderosity of 81bs. 4oz. troy. But, fortu- nately for the march of intellect, it has been remarked, that when the books of Samuel were revised, after the Babylonish captivity, such weights were mentioned as were then known to them ; and therefore when the his- torian mentions this weight of Absalom's hair, he adds, by way of explanation, that it was after the king's weight; i. e. after the weight of the king of Babylon — whose shekel was only one-third of that of the Jews ; by which supputation the quantity of hair is so reduced, as not to appear altogether incredible : more especially if it be rec- ollected how much the supplementary decorations of those days must increase its weight. After all, it may perhaps be more reasonable to say, with the judicious Harmer, that the present reading may be faulty, as in other cases there have frequently been mistakes in num- bers. ' It was,' says this admirable writer, ' an uncom- monly fine head of hair, of very unusual weight, which is all we know with certainty about it.' Obs. vol. ii. p. 400, ^-c. Many commentators imagine that Absalom was sus- pended by his hair when he was killed by Joab : but others suppose that his neck was so wedged in between the boughs by the quick motion of the mule, that he was not able to disengage himself; ' For,' subjoin Bishop Cumberland, however, asserts, that he always found each of the many tha{ he had weighed, about haif-an-ounce, or 240 grains. 10 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, these last, ' lie certainly wore a helmet when he went to battle,' and hence they conclude, that his hair could not be entangled in the boughs. In many countries, the privation of the hair was a punishment inflicted by public authority ; even at the. present day, criminal law carries it to a certain extent in most countries in Europe. The Greeks and th(! Chactas punished adulteresses by cutting off their hair, which was not suffered to grow again till the following year. The loss of the hair, by females, was considered as the greatest misfortune that could befall them. Thus Martial, vomiting forth imprecations against the women, whom he detests, exclaims, ' may the Sala- mander which possesses the property of making the hair fall off", leave upon thy head traces of his poison, or may the unsparing razor strip it entirely, that thy mirror may exhibit to thee an image worthy of thyself.' And, if it be permitted to pass from a profane to a sacred sub- ject, the prophet Isaiah says, ' because the daughters of Zion have exalted themselves, and have held their heads high as they have walked, making signs with their eyes and gestures with their hands, because they have measured all their steps and studied all their atti- tudes, the Lord will make bald the heads of the daugh- ters of Zion, and will pluck up all their hair.' Having now shown the high estimation in which, as the ' decus et tutamcn ' of the human head, the hair has been held ; we will now proceed to an analytical inves- tigation of it, as regards its structure and properties. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 11 Under Charles II., the ladies' hair was curled and frizzled with the nicest art, and they frequently set it off, as at the present day, with artificial curls, called heart-breakers ; sometimes a string of pearls, or an orna- ment of ribbon was worn on the head ; and in the latter part of this reign, hoods of various kinds were in fash- ion. Patching and painting the face, than which nothing was more common in France, was also too general in England ; but what was much worse, females offered a mean betwixt dress and nakedness, which occasioned the publication of a book entitled, ' A Just and Seasona- ble Reprehension of Naked Breasts aud Shoulders, with a Preface, by Richard Baxter.' A few years afterwards, in the reign of William III., the hair was worn much frizzled and curled : jewels, pearls, and amber, were gen- erally worn in the hair ; and ear-rings, necklaces, brace- lets, ornaments on the stomacher and shoulders. It appears by the broad seal of Charles II., in Sand- ford, dated 1G53, that he wore long hair and whiskers. It also appears from the prints of him in Sir Wilham Lewis's accounts of his establishments at the Hague the same year, that he sometimes wore a large cravat, and, at other times, a long falling band with tassels. His ruffles were large, his doublet short, with large tops, his hair long, with a lock on the right side much longer than the rest. In the reign of Queen Anne the ladies wore tlie hair in a becoming manner curled round the face. The flowing wig, or rather veil, of the finest linen, fastened 12 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, upon the head, fell behind, and prevailed till the high- projecting head-dress was restored, after it had been also continued fifteen years. It was observed by Swift, when dining with Sir Thomas Hanraer, that the Duchess of Grafton, who was there, and wore this unbecoming, un- graceful. Babel head-dress, looked ' like a mad woman.' Her majesty observed the greatest decorum in her dress, and would often condescend to observe in her domestics of either sex, whether a ruffle or a periwig, or the lining of a coat, was appropriate. Lord Bolinbroke was once sent for in haste by the queen, and went to her majesty in a ramillie or tiewig, instead of a full-bottomed one, which so offended his sovereign, that she said, ' I suppose that his lordship will come to court the next time in his peri- wig.' A MAN OF FASHION IN THE YEAR 1652. Mr. Benlowes, in his ' Theophila,' published in 1652, has given us a print of a man of fashion. In his hat, the brim of which is extended horizontally, is a large feath- er ; it inclines much to the right side, as if it were falling off his head. His hair is very long ; his ruffles are dou- ble ; his doublet reaches no lower than the w^aistband of his breeches ; his sword is enormous, and suspended to a belt, which comes over his right shoulder ; his breeches are large, with puffs like small blown bladders, quite round the knees j his boots are very short, with fringed tops, which are almost as ample in their dimension as the brim of his hat. It appears from the same author, BEAUTy, AND FASHION. 13 that black patches were sometimes worn by the beaux during the Commonwealth. Short hair, short bands, short cloaks, and long visages frequently occur in the portraits of this period. Mr. Benlowes has also given us prints of two ladies of the same period, from the pencil of Hallar — one in a stmi- mer, the other in a winter dress. The former is withoiit a cap, has her hair combed like a wig, except that which grows on the crown of the head, which is nicely braided, and rounded in a knot. Her neck-handkerchief is sur- rounded with a deep scalloped lace, and her cuffs are laced much in the same manner. The sleeves of her gown have many slashes, through which her linen is very con- spicuous ; her fan is of moderate size. The latter is rep- resented in a close black hood and a black mask, which just conceals her nose. She wears a sable tippet, and holds a large muff of the same kind, which entirely hides her arms. 'The hair' (at the end of the reign of Charles I.,) says Dr. Granger, ' was worn low on the forehead, and gen- erally unparted : some wore it very long, others of a moderate length. The king, and consequently many others, wore a low lock on the left side, which was con- siderably longer than the rest of the hair. The unseem- liness of this fashion occasioned Mr. Prynne to write a book in quarto against low locks. The beard dwindled very gradually under the two Charles's, till it was reduced to a slender pair of whisk- ers. It became quite extinct in the reign of James II., 14 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, as if its fatality had been with that of the unfortunate house of Stuart. Ladies wore their hair low on the forehead, and pack- ed in 'very small ringlets. Many wore it curled like a peruke, and some braided and rounded in a knot on the top of the crown. They frequently wore strings of pearls in their hair. Ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, and other jewels, were also much worn. The periwig, which had been long used in France, was introduced into England soon after the restoration.* Some men of tender consciences were greatly scan- dalized at this article of dress (the wig,) as equally inde- cent with long hair, and more culpable, because more unnatural. Many preachers inveighed against it in their sermons, and cut their hair shorter, to express their abhorrence of the reigning mode. Patches were routed from the toilette towards the close of Queen Anne's reign, as Addison insisted upon it that every patch ar- gued a pimple ; and to wash away this impression, an inundation of cold creams and lotions rushed in from the Continent. * There is a tradition, that the large black wig which Dr. R. R. bequeathed, among other things of much less consid- eration, to the Bodleian library, was worn by Charles II. — Vide Granger's Biog. Diet. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 15 CHAPTER III. THE FOREHEAD AND ITS DECORATIONS. A SYMMETRICAL developenient of the forehead — or what is usually termed a high forehead, full and broad in just proportion, without the conical inclination of some tolerably high fronts, denotes, in the language of the Phrenologists, a predomination of the intellectual facul- ties over the animal qualities, which are lodged farther back, or in the occiput. Now, as there is much truth in Phrenology, this characteristic of the forehead is prob- ably one of its features, better borne out and supported by experience and observation than many others. A low forehead, with a bulky head backwards, inclines proportionally to the reverse of the former — namely, that the animal qualities predominate over the intellec- tual faculties ; that the individual approaches more close- ly to the instinctive faculties of animals, than the culti- vated, if not innate, intelligence of the human species. Here then we shall drop our Craneological remarks so far, and commence our observations on the beauty and decorations of the forehead." * The forehead barely covered with hair, or neatly and boldly exposed, are distinguishing marks of the condition of 16 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, In every age and country, the head-dress of the la- dies has been more subject to the capricious tyranny of fashion than the decoration of any other part of the body. Ancient authors abound with declamations against the absurdities committed by women in the manner of dressing their hair, and against the circum- stances of their taste. ' You are at a loss,' says Ter- tuUian, ' what to be at with your hair. Sometimes you put it into a press ; at others, you tie it negligently together, or set it entirely at liberty. You raise or lower it according to your fancy. Some keep it closely twisted up into curies, while others choose to let it float loosely in the wind ;' — a proof that women have ever manifested the same love of change. It is, therefore, in vain to declaim against the practice of the present day, and to lay to its account a frivolity not at all pecu- liar to it, but the honour of which it shares with every preceding age. There is now-a-days, as formerly, the same succession of good and bad taste, of pleasing or life of the wearers, or rather of the good or bad taste of the age. Fortune without taste is still a mark of servile acquisi- tion. The manners of certain classes of individuals adhere, more or less, to their origin, notwithstanding the advan- tages of sudden commercial or mechanical opulence. Do- mestic habits take early root, and it is only by some casual or portentous deviation or attraction from the aboriginal trait, that the descendants of opulent boors shake off the clown- ish husk of their enslaved predecessors. The high and un- covered forehead denotes taste and refinement — the forehead covered over to the very eyes, plebeian origin and habits. BEAUTY, AND FASHIOX, 17 grotesque fashions. To expect the fair sex, therefore, to relinquish the love of change, would be to require an impossibility. Let us, then, be satisfied with desiring that caprice may not be the motive of their inconstancy, and that the changes they adopt may, at least, be consist- ent with the principles of good taste. The women of the present day are much improved in the management and dressing of the hair ; though still pretty generally exists the making it fall in heavy curling locks over the forehead and eyes, — a custom totally at variance with every principle of good taste, and destruc- tive of every kind of beauty. The large French curls, when they do not obscure the forehead, are divided on each side of the temple in diagonal, successive rows. The forehead, the seat of lovely candor and maiden purity, which the Greek fair so carefully displayed by turning the hair on either side in a semi-circle towards the temples, and which so exquisitely terminates and completes the contour of a beautiful face, ought not to be concealed by the hair, either in male or female, as if a mark were placed over it. * To give the face the oval form and the comple- ment of beauty,' says Winkelman, the apostle of beauty, * the hair ought to crown the forehead, and to surround the temples, describing a portion of a circle, as it is in general seen in beautiful persons. This form of the forehead is so appropriate to all ideal heads, and the juvenile figures of the ancients, that we meet none with retreating angles, and destitute of hair above 3* 18 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the temples. Very few modern statuaries have made this remark ; all the modern restorations which have placed juvenile heads of men on antique trunks, are distinguishable at first sight by the faulty composition of the hair, which advances in salient angles upon the forehead.' On this point, Lavater concurs in the same opinion with Winkelman; and the ancients thought the hair produced a very bad effect if it descended so low as to hide the forehead. Lucian, designing to represent, in the most ludicrous manner, the hair of an ugly woman, says that it was short, flat, and glued down as it were to her forehead — which might lead us, indeed, were the cir- cumstance not so remote, to imagine he was either de- scribing some of our modern belles, or an Esquimaux In- dian. The ancients, in fine, never represented men with short straight hair upon the forehead, if we except their statues of Hercules. In this case, it was looked upon as an emblem of strength, in allusion to the hair which grows between the horns of the bull. Sidonius Apolli- naris, in describing the Franks of the fifth century, says, * you have conquered monsters whose hair falls down up- on the forehead, while it is cropped quite close down be- hind.' The Franks then dressed their hair, fourteen cen- turies ago, like the generality of our modern belles some years since ; and the coachmen, pugilists, and others of the present day. Not only the Roman women wore long hair, but the fashionables of the opposite sex, who endeavored in BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 19 their costume to copy the feminine graces, also wore their hair very long, as Juvenal, Ovid, and other writers inform us. The bushy, shock-hke manner of covering the fore- head with a profusion of hair, even in curls, as worn by the loungers, dandies, and mimic railitaires, is re- volting to the countenance of a man ; and not only do Buch effeminate appendages subtract from youth, aspect, and manliness of appearance, but frequently leave us in doubt of the gender of the individual, with other im- pressions derogatory to the honor, sentiments, and taste of Englishmen. We mean not to imply that our heads, as well as those of the ladies, ought not to come within the proper sphere of the artist, and indeed nothing is more becoming and proper ; but we declaim against the introduction of foreign locks, curls, and fripperies, which serve to baboonize and obscure, rather than to ornament and illustrate the face of man, however whimsical or parsimonious nature may have been in the moulding of it. As regards the ladies, we would still recommend them to copy the Greek style, not only in their head- dresses, tiie principal ornament of the body, but also in their garments, as closely as the manners and customs of the country, combined with good sense and modesty, will permit. Our milliners, indeed, bear away from our painters the palm of invention ; and if our designers wish to pro- duce something truly ridiculous in the variety of the head-dresses, particularly bonnets, they have only to 20 THE TOILETTK OF HEALTH, copy some of the specimens of the present day. We have heard of Love in a hood; but it was reserved for the pres- ent age to display the Graces in bonnets. The introduc- tion, however, of this huge fashion is not without its ad- vantages ; it produces a very happy effect in caricatures, and some of our artists have not failed to profit by it ; it gives employment to our fair marchandes de mode, and occupies the more industrious part of the sex, who de- pend for support on honorable exertion and fair compe- tition. We shall conclude our observations on head-dresses with the following remarks : — It may be asked, how ought the head to be dressed ? Perhaps it may be replied, chacun a son gout. The ladies themselves, how- ever, would find no difficulty in resolving the question, would they give themselves the trouble to look afler the head-dress which best becomes them, and not that which is most in vogue ; and if they would not all adopt the same fashion, seeing that what becomes one may not become another. Different complexions, stat- ures, shapes, busts, gaits, &c., would group but un- seemly under the same head covering, be it cap or bonnet. A small head cannot possibly look well in the dress required by a head of larger dimensions, and yet this preposterous transposition is observable every day. One, for instance, has a diminutive phiz, and a snub or what is usually ycleped a pug nose ; who sees another whose elegant, noble, and well-adapted head- BEAUTY, ASD FASHION. 21 dress, commands universal admiration ; and \vhose features are cast in a Roman mould ; her figure con- sequently requiring larger ornaments, and greater capa- city in the articles of attire. Now, for the purpose of better illustration, Julia, whose face is diminutive, and who knows not why this head-dress looks so well upon Amelia, adopts it the next day because it does look well, and next day the httle Julia looks truly ridi- culous. Again, Lucretia has fine eyes, but her mouth is not so handsome. Caroline's eyes are less beautiful, but her smile is enchanting. A hat placed very low would ill-become Lucretia, since it would conceal her principal charms, and leave nothing in view but imperfections ; whereas the very same constructed liat would be a most advantageous head-dress for Caroline, as it would throw a favourable shade over her eyes, and give additional lustre and attraction to the prettiest mouth in the world. It might, in fine, be proved by many other instances, that every woman as well as every man ought to have an appropriate costume, and that they will always be dressed, if they consult not the fashion but their looking-glass. If a lady does not say to her hair- dresser, I will have my hair dressed like Miss or Mrs. So-and-so — but, I will have it trimmed and arranged in the manner which will best become me ; if she knows, for instance, that a head-dress which stands forward and looks very well on a woman with a prominent nose and chin, makes a person with i very small nose and flat 22 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, chin, appear perfectly ridiculous. Above all, let us have no monstrously large head-dresses. The frame ought not to have a greater superfice than the ; picture ; for then the former, which ought to be an accessory would become the principal object. Such is precisely the case with a head-dress of too great size : the face is buried in it. Excess in height or breadth is equally ridiculous, and absurdities of this kind have had their day like all others, and at the present period large overwhelming bonnets were never more in unfasliiona- ble arrd inconvenient vogue. CHAPTER IV. FORMATION AXD STRUCTURE OF THE HAIR— OF THE SKIN. To understand the hair properly, it is necessary to possess some knowledge of the skin from which it grows. The skin is composed of three different tunics or layers : — a thin one like India paper, being outermost, which by anatomists is called the epidemis or scarf skin, and is not an organized body, for no nerves or vessels BEAUTV, AND FASHION. 23 have ever been traced to it. It may rather be consider- ed as a covering resulting from the drying of the external layers of the mucous membrane. Its use appears to be to blunt the otherwise too acute sensibility of the true skin properly so called, and to protect it from the impres- sion of external bodies. The next layer, a kind of gluti- nous, slimy pulp, or paint, in form of a membrane, which determines the color ; and within these two, a thick, strong, leathery coat, usually called the true skin. To be brief, the human skin has a similar number of layers or coats to the bark of a tree. It is to be recollected, also, that the outer layer, like the nails, has no feeling — a useful quality, which serves to protect the great sensi- bility of the inner skin, where the nerves terminate in millions. Now, if you extract a hair from any part of your skin, and survey its root with a magnifying glass, you will perceive it of an oval form, and composed of a softish, glutinous, or pulpy matter, contained in a semi-trans- parent bag, open at the lower end to receive nerves and blood-vessels, and at the upper to receive this hair. The root is fixed in the substance of the inner skin, by which it is nourished with blood and other fluids. The roots of the hair are planted here in great profusion over the whole body, and what is very remarkable and little known, is, that in every individual, many more roots exist than hairs growing from them ; a fact further corroborated by hairs often appearing on the nose and ears of men, aod on the arms of women, where they were 24 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, before wanting/ It is considered, therefore, a vulgar error that the roots of the hair are destroyed, or perish, in cases of baldness, though they cease to grow above the skin. It is probable, and possible indeed, for the roots of the hair, as well as the skin in which they are planted, to be destroyed by accident, or by ulceration and other disorders ; but this, we maintain, does not oc- cur from fevers, or in either the young or the old who become bald. In all such cases, the roots of the hair can, by dissection after death, be found equally numer- ous as in those who are not bald, and the cause of the baldness must be sought elsewhere, as will afterwards be seen, when speaking of the remedies. There is another important fact, which we believe was discovered by Mr. Chevalier — namely, that the hairs do not rise perpendicularly from their roots, but pass very obliquely, and at an acute angle, through the two outer coats of the skin, serving to bind these down to the inner coat, as if nature had used the hairs for sewing-thread. This fact explains the direction and flat position of the hairs on the eye-brows and other parts ; and shows the reason why the hairs stick so fast, and are pulled out with such difficulty. But what is of the greatest consequence in our opinion, is, that it explains how the roots of the hair may exist healthy, vigorous, and per * See Mr. Chevalier's Lectures, delivered before the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 1823, 8vo. And Dr. Good's Study of Medicine, vol. iv. p. 663. BEAUTV, AND FASHION. 25 feet, and the outer coats of the skin may be so hard, dry, or thickened, as to prevent them from penetrating it as they may have formerly done. Each hair is formed of ten or twelve smaller hairs, which unite at the root, and form a hollow tube some- what like a very fine stalk of grass, jointed at intervals. The joints appear to overlap each other, as if one small tube were inserted into that which is nearest to it, and so on to the end of the hair. This structure, though invisible to the naked eye, may be made manifest to the touch. Take a hair several inches long, and work it between your thumb and finger, and you will find that it will always work towards the top end, and never (turn it as you will) towards the root end — proving that the rough over-lappings are all directed to the top. It is this property that the hat-maker takes advantage of in making his felt, and the dyer in fixing his colors ; and we shall by-and-by, see its advantage in devices for beautifying the hair. Like the outer skin and the nails, the hollow tube of the hair is semi-transparent, and takes the color of the matter which rises iij this tube from the root. It follows, indeed, pretty uniformly the color of the skin, being very dark in the negro, and always white in the Albino, while it takes all intermediate shades in Europeans — flaxen, auburn, carroty. The hair corresponds also to the color of the eyes ; light hair seldom or never ac- companying dark eyes. From these facts we shall find it easy to explain the causes of grey hairs, and the best 26 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. methods of darkening them. When you cut the nails they go on to grow again ; and so with the hair, not by extending from the root end, but by additions to the top end. It grows best when it is cut ; and not only so, but the shorter it is cut the more rapidly it will grow, as is seen in the rapid growth of the beard. STRUCTURE AND VEGETATION OF HAIR. Mr. Harriot examined both the structure and vegeta- tion of hairs. They do not grow, he says, as plants, which shoot forth their sap into their fibres and bark, to the extremities of their branches ; but as nails, so that what is last formed of them drives forward and out of the flesh what was already formed. If the hairs should be dyed into a color from what they are naturally, that which grows anew near the skin of the head, is of a diSerent color from the rest. Hairs are composed of five or six fibres, enclosed in a tube, most commonly cylindrical, but sometimes oval or angular. This is easily discernible by the microscope, and even by the naked eye ; for when the hairs split, it is the tube that splits and opens, and the fibres that sepa- rate. The fibres and tube of the hair are transparent, and this multiplicity of transparent fibres should have in regard to rays, the same effect as a glass cut facet-wise. Thus when a hair is held near the sight of the eye, in looking at a bougie at a short distance, a ray is seen to appear on each side of the bougie, and each ray BEACTY, AND FASHION. 27 is composed of three or four small, somewhat obscure and colored images of the bougie, which proves that every fibre of the hair makes appear by refraction a bougie separate from the rest ; and as refraction only produces colors, those of every of the bougies prove the same. Those who have attributed all the rays that appear about candles to the reflections made on the edge of the eye-lids, are therefore mistaken. Those reflections produce but two rays, one upper, and the other lower, and their light is also very white, because they are only reflected. But all the others that are colored come from refractions made in the hairs of the eye-lids ; and much more of them are seen, when a great number of rays are made to pass through the eye-lids by half shutting the same ; and none of them are seen when the eves are wide open. 28 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAPTER V. ON THE CAUSES OF GREY HAIR, BALDNESS, ETC. The hair, as has been shown in the preceding chapter, is composed of a root and a hollow jointed stem, into which a coloring oil rises. From these facts may be deduced a very rational account of the causes, both of baldness and grey hair — and it is a medical maxim to which there are few exceptions, that a disease can very seldom be cured unless its cause be known. If, therefore, a satisfactory account of the causes of grey hair and baldness can be given, we put you half in pos- session of their remedies, even though we go no further ; or, at the very least, show you why no remedy need be tried. It is supposed by Dr. Darwin and others, that the vivid white reflected from the winter snow, is the cause of animals in the high northern latitudes be- coming white in winter. This singular change takes place in our country in two instances. The Alpine hare and the ptarmigan, or mountain partridge, though brownish grey in summer, becomes wholly white as soon as the snow begins to cover their places of resort. JIKAL'TV, AND FASHION. 29 J)r. Darwin's opinion on this subject seems to be derived from the camelon, which is said to take the color of every object at which it looks. If it looks at a field of grass, it becomes green ; if it looks at the sky, it becomes blue ; if it look at snow it becomes "white. He accordingly maintained, that it was the action of the white snow upon their eyes, which turned all the Polar animals white in winter ; and for a similar reason he ■would infer that larks are grey, because they frequent sandy fields ; and canaries yellow, because they are reared in brass wire cages ! The doctor forgets to inform us how cattle and sheep escape becoming green, or how a painter escapes having his face va- riegated with all the colors of the rainbow. On the contrary, we are strongly inclined to believe, that the winter white color of the Polar animals is mainly to be attributed to the cold. For were it pos- sible by any means to contract the skin at the roots of the hair, so as to compress the tube, and prevent the colored oil from rising, there will only remain the dry body of the hair, and it will of course be white. Such a contraction of the skin may be produced by cold, by grief, or fear, as well as by fevers and other disorders of the system; and the skin, independent of the hair, will assume a similar appearance to a fowl stripped of its feathers. Every one has heard of instances of the hair being, by grief or fear, Turned white In a single night 4^ 30 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, and this, we conceive, is the true explanation of the occurrence. Dr. Parr explains the hair becoming grey on chemical principles ; he thinks that some acid is generated by the depressing passions, which whitens the hair as bleaching liquor whitens cloth ; which, it must be admitted, is rather far-fetched. The principle to which we refer the cause of the hair becoming grey in old age, gives a clearer explanation, as at that period the skin, like the bones, shrinks and contracts for want of moisture ; and the same effects will follow in the young, from any cause that will make the skin shrink and contract so sa to strangle the hair at its roots, and prevent the colored oil from rising in its tube. The same principle will show the utter inefficiency of most of the advertised remedies and preventives; as, unless they be directed to the removal or prevention of the cause, it is quite impossible that they can be successful. Grey hair is, therefore, a mark of shrunk and con- tracted skin — whether it be the effect of external causes, such as cold; or internal causes, such as grief, fear, headache, too much application to business, intensity of thought ; and wlrether it occur in manhood or old age. There is another cause of the hair turning grey worthy of being noticed from its extensive influence. It is well known that the bones are composed chiefly of lime, jelly, and oil ; but the lime often predominates so much that the bones are rendered extremely brit- tle ; and often, also, bones are formed in the heart, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 31 brain, and other substances, where they produce serious trouble. The brittleness of the bones is sometimes so great that a fit of coughing will break them. Dr. Good informs us that he once saw an old woman break both her thigh-bones by simply kneeling at church, and on raising her up her arm-bone also snapped. Now this superabundance of lime in the body is caused by every sort of intemperance and external indulgence, or, in a word, by whatever robs the body of its juices; and it is consequently, the usual attendant of old age, when the juices fail. When it does occur, the tubes of the hair, at the roots, seem to be obstructed by this lime : the coloring oil cannot of course get into the stem of the hair, and it becomes grey, dry, and brittle, like the old lady's bones just mentioned. The same thing has been known to follow small-pox, scrofula, and some other diseases, which may therefore be also a cause of the hair ti;rning grey. 32 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. CHAPTER VI. ATTENTIONS NECESSARY TO THE HAIR. CAUTIOUS REMOVAL OF SCURF. HEALTH OF THE HEAD, &c. The hair requires particular attention to keep it in order, and to produce that pleasing appearance which every one possessing any personal pride and gentility of appearance is so anxious to produce. The first and principal object is to keep the head clean ; and to re- move the scurf which forms upon the scalp by the combination of the grosser particles of the perspirable matter that is deposited upon it, with the exterior portion of the outer skin, which may very easily be removed. To prevent the accumulation of scurf, which is not only likely to prove prejudicial to health, but to lay the foundation of eruptions, the hair should be reg- ularly cleansed with a small tooth comb ; and occa- sionally purified either with hair-powder, bran, or ivory powder. The practice, which of late years appears to have gained ground, of washing the head with water, either warm or cold, requires considerable judgment, as from it not unfrequently result head-ache, ear-ache, tooth- ache, and complaints of the eyes. Let the following BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 33 observations of an experienced professional man ope- rate, therefore, as a caution : — ' Beneath the paternal roof, this operation is frequently performed by inexpe- rienced youth, from time to time, in secret; in some boarding-schools, on the contrary, every head is sub- jected to it by the regulations of the house : it is found to be a method of cleaning them equally easy and expeditious. You afterwards hear complaints that the children are afflicted with tooth-ache, and that it is often necessary to draw their teeth. Instead of seek- ing elsewhere for the cause, nothing but this act of cleanliness is in most cases to blame. Look at those children whose heads are scarcely ever dry ; their pallid faces will never be enlivened by the rich color of adolescence, and the smiles of infancy will be speedily succeeded by the wrinkles of age. It is in vain to urge that the hair is well dressed ; the water that remains is always sufficient to obstruct the perspi- ration, to keep the root continually wet, and the brain in a state of constant humidity, of which obstructed perspiration furnishes an abundant source. Those as- suredly possessed great experience who transmitted to us this precept, " to wash the hands often, the feet seldom, and the head never." ' When the scurf upon the external scalp is very co- pious, and it does not suffer itself to be removed by the usual means, it is a symptom of some vice in the humors and glands of the skin ; in this case it may be necessary to have recourse to fomentations. For this 34 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, purpose the decoctions of the roots of briony, mallows, or borage, in water, or in wine if they are intended to be more tonic. And particular care should be observed not to employ astringents or repellents for this purpose, such as certain plants and alum, for such fomentations, since it would be dangerous to drive back the humors of which nature strives by this means to divest herself. The fomentations here described ought to be seconded by a mild regimen, exercise, bathing, gentle opening medicine, and clean linen. It is advisable also to avoid extremes of heat, as well as intense cold, and to keep the head covered ; precautions which will be sufficient to prevent the inconveniences arising from too violent a perspiration of the head. Next to the attentions to be paid to the cleanliness of the hair, there is a variety of diseases of the scalp which come more immediately under the treatment of the medical practitioner, such as ringworm, tetter, scalled head ; all of which, cleanliness, and a good habit of body, will in a great measure prevent. After these come those which should be bestowed on the beauty of the hair : we allude here to the pomatums, ointments, and other compositions, which possess the property of keep- ing the hair in a proper state, of making it grow, and even return, after it has been entirely removed. BEAUTY, AXD FASHION. 35 CHAPTER VII. OF HAIR OINTMENTS, POWDERS, OILS, WATERS, &c. There is little question that the hair may be nourish- ed and ameliorated by certain ointments being rubbed upon it, which accelerate its growth, and increase its beauty. But when once the hair has fallen off entirely, and especially when it is totally lost for any consider- able time, the question is, how far it is possible to make it return ? The secret, we apprehend, of restor- ing the hair under such circumstances remains still a desideratum, notwithstanding the pompous puffs with which the public press teems from day to day. We do not mean to say that the thing is impossible ; indeed, it may be that experiments, sufficiently numerous and long continued, have not been made on the various sub- stances which are reported to possess the property of making the hair come again. The ancients, it its con- ceived, were much wiser on this subject than we are at the present day, if one may judge from the high value which they set upon the hair, and the kind of disgrace which they attached to baldness. As regards the modems, the ready resource of wigs saves them the trouble of making the necessary re- 36 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, searches and experiments, in order to discover a remedy for the loss of hair. It may nevertheless be rationally entertained, that a series of well-conducted experiments on this subject might lead to the discovery of some agent that might answer so desirable a purpose ; some observation has already furnished wnth numerous instances of hair having spontaneously grown again upon a head long deprived of its principal orna- ment. There are numerous examples of very aged people, among whom many who had completed their century, whose bald heads have been newly covered with very elegant hair. All these facts show, that such a phenomenon would be more frequent if art had dis- covered the means of assisting nature, or rather if the secret could be found out for the production of animal vegetation. The substances in most general use at the present day, and whose virtues are most highly extolled for the restoration and improvement of the hair, are, bear's grease, beef marrow, olive oil, oil of almonds both sweet and bitter : oil of nuts, of camomile, and of laurel ; goose grease, fox grease, fresh butter, and burnt butter, bees burnt, and pounded in oil of roses ; with various other pomades and high-sounding preparations. Oleaginous substances, moderately used, certainly nourish the hair, but excess in the use of them must be avoided, since their superabundance w^ould produce a contrary effect, and cause the hair to fall off, which not unfrequently has been the case. Some use brandy, or • BEAUTV, AXD FASHION. 37 honey water, to make the hair grow, which is said to be a still better specific. The juice of cresses and of on- ions is recommended by the school of Salernum for the same purpose. And by some, the juice of the white on- ion is preferred to the other kinds. Mention is also made of nettle juice, sage, southernwood, dell ; the ashes of rats, moles, hedghogs, and such like unseemly articles, which it is now well ascertained possess no other prop- erty than that of exciting disgust. From a variety of processes in making some compositions in high repute for making the hair grow, we extract the following, to which we annex such observations as may tend to give them the proper quantum of merit. 1. — Ointment for the Hair. The editors of the ' Dictiomiirc (V Industrie,'' from which the following recipe is copied, assert that they have often witnessed the most surprising effects from its use. Take an ounce of beef marrow, to which add an ounce of grease skimmed from unsalted pot liquor, and boil them together in a pipkin. Strain this mixture, and add to it an ounce of the oil of ben. Let this be used occasionally, and the hair well combed and brushed, both before and after its use, to remove the previous scurf, and to work the preparation well into tiie roots of the hair, and along the tubes. Obs. — Beef marrow applied moderately to the hair of the head nourishes it, and communicates to it a fine gloss 38 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, as may frequently be seen among butchers, who often apply it. Whatever therefore nourishes, strengthens. The marrow also gives it a disposition to curl. The oil of ben has long entered into preparations for making the hair grow, and if a little of the essence of lemon, burgamot, or other perfume were added, it would, at least, improve its fragrance, and preserve it against rancidity. 2.-^71 Oil for the Hair. The following preparation, it is said, causes the hair to grow again very rapidly. Take half a pound of southernwood, and let it be slightly pounded, boil it in a pound and a half of old olive oil, and half a pint of port wine ; when these in- gredients are throughly impregnated, take them off the fire, and strain out the liquor well through a linen cloth. Repeat the operation three times, with fresh southern- wood; and this being done, add to the filtered liquor two ounces of bear's grease. Obs. — The southernwood being an aromatic, may pre- serve the oil and bear's grease from becoming too soon rancid J and the alkaline salt which it contains may otherwise correct the too emollient properties of the oil, by partially neutralizing it. In any other respect it may not, as far as our knowledge goes, possess any ad- vantage over similar oleaginous compositions for the hair. The same attention to cleanliness, and prevent- ing the greasy accumulations on the scalp about the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 39 roots of tlie hair, and to prevent the hairs themselves from matting, and attracting dust, is necessary, as already directed. '3.— Hair Water. Take three table-spoonsful of honey and three pugils of vine-tendrils. Pound the tendrils well, and express the juice. Mix it with the honey. With this composition the part where the hair is wished to be long and thick, are directed to be washed. Obs. — This composition, we apprehend, would be somewhat too clammy without the addition of some liquid — for this purpose, we recommend a gill of Ja- maica rum and half a gill of ^vater. The hair-brush will be requisite after the use of the water ; not so much, however, after its immediate use as after it has been for some time impregnated with the hair. From its gentle adhesiveness, it will give the hair any form that may be wished. 4. — Another Ointment. Take two ounces of bear's grease ; half an ounce of honey; six drachms of laudanum ; three drachms of the powder of southernwood ; three drachms of the balsam of Peru ; one and a half drachm of the ashes of the roots of bulrushes, and a small quantity of the oil of sweet almonds. Obs. — ^The two first ingredients we believe constitute the essential part of the preparation. The others may 40 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, assist in preserving the mixture from becoming rancid, and communicating to it an agreeable odor. 5. — A Poioder for Preserving the Hair. The following powder has the name at least of facili- tating the regeneration of the hair, and strengthening its roots. Still more valuable properties have been as- cribed to it, — such as that of rousing the imagination to vigorous efforts, and strengthening the memory, — de- lightful properties, if they could be realized by such sim- ple means ! Take an ounce and a half of red roses ; a small quan- tity each of calamus aromaticus (sweet-scented flag) and of the long cyperus; an ounce of benzoin; six drachms of aloes (the wood of;) half an ounce of red coral, and the same quantity of amber; four ounces of bean flower, and eight ounces of the root of Florentine isis. Let the whole be mixed together, and reduced to a very fine powder, — to which add a few grains of musk. Obs. — This powder we presume is intended to be sprinkled on the hair in the same manner as hair pow- der is generally used, and having remained for a time embedded with the hair, to be removed by means of comb and brush ; and to be occasionally applied and re- moved. It is said to regenerate the hair, and strengthen the roots, and to possess the properties which are above enumerated. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 41 To make the Hair Grow, and Prevent it front Falling. The following recipes are selected from a work pub- lished some years ago in Paris , entitled, * Manuel Cos- metique des Plantes.' 1. Take the roots of young vines, the roots of hemp, and young cabbages, of each two handsful — dry, and then burn them — make afterwards a lye with the ashes : be- fore the head is washed with this lye, it must be rubbed with honey ; and continue both for three successive days. Obs. — This will not only make the hair grow, but re- store it upon bald places, under certain habits and con- stitutions of body, 2. Pulverise some parsley seed, and use it as hair-powder for three nights at the commencement of the year, and it will prevent your hair from falling. To make the Hair groxo quick. — Dip every morning the teeth of yo»r comb in the juice of nettles, and comb the hair against the grain. Others after having shaved their heads, make fomentations with wormwood, sage, betony, vervain, marjoram, myrrh, roses, dill, moss of th9 oak and rosemary. 42 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Take half a pound of southernwood, fresh gathered^ and coarsely pounded : boil a pint and a half of old oil, and half a pint of red wine — take it off the fire, and let the juice of the southernwood be well expressed through a cloth into it : repeat this operation three times with a fresh quantity of the above herb — at the end of each operation add to the strained juice thus mixed, two ounces of bear's grease. It forms an oleaginous substance to make the hair grow quickly. The tops of young hemp steeped twenty-four hours in water — into which the comb is to be dipped previous to using it. This makes the hair grow. G. Take six draohms of laudanum, two ounces of bear's grease, half an ounce of honey, three drachms of pow- dered southernwood, a drachm and a half of the ashes of the roots of bulrushes, three drachms of the balsam of Peru, and a little of the oil of sweet almonds. Make these into an ointment of a proper consistence, and use it on the hair of the head to make it grow. BEAUry, AND FASHION. 43 CHAPTER VIII. DIRECTION FOR STAINING THE HAIR. The ideas entertained relative to the beauty of the hair vary with different countries. In ancient times the most civilised and polished nations, as well as the most skilful in the arts, were passionately fond of red hair. The Gauls, the ancestors of the modern French, had the same predilection, though that color is held in abhorrence by their descendants. They like black hair, which is despised in some regions of Africa, and light tresses, which are detested in China. A taste for red hair, however, exists still in vast regions ; the Turks prefer red-haired women. The inhabitants of Tripoli have probably borrowed this taste from the Turks ; with the aid of vermillion they give their hair a color which nature has refused. The women of the kingdom of Deccan likewise stain their hair yellow and red. Every country, indeed, manifests a particular taste for certain colors, and a decided aversion to others ; it is a kind of national prejudice, which sometimes Iriumphij over love itself A btrange dislike has inva- 44 THE TOILETTE 6¥ HEALTH, riably been manifested in this country for red hair, but with what reason or justice who will pretend to decide : that such hair is decidedly more conspicuous than any other color is true ; but it is often seen flowing in the most splendid tresses and ringlets with admirable effect; and again, in some individuals, particularly females, such hair, from neglect and want of tatste in the proper arrangement of it, as well as from the absence of all corporeal elegance in the wearer, unquestionably pro- duces everything but a pleasing effect ; hence, red-haired men are more conspicuous than those of the opposite sex, from the latter displaying more taste in its adapta- tion to their person, — and, in a multiplicity of instances, where the individual is divested of those freckles with which, for the most part, people of tliis com- plexion are studded, this color of the hair is by no means so unseemly. But those females whose hair displays a color so prejudicially proscribed by the na- tional taste, may employ means to modify or disguise it, if they think proper. The Germans held white hair only in estimation. Those to whom nature has denied tliis highly valued advantage, employed all the means which art cotdd supply, to produce a resemblance to it. For this pur- pose, a kind of soap, composed of goats' tallow and the ashes of beech wood, was used. This soap, which was called Hessian soap, from its being made in the country of Hesse, was also used, as Martial informs us, to stain the German wigs, in order to give them a BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 45 flame color, as that author expresses it. The Roman ladies had the same predilection for this color. Ovid says that the Peruke makers of Rome bought up all the spoils of German heads, to gratify the caprice of tlie petites Tnaitresses, who were determined to conceal their fine black, under a light wig. Among the Romans, the men themselves were not exempted from the payment of this tribute to the pre- dominant tatse for a light color. It was the desire of giving the light color to their hair, that induced them, as we have seen, to powder it with gold. By some, this caprice was carried to a still greater length. Julius Capitolinus informs us that the emperor Verus, had such a fondness for light hair, that, in order to keep his own of that color j he sprinkled it, from time to time, with distilled gold, that it might be of a more brilliant yellow. Many learned men have treated of the colors for staining the hair and eye-brows. And while men of learning ajid talent were descanting upon this topic, the fathers of the church wrote and preached against the practice: born . enemies to the toilette, which does not exactly agree Avith the austere life which they sought to introduce, they proscribed every cosmetic falsehood. St. Cyprian, among others, lays down twelve reasons to prove that women ought not to stain their hair ; out of which the following two are selected as not unworthy of notice : — ' Tlie action of staining the hair,' says he ' is worse than adultery.' The other, 46 THE TOILETTK OF HEALTH, equally singular with the former, is, that * to blacken the hair argues a detestation of that whiteness which be- longs to the head of the Lord.' Let us now, however, leave these far-fetched discussions of the learned, and proceed at once to the means which art affords for changing the color of the hair. Nor can such a subject be better adverted to than by recommending in the first instance, the necessary caution against the use of many dangerous preparations sold by the perfumers. The first to which we shall therefore allude, is the solu- tion of silver, known under different names, such as Chinese wash, Egyptian liquid, 6ui. Instances have been seen where, after the use of this solution, people have been reduced to a state of frenzy. They should equally guard against compositions into which hen- bane, the morel, milk-thistle, and other venomous plants enter ; as also those in which aquafortis or arsenic are introduced as ingredients. 1. — Composition for staining the Hair Black. Take of bruised gall nuts one pound, boil them in olive oil till they become sofl ; then dry them, and re- duce them to a fine powder, which is to be incorporated with equal parts of charcoal of the willow, and common salt prepared and pulverised. Add a small quantity of lemon and orange peel, dried and reduced to powder. Boil the whole in twelve pounds of water till the sedi- ment at the bottom of the vessel assumes the consistence of a black salve. BEAUTV, AND FASHION. 47 Obs. — Tlie hair is directed to be anointed with tliis preparation ; covering it with a cap till dry, and then to comb it. It is represented as an excellent composi- tion for staining the hair black ; it should be used once a week, which will prevent it from afterwards turning red. It should be observed, that as fast as the hair grows, it appears in its original color at the part nearest the skin ; in whatever way therefore the hair is stained, it is necessary from time to time to repeat the operation. 2. — A Tincture for the same. Boil an ounce of lead ore, and the same quantity of ebony chips, for an hour, in a quart of clean water. Wash the hair with this tincture, and dip your comb into it before you use it. Obs. — The composition turns the hair black ; but the color is rendered more lively, brilliant, and beautiful, by the addition of two drachms of camphor. 3. — Another. Boil the following for half an hour on a slow fire, namely, equal parts of vinegar, lemon juice, and pow- dered litharge. With this decoction wet tlie hair, and in a short time it will turn black. 4. — Jlnoihcr. Let the head bo previously washed, then dip the comb vou intend to use in oil of tartar, and romb vour hair 48 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, in the sun. Repeat the same three times a day for a week, and in a week the hair to which it is thus applied will turn black. To give it an agreeable scent it may be impregnated with oil of benzoin. 5. — Another. Dissolve steel filings in good vinegar : with this vine- gar, which will then resemble tliick oil, wash your hair as often as you think fit, and it will make it black in a very short time. G. — Another. Wash the head with the lye made of the ashes of plants in which a small quantity of alum has been dis- solved. This wash prepares the hair to receive the tint you propose to give it. Then comb it with a leaden comb dipped in any substance known to impart a black color, such as oil of cedar mixed with liquid pitch, or myrtle oil beaten up for a considerable time in a leaden mortar. To stain Hair a light Chestnut Color. The hair is to be previously cleaned with dry bran, or warm water, in which alum has been dissolved. Then take two ounces of quick lime, which kill in the air ; one ounce of litharge of gold, and half an ounce of lead ore. Reduce the whole to powder, and sift it. Wet a small quantity of this powder with rose water ; rub the hair with it, and let it dry again in the air, or BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 4fT dry it with cloths a httle warm. Tliis powder docs not Btain the skin, like the wash made of aquafortis and assaying silver. Obs. — It has been asserted that the hair may be stained black by impregnating it with lard, mixed with minium and lime : but this composition, we apprehend, would produce only the chestnut color of which we are here speaking. The hair may likewise be turned black by different vegetable substances boiled in wine, witli which the head is to be washed several times a day ; but this operation ought to be continued for some time. The substances usually preferred for this pur- pose are, leaves of the mulberry, myrtle, fig, senna, raspberry, arbutus, artichoke ; the roots of the caper tree ; the bark of the walnut and pomegranate ; the rind of walnuts, shumac, skins of beans, gall nuts, and cones of cypress. It is also necessary to use a leaden comb. The same object may be attained by using a comb dipped in extract of lead. At Alleppo, in Turkey, some of the old men dye their beards, and the old women their hair with henna, which gives them a very whimsical appearance, and many of the men dye their beards black to conceal their age. Few of the women paint except among the Jews, and such as are of the lowest and most debased orders but they generally black their eyebrows, or rather make artificial ones, with a certain composition which they call Hattat. The ])ractice of late years, however, has considerably declined. 50 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The hair, beard, or whiskers, may be turned black by the following composition : — Take the oil of costus and myrtle, of each an ounce ; mix them in a leaden mortar ; add liquid pitch, ex- pressed juice of walnut leaves, and laudanum, of each half an ounce ; gall nuts, black lead, and frankincense, of each a drachm ; and a sufficient quantity of mucilage of gum arable, infused in a decoction of nut-galls. The head, whiskers, and beard, after being shaved, are to be rubbed three times a-day. Obs. — The simple means of producing, in a certain degree, the same effects, are the following : namely, the leaves of the wild vine, which not only turn the hair black, but prevent it from falling ; burnt cork, roots of the holm oak and caper tree ; barks of willow, walnut- tree, and pomegranate ; leaves of artichokes, the mul- berry tree, fig tree, raspberry bush ; shells of beans ; gall and cypress nuts ; leaves of myrtle ; green shells of walnuts ; ivy berries ; cockle and red-beet seeds ; poppy flowers, alum, and most preparations of lead. These ingredients may be boiled in rain water, wine, or vine- gar, with the addition of some cephalic plants, as sage, marjoram, balm, betony, clove, July-flower, laurel, i&C. &c. BEAUTV, AHV FASHION. 51 CHAPTER IX. 0\ THE REMOVAL. OF SUPERFLUOUS HAIR. Hair is said to be superfluous when it becomes too thick, or when it grows on parts not essential to its appearance, as on the backs of the hands, fingers, cheek bones, the upper hp and chins of females, and other parts of the exposed surface of the skin, contrary to the desire or taste of the individual. Hair which is too thick, or descends too low upon the forehead, or grows irregularly, is a great obstacle of beauty, either by deranging the symmetry of the face, or concealing such parts as ought to be more freely exposed. Eye-brows too large, too thick, or too close to each other, also disturb the harmony which ought to pervade a hand- some face. In these and other cases, recourse is had to depilatories ; that is, substances or compositions, which possess the property of renewing hair, — and the opera- tion thus effected is called depilation, — a very ancient practice, and formerly not confined to the embellisli- ment of the person. The Greek and Roman women liad recourse to depi- latories, to a very considerable extent. The heat of 52 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. the climate probably caused them to adopt this prac- tice, or perhaps they consulted only the pleasure of the eye. Be this as it may, so far it is certain, that all the antique statues, and the testimony of contemporary writers, prove the existence of the custom, whatever might have been the motive for it. Neither was this free use of depilatories practised only by the women. Perseus, addressing a young debauchee, asks why he takes such care of his beard, while he bestows so much pains on removing the hair from every part of the body. There were likev^rise men who plucked up their beard by the root. But this was a much rarer practice than the former, and must have appeared extremely strange in an age when men universally were remarkable for the length of their beard. Accordingly the philosophers vehemently declared against this mode, which was in- troduced by some effeminate individuals, or rather which these voluptuaries attempted to introduce. The ancient practice of depilation, as it existed among the Greek and Roman women, is still prevalent among those of Turkey, who observe it in common with the men. The depilatories in general use are various, possessing different degrees of strength. — The mildest are parsley water, accacia juice, and the gum of ivy. It is asserted that nut oil, with which many people rub the heads of children, prevents the hair from growing. The juice of the milk-tliistle mixed with oil is recommended by Dr. Turner to remove the hair which grows too low upon BEAUTV, AND FASHIO.V, H'.i the forehead. It is also said, that the gum of the cherry tree prevents the hair from growing. The Jewish women, who esteem, and with justness, a high forehead free from hair as a beauty, take consider- able pains to procure this advantage for their daugh- ters. For this purpose they bind their foreheads with V.oollen cloth bandages, preferring scarlet to any other color. The same effect is produced, according to a French writer (M. de St. Ursin), by applying leaves or rags dipped in the second water of lime, or brine, or Water slightly lixivia! (containing the ashes of wood, or an alkali) or the decoction of grey pease. The following method, if carefully adopted, may be employed with success : — Apply gently, by means of a hair pencil, a few drops of muriatic acid a little reduced at first ; and if this does not succeed, let the concen- trated form be used by delicately touching the tops of the hair to be removed, avoiding, as much as possible, the skin ; or probably the best way to apply this acid is to rub the skin and hair over at the same time, and im- mediately afterwards to rub the part with linen cloth. Depilatory of Ants' Eggs. A stronger depilatory is composed as follows : — Take Gum of ivy, one ounce, Ants' eggs \ Gum arable > of each one drachm. Orpiment ) Reduce theae to a fine powder, and make it up into 54 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. a liniment, with a sufficient quantity of vinegar. In pounding the materials, great precaution must be taken that the dust of the orpiment, which is a preparation of arsenic, be not inhaled. Obs. — The former acid, or acid of ants, may be more easily procured at the chemist's, and will answer the purpose better than the ants' eggs, which are not to be had at all seasons. Depilatory of Rusma^ and (Quicklime. Take rusma and quicklime, and reduce them to a fine powder ; and dissolve them for some time in water, where they will form a soft paste, which is to be appUed to hair on the body intended to be removed. In a few minutes, rub the part to which it has been applied, with a wet cloth, and the hair will be removed to the very roots, whilst the part itself will sustain no inconvenience. Orpiment and Quicklime. The strongest depilatory is composed of the above substances. Considerable caution is necessary in the use of this composition. It is not without danger; and if suffered to remain on the skin too long, it is liable to leave marks. It may be made stronger or weaker in proportion to the quantity of orpiment used. These proportions are estimated as follows : — To eight ounces of quicklime, one ounce of orpiment of the first degree of strength ; — to twelve ounces of quicklime, two ounces "" A species of vitrio) BKAITY, AND FASHION. ;JU of orpiment, of the second degree ; — to fiflee n ounces of lime, three ounces of orpiment will present a very violent depilatory, which will produce speedy effects. Obs. — These different degrees of strength must be adapted to the age and the constitution of the skin to which it is applied. After having reduced these two substances to a fine powder, mix them thoroughly togeth- ti-, and sifl them, taking every precaution not to inhale the particles which rise from them. This powder must be kept in a stopper bottle. The following are the directions for its use : — Mix with it a seventh or eighth part of barley-meal or starch, to diminish its too great strength. Pour upon the whole a sufficient quantity of v.-arm water to form a paste, and in this condition apply it to the places from whence the hair is to be removed. Let it lie on the part a few minutes, taking care to moisten it a little that it may not too quickly dry } and now and then try if the hair comes away easily and without resistance ; as soon as it does, wipe it off with warm water. The hair is removed with the paste, and the operation is finished. Obs. — The paste must not be sufiered to remain longer than necessary on the part, otherwise the skin is liable to be injured, burned, and cauterized. Roseate Powder. This is tiie name given to a depilatory, composed of lime twelve ounces, orpiment ten ounces ; bv far too 6- 56 THE TOILETTE OK HEALTH. strong, unless reduced by other ingredients in the above proportion. Another Depilatory. Take Quick-Hme - - - - 1 ounce Orpiment 3 drachms Orice 2 drachms Saltpetre 1 drachm Sulphur 1 ounce Soap lees half a pint, Evaporate to a proper consistence, and use as above directed. Obs. — This is safer than the two preceding, though with care and caution they may all be made subservient to the purpose. Oil of Walnuts. This is said to be an excellent depilatory, but is diffi- cult to be procured. To remove Hair from the Xostrils. Take some very fine and clean wood ashes ; dilute them with a little water, and with the finger rub some of the mixture within the nostrils. The hair will be removed without causing the least pain. Obs. — The hairs of the nostrils, like those of the en- trance of the ear, ought not to be removed, unless trou- blesome or unseemly ; they are the principal safeguards against the intru.sion of insects, which might otherwise BEALTV, AND FASHION. 57 insinuate themselves into these delicate passages, to the great annoyance and danger of the individual thus invaded. Another Depilatory. The following directions are laid down by a French author (Manuel Cosmctique dcs Plants) to remove superfluous hair either from the forehead, or too long on the back of the hands, round the wrists and arms, and in the nostrils and other parts. Take polypody of the oak, and cut and split it into small pieces. Put it into a cucurbite, pour some white wine upon it until it be covered the length of a finger, and let it digest in balneum maria: for twenty -four hours ; then distil it with boiling water, until nothing more comes over into the receiver. The method of using this fluid is by dipping a linen rag in it, and then applying the same on the back of the hand, or otlier parts, and letting it remain there all night : repeating the operation mitil the hair falls. The distilled water of the leaves and roots of cheli- dony, applied as above, has the same property. And the oil of nuts rubbed often on the head of cliildren prevents tlie hair from growing. 58 THE TOILETTE OK HEALTH, CHAPTER X. COSMETICS. Under the term cosmetics, are comprehended all the expedients invented to preserve the beauty and lustre of the complexion, or to compensate for the absence of them: such, for instance, are all the processes used to embellish the skin, to soften it, to maintain its fresh- ness, to give color to the complexion, to prevent or efface wrinkles, to whiten or clean the teeth, to stain the hair and the eye-brows ; all these form a part of the numerous class of cosmetics. Some writers have attempted to demonstrate the in- efficacy of cosmetics, as well as their dangerous ten- dency ; others have thought fit to proscribe them all ; a severe sentence has therefore been pronounced upon them. Unquestionably, many of these compositions are not only useless but dangerous ; but we should not re- nounce the aid of all, because such effects are produced by some. Let us then choose the best, and reject such as have a concealed and pernicious tendency. It has been observed by the advocates for cosmetics, that the human skin resembles a spider's web in texture, conse- BEAUTY, AND FASHION, 59 quently is susceptible of tlie slightest impressions ; to moisten, to nourish, to polish it with cosmetic poma- tums, mucilage, detergent and bitter ointments, is per- fectly suited to its nature. Another observes, that beauty cannot exist without the concurrence of the means which ensure the preservation of the health. At the same time it requires particular care ; it must be improved, and I might even say, cultivated ; for this brilliant production of civilization and luxury does not appear in all its attributes and all its charms in the wild state, or under the influence of laborious professions or chilling penury. Many, indeed, are the authorities that might here be adduced in favor of simple cosmetics, for one good one against them. There are frequent opportunities of observing the astonishing difference which exists between females who bestow constant and judicious care on the preservation of their beauty, and those who neglect to cultivate their charms. If a fortunate change of circumstances should enable a young female of limited means, who previously had scarcely attracted any observation, to attend to the minute details of the toilette, in a short time a new beauty may be seen to expand in her. How many rural females, with charms somewhat rustic, and figures rather coarse, have, by means of a short residence in town, and the use of the toilette, presented us with a brilliant spectacle of the most pleasing and no less astonishing metamorphosis. The change holds good in both sexes. Manners are also 60 THE TOILETTE OF HKALTH, polished by example and society ; and refinement both mental and corporeal is the result. And it is to cos- metics that these corporeal prodigies are to be attri- buted. Cosmetics appear under different forms. Some are liquid, others mucilaginous, and others liav^e vinegar for their menstruum. All cosmetics ought to be rejected with the component parts of which people are not ac- quainted. They infallibly contain mercury or some other destructive or injurious mineral. There are also cosmetics in the form of pastes and ointments. Many of these produce at first astonishing effects, but ulti- mately ruin the skin. Females should therefore abstain generally from all the cosmetics that are held out to them by empirics. Mucilaginous cosmetics possess the property of ren- dering the skin more supple, softer and more polished. They are in general the best adapted to the purpose for which they are designed, and are not attended with any inconvenience. The same cannot be asserted of vinegars ; certain astringent vinegars used at the toilette are often found pernicious. They evidently improve for a while the appearance of the skin, add brilliancy to its color, and sometimes even remove spots ; but they alter the texture of the epidermis, dry it, and pro- duce premature wrinkles. Hence they cannot be used too cautiously. Pastes are not attended with the same inconveniences. They contribute very efficaciously to preserve the suppleness and elasticity of the skin. BEAUTY, AND FASHIOIf. 01 Ointments produce a still more certain effect, in conse- quence of remaining longer in contact with the skin. They may be retained there all night ; in which case they preserve the parts that are covered with them from the influence of the air, check the nature of insensible perspiration, and produce, in a far superior degree to oily cosmetics, so called, all the effects expected from the latter. But in order that ointments and liniments may pos- sess the properties requisite for producing none but good effects, " they ought," in the language of an able and experienced physician,* '• to contain nothing irri- tating, and the fatty substances which form their basis, should be in a state of great purity and extreme divi- sion. Very fresh cream," he adds, "is often prefer- able to all these preparations, which, on account of the wax they contain, and their super-oxygenation, are not fit to be used by females whose skin is too dry and too irritable. Steatite is recommended by the same author, to give whiteness and lustre to the skin ; and even in some cases to protect it from contagious diseases. The steatite is reduced to a very fine powder, in which state it forms an excellent cosmetic. As regards the different cosmetics advertised and sold by perfumers, and of which the compounders make a secret, we shall say nothing more. They may possess some simple and safe detergent properties, but until *M. De Senac. 62 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. their composition be known, no opinion can be given of their utility — consequently, under the veil of this mystery, they must come under the donomination of at least a doubtful gender. There is no question that many, if not all those washes which are sold at such extravagantly high and exorbitant prices, are merely new combinations of old processes : a new name being frequently sufficient to bring back an old fashion, under however a somewhat modified appearance. There are many cosmetics in high repute, such, for instance, as the GENUINE BALM OF MECCA. This is a liquid resin, of a wliitish color, approach- ing to yellow, with a strong smell, resembling that of a lemon ; a pungent and aromatic taste. It is likewise called balm of Judea, white balm of Constantinople, balm of Egypt, balm of Grand Cairo, and Opobalsamum. It is one of the most highly esteemed cosmetics, though very dear, and in its genuine form extremely difficult to be procured. That sold in London and Paris is made by the perfumers of those cities: "It is," says M. Mongez,* " a mixture of the finest turpentine with aromatic oils, whose aroma approaches nearest to that of the genuine balm. These imitations sell at the rate of twenty-four to thirty shillings per ounce, whereas ^ See Memoirs of the National Institute. BtAUTY, AND FAS1I10^. f)3 the same quantity of the real balm of Mecca cannot be procured for less than four guineas." The balm of Mecca, as alreeidy observed, in its gen- uine state, is held in the highest repute by the ladies of the East, by whom it is used to render the skin soft, white and smooth. They anoint tlieir heads and face with it at night going to bed ; the following morning minute scales are detached from the skin from every part in which this precious balm has operated. This renovation of the skin renders it incomparably white and delicate. The Egyptian females use it in a different manner. The dark color of their complexion, it is true, requires a stronger dose. It is at the bath that they anoint themselves with this balm. They remain in the bath till they are very warm; they then anoint their face and neck, not slightly, like the women of the East, but witii an ample and copious ablution, rubbing them- selves till the skin has absorbed the whole. They tlien remain in the bath till the skin is perfectly dry ; after which they remain three days with the face and neck impregnated with tlie balm ; on the third day they again repair to the bath, and go through the same pro- cess. This operation is repeated "several times, for the space of a month, during which time they abstain from wiping the skin. The European ladies who liave an opportunity of procuring the genuine balm arc more frugal of it. They seldom use it pure, but mix it with other similar sub- 64 THE TOILETTK OF HEALTH, stances, and compose a cosmetic balm which is thought to possess considerable efficacy in preserving the beauty of the skin. A good composition of this kind is the following : — Take equal parts of balm of Mecca and oil of sweet almonds, recently extracted. Mix these drugs care- fully in a glass mortar till they form a kind of oint- ment ; to three drachms of which, previously put into a matrass, pour six ounces of spirits of wine. Let it distil till a sufficient tincture be extracted; when this is done, let it be separated from the oil, and put one ounce of it into eight ounces of the flower of bean- water, or other water of a similar kind, and an excellent milky cosmetic will soon be formed. Obs. — Others make a kind of virgin-milk. For this purpose it is sufficient to dissolve the balm of Mecca in spirits of wine or Hungary water ; then put a few drops of this solution into Hungary water. Notwithstanding the great reputation of the balm of Mecca, it has been deemed by some as dangerous and injurious. Lady Mary Wortley Montague describes it as having agreed very ill with her. In one of her letters from Belgrade, near Constantinople, to a female friend in London, she writes as follows : '• As to the balm of Mecca, I will certainly send you some ; but it is not so easily got as you suppose it, and I cannot in conscience advise you to make use of it. I know not how it comes to have such universal applause. All the ladies of my acquaintance at London and Vienna BEAUTY, AND FASHION. iio have begged me to send pots of it to theia. 1 have had a present of a small quantity (which I assure you is very valuable) of the best sort, and with great joy applied it to my face, expecting some wonderful effect to my advantage. The next morning, the change indeed was wonderful ; my face was swelled to a very extraordfaiary size, and all over as red as my lady H 's. It remained in this tormentable state three days, during which you may be sure I passed my time very ill. I believed it never would be otherwise ; and to add to my misfortune, Mr. W y reproached my adventure without ceasing. However, my face is since in statu qiio ; nay, I am told by the ladies here that it is much mended by the operation, which I confess I cannot perceive in my looking-glass. Indeed, if one was to form an opinion of this balm from their faces, one should think very well of it. They all make use of it, and have the loveliest bloom in the world. For my part I never intend to endure the pain of it again ; let my comjjlexion take its natural course, and decay in its own due time." Obs. — It canno.t be denied, notwithstanding the in- convenience suffered by her ladj'ship, which might be attributable to a variety of causes, that the balnx of Mecca is used with advantage by the most beautiful women, and that the Turkish ladies, who all make use of it, have, as her ladyshij) justly remarks, the loveliest bloom in the world. The following method hat. been pomted nut by a 66 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, person who resided at Constantinople, to detect the spurious from the genuine balsam of Mecca. — Pour a drop into water of the genuine balm ; and put into this drop an iron knitting needle. If the whole of the drop of balm adhere to the needle, it proves that it has not been adulterated. VIRGIN-MILK. This appellation has frequently been given to liquids widely differing in their nature. The virgin-milk in most general use, and at the same time most salutary, is tincture of benzoin and rose-water ; which is prepared by simply adding a few drops of the former to an ounce or two of the latter, which produces a milky mixture. If the face be washed with this, it will give it a beau- tiful ivory color. To render the skin clear and brilliant, let it remain upon it without wiping. The tincture of benzoin, vulgarly called Benjamin, is likewise recommended for the removal of spots, freckles, pimples, erysipelatous eruptions, &c., but its efficacy seems rather doubtful. In another place we shall lay down directions for more efficacious remedies. The following kinds of -tdrgin-milk are more active in their effects : — 1. Take equal parts of benzoin and storax, dissolve them in sufficient quantit}' of spirits of wine, which will assume a redish color, and emit a fragrant odor. Some add to it a small quantity of balm of Mecca. A few drops of this poured into very fine BEAUry, AND FASHIU.V. 67 common water gives it a milky appearance. The ladies use it at the toilette with success for washing their faces. 2. Pound some house-leek in a marble mortar, ex- press the juice and clarify it. When you want to make use of it, put a small quantity into a glass, and pour upon it a small quantity of spirit of wine ; the mixture instantly forms a kind of curdled milk, exceedingly efficacious for rendering the skin smooth and removing pimples. 3. Tdike an ounce of roche-alum, and an ounce of sulphur reduced to a very fine powder, put the whole into a quart bottle, and add to it a pint of rose-water. Shake these substances for half-an-hour, which will give the water the appearance of milk. Shake the bottle every time before it is used. Steep a cloth in this liquid, and leave it all night upon the face, which must afterwards be washed with rose and plaintain water. Obs. — The appellation of virgin-milk is likewise applied to a very different liquid — the vinegar of lead precipitated with water. This is cried up as a remedy for eruptive disorders of the skin ; but it is repellent, and of course often attended with danger. It ought, there- fore, not to be employed without the necessary precau- tion ; but as a cosmetic it should never be used, since it dries and blackens the skin. It is, nevertheless, a fact, that most of the liquids sold by perfumers under the name of virgin-milk, are nothing but an extract of lead dissolved in vinegar. Ladies, therefore, to avoid 68 THE TOILETTE 01' HEALTH, the risk they encounter from similar preparations would study both their health, appearance, and personal con- venience much better if they were to compose this article themselves, rather than apply to either druggists or perfumers, who make at least fifteen or twenty dif- ferent sorts. COSMETIC OILS. 1. The oil of cacao is the best and most natural of all pomades. It is well adapted to dry skins, which it renders soft and smooth, without the appearance of being greasy. It is much used by the Spanish ladies of Mexico. In France and England it cannot be used pure, because it grows too hard. It becomes neces- sary to blend it with some other oil — as oil of ben, or oil of sweet almonds cold drawn. 2. Oil of ben is extracted by expression from nuts of the same name. Oil of ben possesses the property of never becoming rancid ; it has neither taste nor smell ; and in consequence of this latter quality, the perfumers use it with advantage to take the scent off flowers, and to make very agreeable essences. The ladies use this oil to soften the skin. When mixed with vinegar and nitre, it is also employed for curing pimples and itching. The oil of ben, moreover, is used with success as a lenitive for burns, acrid eruptions, chapped lips, and sore breasts. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 69 A Compound Cosmetic Oil. Take Oil of sweet almonds - - - - 4 ounces Oil of tartar per deliquium - - 2 ounces Oil of rhodium 4 drops, Mix the whole together, and use it to cleanse and soften the skin. Another. Take a pint of cream, infuse it in a few water lilies, bean flowers, and roses. Simmer the whole together in a vapor bath, and keep the oil that proceeds from it in a phial, which is to be left for some time exposed to the evening dew. Oil of Wheat. This oil is extracted by an iron press, in the same manner as oil of almonds. It is excellent for chaps, either of lips or hands, tettery eruptions, and rigidity of the skin. 0^7 of Tuberoses and Jasmine. The essence of these and other fragrant flowers communicated to olive oil, oil of sweet almonds, or oil of ben. The oils of tuberoses, or jasmine flowers are of use for the toilette on account of their fragrancy. There are ca.scs in which they may be successfully used by way of friction, to comfort and strengthen the nerves, and brace up the skin when too much relaxed — 70 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, though we apprehend beyond their fragrance, they pos- sess httle advantage over the oils above named. Oil, or Water of Talc. High encomiums were bestowed by the ancients on a water or oil of talc, which they averred possessed the property of blanching the complexion, and ensuring to women the freshness of youth till the most advanced age. The manner in which they composed this pre- cious cosmetic has not reached us. A French author, however, has given the way of composing a liquid that may serve as a substitute for it ; and a German chemist some years ago published a method of supplying this secret possessed by the cosmetics of antiquity. ' All,' says he, ' who have directed their attention to cos- metics, have regretted the loss of the secret of making water of talc, and have looked upon it as a discovery of the utmost importance to the Graces.' ' The following composition, perhaps, approaches nearest to that highly vaunted cosmetic,' says the author of Abdeker, which is laid down by him as follows : — Water of Talc. ' Take any quantity of talc, divide it into lanunae and calcine it with yellow sulphur. Then pound it, and wash it in a great quantity of hot water. When you are sure that you have extracted all the salts by this washing, gently pour off the water, and leave the pulp at the bottom of the vessel to dry. When dry, BEAUTY, AND FASHION. /I calcine it in a furnace for two hours with a strong heat. Take a pound of this calcined talc and reduce it to powder, with two ounces of sal ammoniac. Put the whole into a glass bottle, and set it in a damp place. All the talc will spontaneously dissolve, and then you have nothing more to do than to pour off the liquor gently, tzdcing care not to disturb it. This liquor is as clear and as bright as a pearl, and it is impossible to present the sex with a cosmetic whose effects are more astonishing. Oil of Talc. M. Justi, a German chemist, who also endeavored to recover a secret of such importance to the fair sex, lays down the following process : Take two parts of Venetian talc, and two parts of calcined borax. Afler M. Justi had perfectly pulverized and reduced these substances, he put them into a crucible, which he covered with a lid, and placed in a furnace. He ex- posed it for an hour to a very violent heat, and at the end of that time he found the mixture transformed into glass, of a greenish yellow color. This glass he re- duced to powder, then mixed it with two parts of salt of tartar, and again melted the whole in a crucible. By this second fusion he obtained a mass, which he placed in a cellar, upon an inclined piece of glass, with a vessel underneath it. In a short time the whole was converted into a liquid in which the talc perfectly dissolved 72 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, The authors of the Encyclopsedie Fran9aise, say, ' it is obvious that by this process you obtain a Hquid of the same nature as that called oil of tartar, per deliquium, which is nothing but fixed alkali dissolved by humidity. It is very doubtful whether the talc contributes at all to the properties of this hquid : but it is certain that fixed alkali possesses the property of making the skin per- fectly white and clear, and of taking away any spots which it may have contracted. For the rest, it seems that this liquid may be applied without any danger to the skin.' Oil of Tartar. Take white-wine tartar 1 1-^ lb. Saltpetre - - - 2 oz. Calcined tin - - 1 1-^ oz. Roche alum - - 1 oz. Pound these together ; put them into an earthen plate, and expose them to a reverberating fire till they are calcined. Then put an ounce of this substance, cal- cined quite white, into a pint of brandy. Obs. — Though this composition has been recom- mended as a useful appendage to the toilette, and as one of the best cosmetics that can be used for giving a clear complexion, it is necessary to be careful not to use it to excess. We have already given a caution regarding the application of compositions to the skin in which metallic calces are ingredients. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 73 COSMETIC WASHES. Denmark Lotion. Take equal parts of bean-flower, and water of the four cold seeds — namely, of pompion, melon, cucumber, and gourd, and of fresh cream ; beat the whole up together, adding a sufficient quantity of milk to make a wash, which apply to the face. Obs. — This recipe is taken from the 'Ami des Fem- mes.' Another writer says, that the cosmetic lotion used by the ladies of Denmark is totally different — it is what is called Eau dc Pigeon (pigeon water.) It is composed as follows : ' Take iuice of water-lilies, of melons, of cucumbers, of lemons, each one ounce; briony, wild succory, lily- flowers, borage, beans, of each a handful : eight pigeons stewed. Put the whole mixture into an alembic, adding four ounces of lump sugar, well pounded, one drachm of borax, the same quantity of camphor, the crumb of three French rolls, and a pint of white wine. When the whole has remained in digestion for seventeen or eigh- teen days, proceed to distillation, and you will obtain pigeon- water, which is such an improvement of the complexion. Obs. — It is by washing themselves with this water, we are told, that the Danish ladies, who have naturally a fine complexion, preserve all the freshness of early youth till the age of fifty. The three French rolls and the pint of wine miglit do alone, after this period, for 74 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, the purpose of invigorating the stomaxih and digestive organs. Wash a la Marie Antoinette. Take half a dozen lemons and cut them in small slices, a small handful of the leaves of white lilies, and south- ernwood, and infuse them in two quarts of cow's milk, with an ounce and a half of white sugar, and an ounce of rock-alum. These are directed to be distilled in bal- neum marisB. The face, at bed-times, is to be rubbed with this Avater ; and it is said that it gives a beautiful lustre to the complexion. It is a safe application, and its effects are certain. A Wash to give the Face a Younger look. Take Sulphur 1^ oz. G. oliban and myrrh - 2 oz. Amber 6 drachms Rose water - - - - 1^ pint Distil the whole in balneum mariae, wash yourself with some at bed-time, and in the morning with barley water ; and, with the blessing of God, it will not fail to give you a younger look. Another. Infuse wheat bran for three or four hours in vinegar, add to it a few yolks of eggs and a grain or two of am- bergris, and distil the whole. It is advisable to keep it for eight or ten days in the sun. BEAUT V, AM) FASHION. 75 Jywthcr. , Take equal parts of water of wild tansy, and water of house-leek, and for every half pound add two drachms of sal ammoniac. Vine Water, Preserve the drops which ooze from the !vine in the months of May and June, and wash your face with them. This is a ready-made cosmetic. Rose Water. Though rose water does not possess many virtues as a cosmetic, the ladies use a good deal of it, in conse- quence of its agreeable smell, and perhaps, also, on ac- count of its name, consecrated to the Loves and the Graces. Obs. — Rose water may be obtained in a very short time, and in the easiest manner, by the following means. It is sufficient to put roses into water, and to add two or three drops of sulphuric acid. The water assumes the color, and becomes impregnated witli the aroma of the flowers. Pimpernel Water. The properties of this water, for wliitening the com- plexion, are highly praised. The author of the Art of Perfumery says, * it ought to be continually on the toi- lette of every lady ' 76 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Strawberry Water. A name given to a liquid distilled from strawberries. When wood or wild strawberries are used for this pur- pose, the water has an exquisite smell; and ladies have recourse to it at their toilette to remove freckles and spots on the face. Hoffman, however, prefers the dis- tilled water of the whole plant, which he regards as more efficacious and detergent. Barley Water. An excellent cosmetic, though it can only be made in one particular season. The barley is to be gathered when the yet unformed grain resembles a milky sub- stance. These are to be pounded in a mortar with ass's milk, and the whole distilled in a sand bath. The liquid is used as a cosmetic wash. It gives extraordinary clearness to the skin and is productive of no incon- venience. Water in which rice has been boiled is also used as a detergent to the skin ; and oatmeal is frequently used for the same purpose in the absence, or oftener in con- sequence of its action on the pores of the skin, in lieu of soap. Ob 3. — Ladies of dark complexion, or sunburnt, should frequently bathe themselves, and wash their faces with a few drops of spirits of wine, sometimes with virgin-milk, and the distilled waters of pimpernel, white BEAUTV, AND FASHION. 77 tansy, bean flowers, &c. These detersive penetrating applications remove, by degrees, the kind of tan or var- nish that covers the skin, thus rendering more free the perspiration, which is the only real cosmetic. COSMETIC POMADES. Pomades or pomatums, are unctuous substances, in wliich are blended either medicaments or perfumes. Salves and ointments are of the former kinds ; washballs, pastes, &c. of the latter. A Pomade Jor the Complexion. Take white wax and spermaceti, of each a drachm ; oil of sweet almonds, two ounces ; spring water, an ounce and a half. Mix the wax and spermaceti togeth- er in the oil of almonds, in a glazed earthen pipkin, over hot ashes, or in a vapor bath ; pour the solution in- to a marble mortar, and stir it about with a wooden pes- tle till it becomes cold, and seems quite smooth; then mix the water gradually, and keep stirring till the whole be incorporated. Obs. — This pomatum becomes extremely w^hite and light by the agitation, and very much resembles cream, from its similitude to which it has obtained the name of cold cream. It is an excellent cosmetic, and renders the skin supple and smooth. Some add a little balm of Gilead to heighten its virtue ; and it i.s sometimes scent- ed by adding rose or orange flower water in the prepa- ration, instead of spring water; or witli a few drops of VO THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, any essence as fancy may direct. It is also very good to remove marks in the face from small-pox — in which case a little powdered saffron, or some other dessuative, as flours of zinc or French chalk, is usually added. It is to be kept for use in a large gallipot tied over with a bladder. A Poviatum to remove Redness, or Pimples in the Face. Steep in clear water a pound of boar's cheek till it becomes tolerably white ; drain it quite dry, and put it into a new glazed earthen pan with two or three hard pippins, quartered ; an ounce and a half of the four cold seeds, bruised, and a slice of veal about the size of the palm of your hand. Boil the whole together in a vapor bath for four hours, then with a strong cloth squeeze out your pomatum into an earthen dish, placed upon hot ashes ; add to it an ounce of white bees' wax and an ounce of the oil of sweet almonds, stir it with a wooden spatula till it becomes cold. For Wrinkles. Take pieces of white lily roots and fine honey, of each two ounces ; melted white wax, an ounce ; incorporate the whole together, and make a pomatum. It should be applied every night, and not wiped off till the next morning. Another. Take half an ounce of salad oil, an ounce of the oil of tartar } half an ounce of the mucilage of quince BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 79 seeds : three quarters of an ounce of ceruss ; thirty grains of borax, and the same quantity of sal gem. Stir the whole together for some time, in a little earthen dish, with a wooden spatula, and apply it in the same manner as in the preceding composition. For a Red or Pimpled Face. Take two pared apples, celery and fennel, of each a handful ; and barley meal a quarter of an ounce. Simmer the whole together a quarter of an hour in a gill of rose water ; then add an ounce of fine barley meal, the whites of four new laid eggs, and an ounce of deer's suet. Strain them through a canvass bag into a dish that contains a little rose water, and afterwards beat it in a mortar perfectly smooth. This pomatum is to be applied frequently througli the day, to remove the redness of the face, pimples, and even freckles ; but to answer the last-mentioned pur- pose, it must be continued till they are entirely effaced. To prevent their return, the person must shun the intense heat of the sun, and hot dry winds for some time. OBSERVATIONS ON COSMETICS. Instances are not v.'anting, of young persons attempt- ing to bleach their skins, and beautify their jxTsons, by avoiding the open air, using a mild and weakening diet, or even ab.stinence from food, xlet-ping too long, warm- 80 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, ing their beds, and other such-like contrivances. But alas ! the event does not answer their expectations — they lose both health and bloom. Eating chalk, drinking vinegar, wearing camphorated charms, and similar destructive means have been resorted to, by other more daring adventurers, but with no better success. Those last enumerated, have been termed ' minor cosmetics : ' others of a more formidable na- ture, we almost hesitate to mention, as they are un- questionably the most deleterious substances with which we are acquainted. Mercury and lead manufac- tured in various forms, are, unhappily, ingredients too common in many of our modern cosmetics, whether they consist of lotions, creams, powders, paints, or oint- ments. That these deleterious substances can be communi- cated to the circulating fluids, through the skin as well as by the stomach, requires, we should suppose, no further proof after the doctrine of cutaneous absorption is understood, than which nothing is more simple. Lead, if once introduced into the system, though in the smallest proportions, cannot be removed by oil, and never fails to produce the most deplorable effects — such as palsy, contraction and convulsion of the limbs, total lameness, weakness, and the most excruciating colics. Besides these more obvious effects, the frequent external use of lead and mercury in cosmetics, occasions cramps in every part of the body, faintings, nervous weakness, catarrhs, tubercles in the lunirs and intestines, which BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 81 occur either separately or together, taccording to tlie diiFerent circumstances, till at length a consumption, either pulmonary or hectic, closes the dreadful scene. ' The secret venom, circling in her veins, Works through her skin, and bursts in bloating stains : Her clieeks their freshness lose, and wonted grace, And an unusual paleness spreads her face.' Granville. Beauty of complexion, the subject at present under consideration, is but another term for a sound and healthy skin ; a pure mirror of the harmony of the internal parts with their surface, or, if we may be allowed the expression, Ht is visible health.' There subsists so intimate a relation between our interior and exterior vessels, that almost every error or irregularity in the organ within, shows itself first on the surface of the body, particularly on the face. How often are we struck with the countenance of a person, who tliinks himself in perfect health, but whose illness, the result of some morbid cause concealed in the body, justifies in a few days the serious apprehensions enter- tained at our last interview. Nature has wisely ordained, that tlie first appearance of internal irregularities should be indicated by the countenance ; but to what use do we generally apply this index ^ We refuse to avail ourselves of the benefi- cent intimation ; and the continued use of pernicious substances, instead of promoting the object we have in ba THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, view, ultimately tarnishes and impairs that beauty which we meant to adorn and preserve. We imagine it in our power to improve the skin, without attending to the purity of the fluids, though it is indebted to them for its very existence ; and yet we should smile at a person who attempted to cleanse an impure tongue by constantly scraping it, when a disordered stomach was the real cause of that impurity. From what has already been remarked we rely for in- dulgence, when we venture to pronounce every cos- metic, the composition of which is kept a secret from the public, to be false and fraudulent, and that mercury, or lead, are their leading ingredients. To such of our readers, male or female, who are de- termined to make use of cosmetics, instead of attending to the more effectual means of preserving the bloom of the skin, it may be of service to add one or two more external applications, in order to prevent them from using the dangerous and destructive preparations of quacks and nostrum-mongers. According to the late Dr. Withering, an infusion of horse-radish in milk, makes one of the safest and best cosmetics. Another preparation for cleansing the skin of pimples, and recent eruptions, if assisted by gentle aperient medicines, is the first juice of house-leek, mixed with an equal quantity of sweet milk or cream. All contrivances, however, to answer this purpose, are absurd and nugatory, if the inward state of the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 83 body be neglected, or if they be looked upon as specifics themselves. Such things do not exist in nature ; and as well might one try to bleach a blackamoor, as to remove any scorbutic or other eruptions from the face, without bestowing proper attention to the whole state of the body, and particularly the fluids, w'hence these irregularities derive their origin. The three great and really effectual substitutes in cosmetics which we would recommend, are the fol- lowing : — First. Proper attention to the insensible perspiration — an important process by which nature, if duly assisted, will not fail to expel all acrimonious and useless parti- cles. By this, too, the surface of the body will be kept in a constant atmosphere of softening exhalations — a species of volatile vapor-bath, which is the most effica- cious means of preserving it soft and pliant, and of animating it with the color of life. Secondly. The purity of the fluids : — This depends equally on a free perspiration and a vigorous state of diffestion.* * The most effectual means of restoring the tone of the digestive organs, and recruiting the muscular fibre and the nervous energy in general, is the ' Imperial Marine Tinct- ure ' and 'pills.' Prepared by Dr. Stevenson, and sold by the principal patent medicine venders in Europe. The instructions which accompany these medicines, render them a convenient resource to ftimilies both by sea and h;:d. — Medical Review. 84 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, Thirdly. The third requisite to a fair and beautiful complexion, is an uniform distribution of the fluids, or in other words, a free and unrestrained circulation of the Hood; — as the very purest fluids, when profusely propelled to the face, are productive of disagreeable consequences, such as unnatural redness, flushings, tumid appearances, &c., of which ladies, who lead a sedentary life, are so apt to complain. CHAPTER XI. L\JUNCTIONS RELATIVE TO THE REFINEMENT OF THE SKIN. To the preceding general observations, it may be useful to subjoin a few particular injunctions, relative to the purification of the skin, as connected with a state of good health. 1. Abstain from the too frequent and too copious use of heating liquors of every kind, particularly punch and strong wines. There is scarcely anything more destructive to the bloom of youth and manhood than these liquids, which fill the blood with inflammable particles, propel it towards the face, parch the skin, render it spotted, and lay the foundation of that in- curable disease, which is sometimes figuratively called, copper in the face. Neither sugar, nor any additional ingredient to gratify the palate, can deprive these liquors of their noxious qualities, insomuch that even KEAUTV, AND FASniON. 85 the most agreeable and seductive liquid is attended with considerable danger. 2. Avoid likewise the excessive use of hot drinks, such as coffee, chocolate, and tea, particularly the last, in which the inhabitants of this country indulge more than in any other beverage. The too liberal use of this liquid is not a little prejudicial to the purity and fairness of the skin. Tea taken immoderately and hot, not only has a tendency to weaken the organs of diges- tion, but causes fluctuations and congestions in the humors of the face, and frequently brings on a degree of debilitating perspiration. 3. The various compositions prepared by the pastry cook and confectioner, are scarcely of less importance than the former. These dainties would be less objec- tionable, if any method could be devised to bake them without the pernicious ingredients of yeast and fat substances which load the stomach with glutinous slime and rancid matter, which obstruct the glands of the abdomen, particularly those of the mesentery, and have a strong tendency to produce the cutaneous eruptions already mentioned. Pomatum for the Skin. Take oil of white poppy seed, and of the fine cold seeds, each a gill ; spermaceti three quarters of an ounce ; w'hite wax, an ounce ; mix them, scaindum artem, into a pomatum. Obs. — A great quantity of a substance resemblino- 9 00 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, butter is extracted from the cocoa-tree, which is ex- cellent to mollify and nourish the skin, and has long been used for this purpose amongst the Spanish creo- lean women. The warm bath, or warm loc«al ablution is always to be observed, after the use of unctuous substances. LIP-SALVES. Take oil of almonds, 3 ounces ; spermaceti, 1 ounce ; virgin rice, 5 ounce. Melt these together over a slow fire, mixing with them a little of the powder of alkanet root. Keep stirring till cold, and then add a few drops of the oil of rhodium. Obs. — Fresh butter may be used instead of the oil of sweet almonds. The alkanet root will color it red. Yellow bees-wax added, will give it a yellow color. Another. Take prepared tutty and oil of eggs, of each equal parts ; mix, and apply them to the lips, after v/ashing the latter with barley or plaintain water. A Yellow Lip-Salve. Take yellow bees-wax, two ounces and a half; oil of sweet almonds, a quarter of a pint ; melt the wax in the oil, and let the mixture stand till it become cold, when it acquires a pretty stiff consistence. Scrape it into a marble mortar, and rub it with a wooden pestle, to render it perfectly smooth. Keep it for use in a gallipot closely covered. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 87 Obs. — This is emollient and lenient; of course good for chaps in the lips, hands, or nipples ; and preserves the skin soft and smooth. A Scarlet Lip- Salve. Take an ounce of the oil of sweet almonds, cold drawn ; a drachm of fresh mutton suet ; and a little bruised alkanet root ; and simmer the whole together in an earthen pipkin. Instead of the oil of sweet al- monds, you may use oil of jasmin, or oil of any other flower, if you intend the lip-salve to have a fragrant odor. Another. Take a pound of fresh butter ; a quarter of a pound of bees-wax ; four or five ounces of cleansed black grapes, and about an ounce of bruised alkanet root. Simmer them together over a slow fire till the wax is wholly dissolved, and the mixture becomes of a bright red color : strain and put it by for use. Obs. — The cosmetics hitherto fashionable have all been directed to the surface without any reference to the interior ; though it must be evident, however pow- erful their effects may be for a time, that they will at least be but temporary and evanescent, and their appli- cation must be renewed almost as often as washing, at the risk, sometimes, too, of doing great injury, aufl giving rise to dangerous disorders. To obviate this inconvenience, it i.s propo-sed, thereffjre, IJiat in.stiad ot 88 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, repelling from the skin inwards, to expel without the skin whatever may tend to disorder or discolor it. With this intention the following has been, in some cases, tried with success ; and we reconmiend to our fair readers a trial of it in conjunction with their cos- metic creams and other preparations. Take tincture of cardamoms, 1 drachm ; wine of ipecacuanha, 15 drops; flour of sulphur, ^ drachm. Add these to half a glass of sherry or Cape wine (ginger or elder wine will do), and take it going to bed. To be repeated two or three times a week, for a week or two. accordinsT to circumstances. CHAPTER XII. PAIXTS FOR THE FACE, ETC. Paints* must not be confounded with cosmetics, which really inpeirt whiteness, freshness, suppleness, and brilliancy to the skin, when it is naturally different * The art of painting the skin is nearly as ancient as the world ; and it has been found among all the nations of the world. Bv the first inhabitants of the earth this invention was deemed so wonderful, that they could not suppose it to be the production of the human mind, and gave it a celestial origin. They ascribed it to superior intelligence ; and the author of the book of Enoch assures us that, before the deluge,, the angel Azaliel taught women the art of painting themselves. BEAITV, AND FASHION'. *«'.' to those qualities ; consequently they only assist na- ture, and make amends for her defects ; and it may he affirmed they are to heauty what medicine is to health. Paints are far from answering this description. They are not only incapable of embellishing the skin, but those who make use of them are extremely fortunate wiien they do not contribute to incre£ise its defects. They cannot give the skin so desired qualities, they only imitate it in a manner more or less coarse. Paints, although they are incapable of repairing the ravages of time, are nevertheless used, for various rea- sons. In the first place, they are sooner and more easily applied ; because they produce a higher and more brilliant and speedy effect ; and in the next, because, in cases where cosmetics would be of no use > for instance, in persons too plain or too old, paints afford a convenient resource, a last and only medium of disguising other defects of the complexion or the ravages of time. But when a person is young, fresh and hand- some, to paint would be perfectly ridiculous ; it would be wantonly spoiling the fairest gifts of nature. Red and white being the only paints used on the skin, we shall here briefly treat of them. If ever paint were to be prescribed, we should plead for an exception in favor of rouge, which may be rendered extremely inno- cent, and be applied with such art as to give an expres- sion to the countenance, which it would not have without that auxiliary. White paint is never becoming ; rouge, on thf contrary. almo;4 alvv.'ivs liKikb well. 90 THE TOILETTi: OF HKALTH, 1. OF WHITE PAINT. White paints are extracted from minerals more or less pernicious, but always corrosive. Mineral paints affect the eyes, change the texture of the skin, producing pimples. Paint also causes rheums, attacks the teeth, makes them ache, destroys the enamel, and loosens them. It heats the mouth and throat, infecting and corrupting the saliva. Lastly, it penetrates through the pores of the skin, acting by degrees on the cellular sub- stance of the lungs, and inducing pulmonary complaints. Or, in other cases if the paint be composed of alumin- ous or calcareous substances, it stops the pores of the skin which it tarnishes, and prevents perspiration, which, as a matter of course, is directed to some other part, to the danger of the individual. Metallic paints are extracted from either lead, tin, or bismuth. To the inconveniences already noticed, these paints add that of turning the skin black when it is exposed to the action of sulphureous or phosphoric ex- halations. Accordingly those females who use them ought carefully to avoid going too near substances in a state of putrefaction, the vapors of sulphur and lime of sulphur, and the exhalations of bruised garlic. We shall here merely subjoin the process for making a cheap white paint, which, if not wholly free from inconvenience, is not, however, accompanied with those dangers which always attend the use of whites prepared from bismuth, lead, or tin. BIAUTY, AND FASHI05. 01 Tu Make a Wliitc Pairitfor the Complexion, Take a piece of Brian<;on chalk. Choose it of a pearl grey color, and rasp it gently with a piece of dogskin. After this, sift it through a sieve of very fine silk, and put it into a pint of good distilled vinegar, and leave it there for fourteen days, shaking the bottle two or three times each day, with the exception of the last, on which it must not be disturbed. Having stood the requisite time, pour off the vinegar, so as to leave the chalk behind in the bottle, into which pour very clean water that has been filtered. Throw the whole into a clean pan, and stir the water well with a wooden spatula. Let the powder settle again to the bottom, pour the water gently off, and wash this powder six or seven times, taking care always to make use of filtered water. When the powder is as white and as soft as you would wish, dry it in a place where it is not expos- ed to tiie dust. Sift it through a silken sieve, wiiich will make it still finer. It may either be left in powder, or wetted and formed into cakes like those sold by the perfumers. One pint of vinegar is sufficient to dissolve a pound of talc, that is, of Brianqon chalk. Obs. — This white may be used in the same manner as carmine, by dipping the finger, or a piece of paper, or what is preferable to either, a hare's foot prepared for the purpose, in ointment, and putting upon it about a grain of this powder, which will not be removed even b^ perspiration If the ointment with whicli it i.? apphed 92 Till; TOILETTE UF HEALTH, be properly prepared, this wliite does no injury to the skin of the face.. The same ingredients may be used in making rouge. Another White. To one part of Venice talc, in powder, add two parts of the oil of camphor ; let them digest in a sand-bath till the whole becomes very white. Salve ichich may he used as Paint. Take four ounces of very white wax, five ounces of oil of bitter almonds, one ounce of very pure spermaceti, one ounce and a half of white lead washed in rose-water, and half an ounce of camphor. Mix the whole up into a salve, which may be preferred to all other whites. 2. OF RED PAINT.* It would be well were those ladies whosa taste may lead them to relieve the deficiency of their complexion * Almost all nations have had a predilection in favor of the color red» The Phcenieians owed their name to the red color of their ships, and of the stuffs they conveyed to the barbarous nations inhabiting the coasts of the Mediter- ranean. The ancieats at festivals, painted Jupiter with vermilion. At Rome, the bodies of triumphant warriors were painted with the same color; and Camillus, among the rest, is mentioned as having made his appearance in it on the day of his triumph. Lord ^Macartney, in his passage through Pekin, saw several Tartar women who, he says, were excessively painted, especially about the middle of the lower lip ; and several tribes of Indians and Africans evince considerable partiality for red BEAUTV, AND FASHKjN. <.Ki by means of rouge, were they to compose the articles themselves. They would not then run the risk of using those dangerous reds in which deleterious min- erals are ingredients, of spoiling the skin, and of ex- posing themselves to the inconveniences which we have alluded to, as liable to result from the use of metallic paints. The more dangerous reds are those compounded with minium, which is a calx of lead, or cinnabar, otherwise called vermilion, produced by sulphur and mercury. Vegetable red therefore should alone be used. These are attended with little danger, especially when used with moderation. The vegetable substances which furnish rouge, are red Sanders wood, root of orchanet, cochineal, Brazil wood, and especially the bastard saffron, which yields a very beautiful color, that is, mixed with a sufficient quantity of French chalk or talc. Some jjcrfumers compose vegetable rouges, for which they talic vinegar as the excipient. These reds are liable to injure the beauty of the skin. It is more advisable to compound them witli oleaginous or unctuous substances, and to form salves. For this purpose, balm of Mecca, butter of cacao, oil of ben, &.c. may, for instance, be em- ployed. There are females whose skin cannot be reconciled to unctuous bodies; such, therefore, may use the fol- lowing : — 2. Take Eriaui^on chalk, and reduce it to a very fint' 94 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, powder — add to it carmine in proportion to the vividness of the red which you intend to produce ; and carefully triturate this mixture, which may be applied to the skin, without danger ; or 2. Take French chalk prepared, four ounces; oil of almonds, two drachms; carmine, one ounce. Obs. — The makers of rouge, from motives of economy, sometimes substitute cinnabar for carmine. It may be ascertained if carmine be genuine, as in this case it is not altered either by the mixture of oxalid acid, or vola- tile alkali. The rouge of which we have just given the composition, may likewise be made up with salves ; it then produces a superior effect, being a better imitation of the natural colors. 3. A liquid rouge to produce a perfect imitation of the colors of nature may be made as follows : — Add to a pint of French brandy, half an ounce of benzoin, an ounce of red sandal wood, half an ounce of Brazil wood, and the same quantity of rock alum. Cork the bottle with care, shake it well once a day, and at the end of twelve days it will be fit for use. The cheeks are to be lightly touched with it. 4. Take Brazil wood and rock alum ; pound and add them to a bottle of red wine, and boil it till it is reduced to one fourth part. To use this, dip a piece of cotton wool into it, and rub the cheeks. 5. Take half an ounce of red sandal wood, half an ounce of cloves, and five pounds of sweet almonds. Pound the whole together. Upon this paste pour two ^ BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 95 ounces of white wine, and an ounce and a half of rose- water. Let the whole be sta-red up well together. In about eight or nine days, strain this paste in the same manner as is done to extract the oil of sweet almonds, and a very good red oil will be obtained. 0. Alkanet root strikes a beautiful red when mixed with oils or pomatums. A scarlet or rose-colored rib- bon, wetted with water or brandy, gives the checks if rubbed with it a beautiful bloom, that can scarcely be distinguished from the natural color. Others only use a red sponge, which tinges the cheeks of a fine carna- tion color. Turkish method of preparing Carmine. Infuse during three or four days, in a large jar filled with white wine vinegar, a pound of Brazil wood, shavings of Femambucca, having first beaten them to a coarse powder : boil them afterwards for half an hour ; then strain off the liquor through a coarse linen cloth, set it again upon the fire, and, having dissolved half a pound of alum in white wine vinegar, mix both liquors together, and. stir the mixture well with a spa- tula. The scum that rises is the carmine : skim it off carefully, and dry it for use. Obs. — Carmine may also be made witli cochineal, or red Sanders, instead of Brazil wood. .^ Secret to Efface Wrivkles. Throw on a red-hot iron shovel some powdered 06 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, mj^rrh, and receive the smoke on the face, covering t? e head with a handkerchief to prevent the fumes from being dissipated. Let' the operation be repeated three times, — then heat the shovel again, and when red hot as before, pour on it a mouthful of white wine, and hold your face over the smoke arising from it, three succes- sive times. Continue this practice every night and morning, as long as you see occasion. THE MONTPELLIER TOILETTE. Take for this purpose a new light- woven linen cloth, and cut it of a proper size to make a toilette. Wash the cloth perfectly clean in different waters; then spread it out to dry, and afterwards steep it twenty-four hours in sweet-scented water — namely, half angelic and half rose water. On removing the cloth out of the water, gently squeeze it, and hang it up to dry in the open air. Then lay on it the following composition — Take Orange flowers, dried . . . . ^ pound. Roots of elecampane . . . . ^ pound. Florentine orris ^ pound. Yellow Sanders 4 ounces. Residuum of angelic water . . 2 ounces. Rosewood and sweet flag, each . 1 ounce. Gumlabdanum ^ ounce. Calamus aromaticus . . . . ^ ounce. Cloves 2 ounce. Cinnamon 2 drachms. Beat all these ingredients into powder, and make them I BKAUTY, AND FASHION. 97 into a paste with mucilage of gum tragacanth, dissolved in angelic water. With this paste rub your toilette cloth hard on both sides, leaving on it the little bits that may adhere, because they render the surface more smooth. Afterwards hang up the cloth, and when half dry, again rub both sides with a sponge wetted with angelic water, to render the cloth still more smooth ; after which dry it thoroughly and fold it up. This cloth is generally lined with taffety, and covered with satin, and is now enclosed with more than two pieces of some kind of thin silk. CHAPTER XIII. THE MOUTH A\D BREATH. Ovid's directions for the management of the mouth ajid face is a piece of sterling advice, which our female readers in particular cannot too much appreciate : we make no apology therefore for extracting it : — " Let not the nymph with laughter much abound, Whose teeth are black, uneven, or unsound ! You'd hardly think how much on this depends, And how a laugh or spoils the face or mends : Gape not too wide, lest you disclose your gums, And lose the dimple which the cheek becomes ; Nor let your sides too strong concussions shake, Lest you the softness of the sex forsake. 98 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, In some, distortions quite the face disguise ; Another laughs that you would think she cries j In one, too hoarse a voice we hear betrayed : Another is as harsh as if she brayed." The half smile is said to indicate innocence and virtue; and the smile inspires love and friendship. The laugh, in its turn, expresses lively joy and undis- sembled mirth. The laugh, however, is far from having in females the gTace of the smile : when carried to excess it becomes ridiculous, and is converted into a frightful grimace. If it is habitual, it in time totally alters the face, imprints wrinkles upon it, distorts all the features, and entirely destroys all its beauty. Of this truth Ovid was thoroughly convinced when he gave the above advice. The purity of the breath is another advantage that cannot be too much prized ; the contrary defect is the most unfortunate circumstance that can befal beauty, or conjugal felicity, in any station in life, and is alone sufficient to annihilate, in an instant, the most perfect and otherwise inviting charms. In order to preserve the beauty of the teeth, and the purity of the breath, the Arabs accustom themselves and are continually chewing mastic, the Turks sakkes, and the Persians konderuum. A fcEtid breath may be the consequence of various causes : — 1. From diseased lungs ; 2. Smoking tobacco ; BEAUTY, ANU FASHION. 90 3. Excessive drinking of malt and spirituous liquors ; 4. The state of the stomach and organs of digestion ; 5. Neglect of the teeth and mouth ; C. The abuse of mercury ; 7. Scorbutic taint in the blood. When the strong smell of the breath proceeds from diseased lungs, — riding on horseback, fresh air, and the use of gargles of myrrh, or of the infusion of oak- bark, with proper attention to the state of the bowels, may palliate the affection, and ultimately remove it, if not too deeply seated. If from smoking tobacco and excessive drinking, which always derange the digestive organs, the cause must be removed before the effect can cease ; but clean- liness, and attention to the state of the mouth and teeth, morning and night, may remove the inconvenience so far as to render it tolerable. Tonic gargles, charcoal, and Peruvian bark, or myrrh, for a tooth-powder ; and chewing occasionally a little mastic will do this. If from the abuse of mercury, the blood must be purified by a decoction of the woods and a course of alterative medicine, in conjunction with the gargles and tooth-powders above recommended. Charcoal pas- tilles correct the breath ; they are made in the manner of lozenges; and a few drops of pyroligneous acid will correct for tlie time being, the most offensive odor of the breath. Besides the causes abovi- enumerated, various parti- cular ones may, either singly or combined with tlit 100 THK TOILKTTE OF HEALTH, former, contribute to the foeter of the breath. This disagreable quality is frequenty the consequences of repeated watching, of excessive fatigue, immoderate pleasures or amusements. When the vitiated smell of the breath proceeds from an incurable evil, the person so affected is reduced to the sad necessity of removing tliis smell by others of a different kind. For this pur- pose cashoo is recommended, to which, as it combines with many other odoriferous substances, any smell may be given that is preferred by the individual. There are many forms prescribed for sweetening the breath : we shall here select a few, that our readers may have a resource at all times to fly to, from what- ever cause they may be temporarily or permanently tainted. A fragrant Quid. Take gum fragaranth and cashoo, enough of each to make a ball about the size -of a filbert ; scent it with Cologne water, oil of bergamot, ambergris, or any other agreeable perfume. Keep a quid made in this manner always in your mouth, when you want your breath sweet ; or, you may chew occasionally a bit of the root of Florentine iris, or gum mastic ; or wash the mouth frequently, as already observed, with the tincture of myrrh : or, at night going to bed, chew a piece of fine myrrh, about the size of a small nut : or every night and morning a clove ; or about the size of a small bean of burnt alum ; or, BJEAUTV, ANU !• ASHIUN. 101 Take Good old port . . 1 pint Best red bark . . iS ounce White wine ■ ■ . h pi^t Cloves, bruised, No 3 Let them stand for a week. Take a wine glassful going to bed. This is also an excellent remedy for loose, spongy, and scorbutic gums, decayed teeth, &Ai. Water, in which charcoal has lain for some time, filtered, a wine glass morning, noon, and night, is an excellent and simple fluid for a foetid breath : any agreeable aromatic, as tincture of myrrh, half a drachm ; tincture of Peruvian bark ; of aloes, &c. the same. Attention to the state of the bowels is an indispensa- ble requisite where the breath is tainted, from whatever cause. Some mild saline aperient for choleric tempera- ment and some warm opening pill, as the pill cochia, or colocynth with calomel, will answer best for the idilegmatic, at the same time it will answer as well for the choleric, if the bowels be not easily moved. Take Extract colocynth, C. h drachm Oil of mint 3 drops Submuriate of quicksilver 10 grains Syrup of buckthorn 9 scruples Make ten pills, and take one morning and evening till tlifv j)roduce the desired effect. 10* 102 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAPTER XIV. THE LIPS. The lips are liable to excoriations and chaps, which often extend to a considerable depth. These chaps are occasioned by severe cold ; almost any kind of unctuous substance may be applied as an emollient remedy. There are different sorts of salve for the lips. See page 8G. CHAPTER XV. THE TEETH AXD GUMS. 'He who pays no aUenlion lo the teelb, by this single neglect betrays vulgar sentiment.'— LAV ATER. The teeth are bones protruding from the upper and lower jawS; amply supplied with nerves and blood ves- sels, and covered with a fine enamel, more or less dense in different persons. When this enamel is destroyed, either by external or internal causes, the tooth cannot long remain sound, and requires to be cautiously treated, if there be a wish to have it preserved; since more teeth are injured and destroyed by ignorant and BEACTV, AND FASHION. 103 improper cleaning, than by all the othor causes of tooth- ache and rotting put together. CleanUness, and fortifying the teeth and gums, are the fittest means of preserving them ; tooth-picks, tooth- brushes, dentifrices, and scaling them, are so indiscrim- inately used, that no little attention is requisite in right ordering these necessary processes. It is well knowm that savages have uniformly white teeth, and they have no absurd artifices for keeping them in that condition. Metal tooth-picks, let them even be of gold or silver, injure the enamel more or less, and the hard bristly tooth-brushes and dentifrices act upon this nicely polished surface with equal injury, if not judiciously selected and applied. And if once the smallest portion of the enamel of a tooth is destroyed, it never is restored, consequently the tooth decays, and ultimately breaks down upon the gums. The best tooth-pick is a quill bluntly pointed, and even this requires judicious management : rinsing the mouth with warm water is the best cleanser of the en- amel, where incrustations are not formed. Cleanliness of the teeth is to the eye what purity of breath is to the sense of smelling. Nothing, indeed, is more pleasing than clean white teeth, and gums of the color of the rose ; nothing more disagreeable than dirty black teeth, thickly encrusted with tartar, a sight alonr- sufHcient to excite disgust ; the most beautiful face and vermilion lips being repulsive, if the latter, wlicn they open, exhibit the slovenly sj>cctacle of neglected 104 THE TOILETTE OK HEALTH, teeth. It was, therefore, a just observation of Lava- ter, that the mere sight of the teeth is capable of giving us a perfect insight into the character of a person, and that foul teeth announce vulgar sentiments. The desire to please is not the only motive that ought to induce people to pay the greatest attention to their teeth, both as regards cleanliness and preservation. Health depends, in a great measure, on good, sound, and clean teeth — good, in order to the perfect mastica- tion of food; sound, that they may not impregnate the alimentary substances with a vitiated and unwholesome juice. The good condition of the teeth is absolutely necessa- ry for the formation of the voice, and the articulation of words. Vacancies, more or less considerable, are al- ways injurious to the plainness of pronunciation, and the harmony of speech ; in fine, Cicero compared the teeth with the strings of an instrument which modify the sound. The interest of beauty, above every other, imperiously enjoins the preservation of the teeth. The teeth have not only their particular beauty, re- sulting from their regularity, form, and whiteness, but they also necessarily contribute to the general beauty of the figure. When they are gone, the lips and cheeks, deprived of that natural support which they received from them, fall in, and exhibit the not very pleasing image of premature old age. How many reasons thus combine to induce the fair sex in particular, to bestow the greatest care on the preservation of these valuable organs. BEAUTV, AMJ fashion. 105 The beauty of the teeth particularly consists in their position, their arrangement, their regularity, their cleanliness, and their whiteness. These conditions of the teeth are essential to beauty. Art cannot, in this case, furnish a remedy for the defects of nature ; it presents resources, which every woman jealous of her charms ought not to neglect. But these means are not within the range of cosmetics ; recourse must be had to the hand and instrument of a skilful dentist, which renders it unnecessary to say much more on this subject. The cleanlines and whiteness of the teeth, and the means of attaining this state of perfection, falling more particularly within the range of our views, we shall here devote some considerations to this desi- deratum. Attention to the cleanhness of the mouth is the first step towards preserving the teeth in a sound state, and preventing that dreadful scourge the tooth-ache. For this purpose it is only necessary to wash the teeth daily with luke-warm water, or with salt and water. Hot water ought never to be used with tliis ingredient. White teeth being a . particular object of ambition with females, a number of useless recipes have been invented for this purpose. 3Iany, indeed, of these recepes are extremely pernicious, inasmuch as they will gradually destroy the enamel which more especially contributes to the solidity of the teeth. Among these dangerous nostrums may be reckoned, in the first place, those dentifrices, electuaries, and opiates whi.ch contain cor- 106 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH. rosive powders, such as emery, pumice stone, and others. Such articles wear the enamel by friction. In the next class may be ranged those tinctures, spirits, and elixirs which contain a mineral acid, and wliich chemically effect the destruction of the enamel. CHAPTER XVI. MOUTH, TONGUE, THROAT, TEETH, AND GUMS. The mouth and tongue require particular care. The former should be rinsed every morning, after dinner, and the last thing at night, with cold water ; but in the winter the chill may be taken off it. The frequent washing of the mouth is otherwise necessary, because the viscid slime, and small particles of food which settle about the interstices of the teeth, are very apt to putrify, and if not removed will affect the breath, and gradually injure the teeth themselves. Besides, this slime settles on the tongue, covers the papillce or little eminences which are the organs of taste, and renders the palate less sensible. The tongue ought no less to be cleansed every morning, either with a small piece of whale-bone, or with a sage leaf, which is also useful for polishing BF.AITV, AND FASHION. 107 the teeth. To clear the throat it should bo gargled with fresh water, and a mouthful of the same fluid swal- lowed every morning fasting — the latter practice must not, however, be attempted too hastily, but when once accustomed to it, it will be attended with advantage. Acids in general possess the property of making the teeth white, in the same manner as aqua-fortis does colored marble, namely, by destroying its polish and solidity. An experiment, which any one may repeat, proves that the teeth grow soft sooner or later in acid liquors, and that the earthy and calcareous part which constitutes their solidity, appears at the bottom of the vessel, under the form of a sediment. Vinegar is not the only acid that injures the teeth by making them white for a short time ; all acid substances wliich set them an edge, such as sorel, lemon, cream of tartar, and especially mineral acids, in whatever form they are employed, produce the same effect. The teeth are liable to lose their whiteness by the influence of various causes — for instance, they become encrusted with tartareous matter, and arc tarnished either by the actions of certain elements, or by the exhalations of the stomach. When the loss of white- ness is occasioned by the production of tartar, a coral stick may be used to clean the teeth, and to remove the tartareous salt. The blackness of the teeth may be corrected by the following process : — pulverise equal parts of tartar and salt, and having washed your teeth fastinff. rub them with this powder 108 THE TOILETTE OP HEALTH, The preservation of the teeth depends not only on the particular pains necessary to be taken with them^ but also on the regimen best adapted to health. The teeth do not long continue sound with bad digestion, with unwholesome food, with a stomach which but imperfectly discharges its functions, and with vitiated digestive juices. All these causes may contribute to the decay of the teeth, and the bad state of the gums. The following precautions are necessary to preserve the teeth. 1. Cold applications are injurious to the teeth. 2. Too hot aliments are likewise hurtful. It has been observed, that great tea-drinkers commonly have yellow teeth. 3. Cutting thread or silk with the teeth is a bad habit which wears the enamel, loosens them, sometimes breaks pieces off, and in time spoils their form. The shortness of the incisor teeth in some females is a mark of this bad habit. 4. Avoid cracking nuts or walnuts, or biting hard substances of any kind with the teeth. If you do not break them always by such unnatural violence, you at least loosen them, and painful tooth-aches are not un- frequently the consequences. 5. Dangerous diversions, such as carrying or lifting weights with the teeth, are very destructive both of teeth and gums. 6. In masticating food both jaws ought to be equally used. Where one side is only put in action, the teeth. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 109 on the inactive side are more liable to accumulate tartar, and to decay ; they are also less firm in their sockets, and are sometimes subject, especially the grind- ers, to be partly covered by the gums. 7. The use of metallic tooth-picks, pins, forks, &c., with which people are in the slovenly and thoughtless habit of picking their teeth, ought to be studiously pro- scribed. 8. Abstain from washing the head. 9. Cold feet are another cause of tooth-ache. 10. The naked costume, damp night air, and the fash- ion of wearing the hair too short, very frequently con- tribute to disorder the teeth. The principal precautions for the preservation of the teeth, consist above all things, in securing them from tartar, their greatest enemy, and caries, which is some- times the consequence of their being too much exposed to the action of that corrosive matter. The gums cannot be healthy unless they are firm and red, and adhere to the roots of the teeth. These quali- ties dei>end in a great measure on tlie state of the health. The gums are liable to a variety of accidents which impair both their health and beauty, and which often transform them into objects most disgusting to the eye. Sometimes they grow soft, swell, and appear full of livid and corrupted blood — at others they project, and cover great part of the teeth ; they also become inflamed and painful, and covered with offensive and malignant ulcers. 11 no THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, When disease of the gums proceeds from internal causes, these must be first attacked with adequate reme- dies : in this case recourse must be had to medical ad- vice ; we shall only here, therefore, consider such cases for which local applications are sufficient. Tincture for the Teeth and Gums. Take Peruvian bark coarsely powdered one ounce, and infuse it for a fortnight in half a pint of brandy. Gargle the mouth morning and night with a teaspoon- ul of this tincture, diluted with an equal quantity of rose water. Mixture for Caries, or Rotten Teeth. Make a balsam with a sufficient quantity of honey, two scruples of myrrh in fine powder, a scruple of gum juniper, and ten grains of roche-alum. A portion to be applied frequently to the decayed teeth. A Liquid Remedy for the same. Take a pint of the juice of the wild gourd, a quarter of a pound of mulberry bark and pellitory of Spain, each three ounces. Roche-alum, sal gem, and borax, of each half an ounce. Put these ingredients into a vessel, and distil, in a sand heat, to dryness. Take of this liquor and brandy, each an equal part, and wash the mouth with them warm. The mixture removes and corrects all putrid sub- stances in the mouth or teeth. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. Ill .i Coral Stick for the Teeth. Make a stiff paste with tooth powder and a sufficient quantity of mucilage of gum tragacanth : form with this paste cylindrical rollers, tiie thickness of a large goose-quill, and about three inches in length. The way to use this stick is to rub it against the teeth, which become cleaner in proportion as it wastes. To give Firmness to Soft Gums. Take Spanish wine, and distilled water of bramble leaves, of each one pint ; cinnamon, half an ounce ; cloves and Seville orange peel, of each two drachms; gumlac and calcined alum, of each one drachm. Re- duce the whole to a fine powder, and add two ounces of Narbonne honey. Put this mixture into a glass bottle, set it on hot ashes, and let it stand four days ; on the fifth, strain the liquid by pressure through a thick linen cloth, and then put it away in a well-corked bottle till used. When the gums want hardening, take a spoonful o^ this liquid, and pour it into a glass. Use half of it at first to rinse the mputh, in which it must be retained for a minute or two. Then spit it out and take the other half, which also hold in the mouth a longer or shorter time, accordingly as tiie gums have more or less occasion to be strengthened. Rub them at the same time with the finger; then wash the mnuth with lukewarm water. Obs. — This operation is to hf ]»erforiiity naluic. 152 THE TOILETTE OE HEALTH, The constant use of boots contracts the size of the legs, particularly the calves. How frequently do we smile at the Chinese and Circassians, who, from a tyrannical custom, compress their feet, that they may remain small and crippled. Yet these feeble Orientals proceed more rationally in this practice, than their European rivals. They begin it gradually, and from the earliest infancy. We do not think of contracting the feet of our children till they have almost attained the natural size, and then endeavor to counteract the process of nature. Were the feet not cased up as they usually are, the knees would be more flexible, the toes more pliable, more useful and better adapted to execute the various motions of the feet. The numerous nerves crossing the feet in every direction, plainly evince that nature has endowed them with peculiar powers, of which we can scarcely form an adequate conception. The untutored Indian, or the wild African, excels not only the enlightened European, but likewise the lower animals, in running, leaping, and, in short, in swiftness and agility of every kind, where muscular motion is required. Either of them would laugh heartily at us, that we are obliged to employ professional operators for extracting corns, and to contrive ointments and plasters for the cure of those evils, which we have wantonly brought on ourselves. Nature has designed the toes to be as movable as the fingers. Those unfortunate creatures who are born without hands, learn to perform with the toeb. the BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 153 most astonishing feats ; to write, and cut pens, to sew, draw — in short, to supply ahnost completely the want of hands. Nearly nine-tenths of mankind arc troubled with corns ; a disease that is seldom or never occasioned but by straight shoes ; and it may be added, that the remain- ing tenth part do not envy their fellow-creatures for this modern improvement. The shoes formerly worn, but now out of fashion, showed people's good sense, and their attention to health and comfort. Those who wear small and short shoes are and ever will be exposed to many disappointments and inconveniences, by being deprived of both exercise and pleasure ; independent of predisposing them to gout and rheumatism and dropsy. Many people, in fine, by wearing short and cramped shoes have been deprived of the use of their legs; and the pain of the more virulent species of corns, as well as of the nails, when grown into the flesh, from the same cause, is most excruciating. Among the inconveniences attending the feet, a most disagreeable one is constant, profuse perspira- tion, and' more so- than when this exudation affects the hands, because it is often accompanied with an unpleasant odor, which is not perceived in the latter. It would, nevertheless, be extremely dangerous to check this foetid perspiration all at once by very astringent baths, though it may be gradually diminished and removed by proper attention to cleanliness. To rem'^dy this, the feet may be daily washed with cold water, 154 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, into which a little vinegar may be put ; the stockings changed every day, and the use of cotton or thread ones, instead of those made of worsted. In the morning the feet may be well rubbed with a dry cloth, and afterwards with a few drops of brandy. Friction on the soles of the feet is very advantageous ; but on account of the great number of highly sensible nerves in them, such practice must not be carried to excess. A proper degree of warmth and perspiration in the feet is always a favorable symptom of health. Besides they should be often bathed in cold, or which is still better, in lukewarm water, well rubbed, and the nails constantly cut. There will then be no danger of the nails growing' into the flesh, or of corns or other callocities growing on the feet. All methods of extracting corns seem but to afford temporary relief, and never will be attended with com- plete success unless attention be paid to the shoes. It is very dangerous to cut corns too deep, on account of the multiplicity of nerves running in every direction of the toes. Easy shoes, frequent bathings of the feet in lukewarm water, vrith a little salt and pot-ash dis- solved in it, and a plaster made of equal parts of gum galbanum, saffron, and camphor, are the best remedies that can be recommended against this troublesome complaint. Mr. Lawrence, surgeon to Bartholomew's hospital, gives the following directions for the removal of corns., bunions, and warts. REAUTY, AND FASllIOK. ' If you cut away tlie thickened cuticlo, and llicn cover tlie part over with soap plaster spread on leather, and direct the patient to wear large and soil shoes, great relief will be experienced, and the cuticle will recover its natural texture. If, however, considerable inconvenience be still experienced, you may proceed to a further measure for a more effectual remedy ; that is, after shaving away, as nearly as possible, all the dead parts that are about the surface, rub the surface (of the corn, bunion or wart) over with lunar caustic, and then, perhaps, you will have no re-accumulation, if you avoid external and exciting causes : at all events, this simple process will afford the patient a very great alleviation of his sufferings.' The bunion is produced by the same cause as the corn — the irritation of which, namely pressure, being extended to the cellular substance, occasions thickening of it with effusion. The treatment recommended for corns will succeed in cases of bunions, but in conse- quence of the greater extension of the disease the cure of course is more tedious. There are various applications directed upon equivo- cal, or at least random authority, which it is unneccssa. ry to notice ; we have laid down the cause, prevention, and treatment considered by the faculty as the most eligible, consequently the most safe and successful. 156 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAPTER XXVI. THE SHAVING TOILETTE. A GOOD razor and razor-strop are the essential requi- sites connected with the apparatus of the shaving toilette. Warm water is the best and most general menstruum for forming a lather. Those who have hard, thick and strong beards ought to wash the parts to be shaved previously with hot water and soap, then lather the chin afterwards ; by adopting this plan they would shave much better and easier. The razor ought to be invariably dipped in warm water, and well dried, and even passed once or twice over the smooth side of the strop after it has been used, and put carefully away in a dry place. It will then be found fit for use on the next occasion. A piece of soft linen rag is the best thing to wipe a razor with, as well as on, during its use ; paper is apt to injure the fine edge requisite for the removal of the beard. Some use cold water in preference to warm. Where the beard is soft it may be immaterial, though warm water is preferable, both as regards the operation of the razor and the sensations of the individual being shaved. Where the chin is tettery or scurfy, or there are scaly BEAUTV, AND FASHION. 157 or scorbutic eruptions on the site of the beard, they should be frequently fomented with warm water, and the following lotion often applied : — Lime water 4 ounces Oxymuriate of quicksilver 1^ grains Rose water 2 ounces. This will give the lime water a 3'ellow color. A few doses of cooling aperient medicine may accompany the use of it ; and until the chin gets well, the razor ought to be laid aside, and a pair of sharp scissors used to cut the beard as close as possible without injury to the skin. Chemistry has of late years produced many marvel- lous effects in all our domestic affairs, and is certainly well fitted, when it becomes further diffused among the better classes of people, to produce many more. Some few years ago it might have been considered a gross misdemeanor for a man of science to inquire into the art of shaving, or to have suggested any thing to improve it ; but now, if we are not greatly mistaken, it would immortalize the most distinguished philosopher to make any useful oi- important discovery in the art, or to establish it on scientific principles. Till some great, but hitherto unknown article, makes better advances, we will endeavor in the mean time to fill up the chasm with such hints and improvements which have either been supplied us, or have occurred svithin our experi- ence and observation. The first thing necessary to be done, in order to ren- 15 158 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, (ler the hair of the beard easy to be cut, is to make it hard, crisp, and brittle ; for you may as well think of cutting moist paper smoothly with a pair of scissors, as of shaving your beard while the hair is soft and oily. But it is the chemical nature of all hair to be more or less oily, as oil forms one of its main ingredients, which is readily seen on burning it, and this is farther augmented by the greasy secretions of the skin. Were you 'to shave dry, or with plain water, the razor, in consequence of what has been stated, would only enter it about half way, and instead of cutting directly through it, would bend the hair and 'slice it in the length, and in this manner dragging it outwards from the root, would cause a similar pain to that of pulling off the skin. When the razor is thus employed in shaving and pulling two or three hundred hairs at once, the operation must have all the characters of flaying alive. The longer the beard has been suffered to grow, the longer, of course, will be the slice of the hair, and the greater the pain. In fine, it is upon this principle that the whole science of easy shaving is founded. The best means hitherto discovered for rendering the beard crisp and brittle, without injury to the skin, is the application of an alkali, which combines with the oil of the hair and leaves only its hard fibre. Alkalies, how- ever, in order to be fitted for shaving, must first be combined with some sort of oil, such as olive, as they would otherwise be too strong and injure the skin. BEAUTir, AND FASHION. 159 About sixty parts of soda, sixty of olive oil, and thirty of water, is the composition of the best Spanish soap. Those who prefer the ' Essence royale pour fair la Bar be,' or, Shaving Liquid, may prepare it for themselves, 200 per cent, cheaper than they can buy it, by dissolving a quantity of the best Spanish soap in spirits of wine, or any common spirit, when the liquid will be formed, of a fine transpar- ency, and of a somewhat gelatinous consistence. Transparent Soaj). This may be made by slowly and carefully evaporating the above solution, wliich will leave a beautiful mass of pure soap. It is not indeed so cheap, but it pleases the fancy of some better than articles procured at less expense. The more creamy the lather is, and the less watery and frothy, the better ; as in that state the alkali is in a fitter state for crisping the beard, but this can only be done with very hot water. Hones and Razor Strops. The fineness of the edge of a razor is by most people injured or destroyed by the use of bad strops, so that they can never shave with ease or comfort. Tlie hone, or razor stone, ought to be constantly kept moist with oil. Soap, once proposed for giving a fine edge, is not Bo good as seal oil, and is only recommcndable ai a 160 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, substitute in the absence of the latter. When the razor has been finely honed, the finest and most elastic strop only should be used. An excellent substitute fijr a well-prepared strop is the hand, moistened with its natural oil. Accidents from SImving. A clean shave is a great luxury; it is necessary to health, and a mark of cleanliness which ought never to be found wanting. An unshorn chin has a degenerat- ing aspect, and only, if at all, excusable in the lowest laborer and mechanic for the infrequency of its remo- val. There are many slight and apparently trifling dis- eases, which, through neglect or irritation from inat- tention, put on all the threatening and malignant form of cancer or mortification. The following useful remarks on this subject, by Mr. Earle, one of the surgeons of St. Bartholomew's hospital, may operate as a caution to others. A patient of Mr. Earle's cut himself while shaving, and probably he had divided, obliquely, some of the hairs, near the roots, which continued to grow ; but not finding a proper passage through the skin, they coiled up beneath it, and formed several very painful pimples, that put on a very angry and ulcerated appear- ance, and unless the roots of the hairs had been care- fully extracted, they might have ended in a fatal cancer. Mr. E. observed that many such cases arise from the irritation of shaving, and the patients usually refer to a BEALTV, AUD FASHION. ICl eligiit cut, a scratcli, from a blunt or foul razor. A wound thus made is irritated and aggravated every time the patient shaves ; or, if not, the hair being allowed to gfow, gets matted together, and prevents the application of proper remedies. The hair, conse- qu( utly, is properly directed to be cut close by means of a pair of very delicate scissors ; and if the wound does not improve, but continues foul and spreading, cut out all the disezised part with the knife, or burn it out with caustic, as a little pain, at first, is better than running the hazard of an incurable cancer. The older the patient the greater the danger, as cancer seldom attacks the young. There is often much inconvenience and no little danger, from cutting or scratching a mole or wart, as well as from the injudicious cutting of a corn, particularly with people advanced in years. 15^ 1C2 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, CHAPTER XXVII. ABLUTION BY MEANS OF THE BATH, ETC.— THE WARM BATH, A COSMETIC, ETC, The use of the batli was general among the Greeks and among the Romans; and to this salutary habit Baglivi ascribes the long and vigorous lives of the ancients. If we compare the manner of living of the Romans with that of our own at the present day, it will be seen how much nearer theirs approached to nature, and how much more favorable it was to health. With the Romans, the afternoon was entirely devoted to cor- poreal exercise, to tennis ball, dancinar, or walking. But at the hour of three, every one hastened to the bath ; neither could a person neglect this practice without incurring the risk of being taxed with shame- ful negligence. It was at the bath where persons of all ranks ir.et ; it was here the poets recited their composi- tions ; and here they laid the foundation of their fame. Physicians, though universally agreed concerning the utility of the bath, are not unanimous as to the manner of using it. Some have cried up the warm, others the cold bath. The debilitating and relaxing nature of hot baths, and the bracing and strengthening effects of cold ones, were long maintained. A great revolution has, however, been most beneficially introduced into this BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 1G3 theory : for it has been proved that hot baths, so far from debiUtating, tend on the contrary, to brace the system, when the temperature of the water is not higher than that of the body ; and this opinion is admitted by most modern physicians ; and so far from being a new one, th',^ ancient physicians held the same opinion relative to hot baths that we entertain at the present day. The hot baths were dedicated to Hercules the god of strength, and the Romans made daily use of them. And experi- ence has proved that the praises lavished upon the cold bath have been greatly exaggerated ; though they un- questionably possess many advantages in peculiar cases and constitutions, and then only under certain prescribed restrictions. Ladies desirous of preserving their beauty, very seldom use the cold bath, unless it be directed by the ph3'sicians as a means of restoring health. And considered as a cosmetic, the cold bath possesses no vir- tue whatever ; it renders the skin hard and scaly ; and this induration of the skin may prove injurious to health, by checking too suddenly the insensible perspiration. Warm baths contribute greatly to the preservation of the complexion, by giving freshness and an exquisite color to the skin. Plippocrates recommends the wash- ing of children with warm water, to protect them from convulsions, to facilitate their growth, and to heighten their colour.* Persons who are very weak, and * " Bathinp refreshens and invigorates the organs of the skin, which, by the cuuiiiiuu treitinent of children, may soon 164 THE TOILKTTE OF HEALTH, whose humors are agitated by fever or by passion, should not bathe; and when the body is too much heated, or covered with perspiration, the bath is not advisable. Baths, if too hot, would produce an eifect opposite to v/hat is expected from them ; and like such as are too cold, they would injure the texture of the skin, render cease to perform their offices, in consequence of becoming either too soft or too irritable. A child therefore will reap a benefit from regular bathing ; which, at the present time, is by far too much overlooked. In fact, diseases of the skin arising from flaccidity, and many other causes, will be pre- vented by it 5 and those that are unavoidable, such as mea- sles, small pox, &c., considerably mitigated. The tempe- rature of the bath most healthy for children is between 86 and 95 degrees of Fahrenheit (a little below blood warmth.) The effect of the tepid bath is an uniform circulation and distribution of the fluids, which indeed is exactly what ia required. Children therefore should be bathed in tepid water; somewhat cooler for strong children, and warmer again for those that are of a weakly constitution j but in pro portion to their increasing in strength, the degree of warmth should always be diminished. ' In summer,' says Hufeland, ' the water should be exposed the whole of the day to the sun, which imparts to it the most agreeable and most refresh- ing warmth ' Rain or river water, is to be preferred; if spring water only can be procured, either warm milk should be added to it, or water boiled with two or three drachms of soap and some bran in it. I expressly advise that all the water should not be boiled, lest it lose too much of that air upon which its effects, in some measure, depends." See Mother's Medical Pocket Book. By J. S. Forsyth, Surgeon. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. 1G5 it hard and dry, and impair the strcngtii. The warm bath recruits the strength exhausted by fatigue, dilates the pores of the skin, and facilitates the circulation.* Besides the simple baths, there are likewise compound and aromatic baths for tlie toilette — namely such to which certain substances are added to augment their energy, or to communicate new properties. A little soap may be added to tiie water ; it then acts with more suc- cess, and more effectually purifies the skin. On leaving the bath, females, more especially tliose who have delicate skins, should dry themselves with precaution, if they be at all desirous that it should pre- serve its softness and beauty. Some women have the skin covered with small tubercles ; such ought to use a sponge in preference to a towel, for friction cannot fail to take off the epidermis at the top of these tubercles, wliich would render the skin still rougher, and more uneven. The use of oil after bathing, makes the skin more soft and supple, prevents the contact of the air, and thus protects it against the influence of that ele- ment, so destructive to the most perfect charms. In England and many parts of Europe, the bath * By the cold bath is meant every degree of cold under 85, which always proves more or less tonic in its operation. In many cases where the patient is too weak to bear a bath of ■U), one of Gj acts like a charm ! thus rlicnmatism is benefit- ed by whatever strcngtlicns the system, and particularly the skin. A batli from DO to 100, is a tepid bath. Every degree above 100, is a hot bath. 166 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, cannot be used so frequently as health, cleanliness, and the preservation of beauty might require. How many females are there, whose avocations would suffer by a daily absence of too great length ! how many would find it difficult to make even the little pecuniary sacrifice which this part of the toilette demands ! — such persons may make amends by particular ablutions, which re- quire neither care nor expense, nor loss of time. Of these consist bathing the feet, washing the hands and face, and other parts of the body. We shall here de- scribe some of the principal toilette baths, that is, such as those into which emollient or aromatic herbs are in- troduced ; and which perfumes the skin and render it soft and more supple. The women of Egypt add borax to give it more lustre. An Aromatic Bath. In a sufficient quantity of river water, boil, for the space of two or three minutes, one or more of the fol- lowing aromatic herbs : — anise ; clove ; July-flowers ; balm ; basil, sweet ; bastard marjoram ; fennel ; hyssop ; laurel; lavender; rosemary; wild thyme; wild mint; or any other herbs that have an agreeable scent. Hav- ing strained off the liquor from the herbs, add to it a little brandy or camphorated spirits of wine. Ob 3. — This is said to be an excellent bath to strength- en the limbs ; it removes pain, the consequence of cold, 'and promotes perspiration. BEAUTY, AND FASHION. ]G7 Jin Aromatic Bath for the Feet. Take penny-royal, sage, and rosemary, four handsful, angelica three handsful ; juniper berries, four ounces : boil these ingredients in a sufficient quantity of water, and strain off the liquor for use at the requisite tempera- ture. All Emollient Bath for the Feet. Boil, in a sufficient quantity of water, a pound of bran, with a few marshmallow roots, and two or three handsful of mallow leaves. A Cosmetic Bath. Take two pounds of barley, or bean flour, or meal ; eight pounds of bran, and a few handsful of borage leaves. Boil these ingredients in a sufficient quantity of spring water. This both cleanses and softens the skin in a superior degree. But the most celebrated baths are those of asses' milk. The ancient authors have immortalized the memory of the fifty-three she-ashes, which for this purpose, accom- panied the train of the celebrated Paphaea. A bath, called the Bath of Modesty, has long been extolled. It possesses, it is said, the same properties as the bath of asses' milk, which would be very expensive, and is made as follows : — Take four ounces of sweet almonds peeled ; one pound of pine-apple kernels, and one pound of elicam 168 THE TOILETTE OF HEALTH, pane, ten handsful of linseed, one ounce of roots of marshmallows, and one ounce of lily roots. These various ingredients are directed to be pounded altogether in a large marble mortar, and made into a paste, and tied up in thin little bags, to be thrown into the water of the bath, and emptied by compression. Obs. — This bath of modesty, says a French writer, (Moreau de la Sarthe) may be made in a more simple manner. Nothing more being necessary than to take a •quantity of paste of almonds, sufficient to color the wa- ter, and to give it a milky appearance. It is true, indeed, that of all received practices none has a more decided influence upon health as well as beauty, than the frequent use of the bath. It has been remarked, that the nations among whom it was the most common were particularly distinguished for physi- cal perfection, and the most regular flow of health, and in the Eastern nations the luxury of the bath ranks among those of the most exquisite enjoyment. Bathing may also be considered as an excellent specific for alle- viating both mental and bodily afflictions. It is not merely a cleanser of the skin, enlivening and rendering it more fit for performing its offices ; but it also refresh- ens the mind, an(^ spreads over the whole system a sen- sation of ease, activity, and agreeableness. A person fatigued, or distressed in body and mind, will derive more refreshment from the luxury of a lukewarm bath, 01 each 20 grains lurkey rhubarb \ Calomel 10 grains Oil of mint 5 drops, Make into a mass, and divide into twelve pills. Dose. two occasionally. 2. In Scorbutic affections of the Gums. Take infusion of roses ... 6 drachms Alum or borate of soda . 1 ^ drachm Honey of roses .... 1 drachm. Make a gargle. 3. Antacid Mixture. Take prepared chalk . . . . ^ ounce Refined sugar .... 3 drachms Gum Arabic, in powder ^ ounce Water 1 pint, 200 APPENDIX. Make a mixture. Dose, two to four table-spoonsful, in heart-burn or water qualm. 4. Winter Cough. Take Oxymel of squills ^ Paregoric . . . > of each two ounces Oil of almonds . ) Syrup of violets .... 1 ounce, Mix. Dose, from one to two table-spoonsful every four hours ; and a dose when the cough is troublesome every hour. The oil may be omitted, and mucilage of gum arabic substituted. 5. Sickness at the Stomach, Take ''Imperial Marine Tincture " 2 drachms Peppermint water .... 1 ounce. Make a draught. To be taken every half hour, in sea-sickness, nausea, and morning vomitings, from whatever cause ; in the early stages of pregnancy, abuse of spirituous liquors, tion, &c. * The ' Imperial Marine Tincture/ on the representation of some of the first men of the faculty of medicine, has been pronounced a specific in these cases. — Ed. UCSB LIBRARY B 000 007 853