The Hands

CHAPTER VI

THE HANDS

NO hands, as one authority on female beauty has
declared, "reveal every hidden secret of the
soul .... in their shape, texture and color" ? We
doubt it. But they reveal themselves quickly
enough as beautiful or the reverse. What is
beauty of hand ? It is not so much the shape, just
as in hair it is not the color, which counts here.
Texture, skin quality and skin tint, the manner
in which the hands are used, the nails, these deter-
mine their beauty.

CARE OF THE HANDS

Care is what produces beautiful hands. If you
are not your own manicurist then visit a professional
one every week. Protect your hands against water
by using gloves, rubber or canvas.
Always have a cut of lemon handy to the sink.
Whether you have a "psychic" or a merely plebeian hand, lemon
juice removes stains, whitens the skin and cleans
the nails. Vaseline, which keeps the nails from
growing brittle, also makes up for the drying effect
of hot dishwater. Dishwashing should always be
followed by a vaseline or cold cream application.
Always wear gloves when gardening, and use
vanishing cream on them before you expose them to
the bright sunshine or cold. A cold cream
application before retiring and cotton gloves should
accompany chapped hands into bed.

Red Hands.
—When red hands are not caused by some trouble
which calls for a doctor's care, use a good rich,
cream massage, for it will help cir culation if
bad circulation is the reason. A mere surface redness
may be treated by rubbing in some standard skin food,
after washing with hot water and soap, and leaving
it overnight. For sunburn and freckles the remedies
mentioned in connection with the complexion should be applied.

The Ideal Hand.
—The ideal hand has smooth, tapering fingers.
If you have square or knotty fingers give them
treatment for pressing out the ends.
A soft, white skin, a firm palm, firm and
supple wrists and well-kept nails and fingers are
all possible of attainment by manicuring, massage
and constant cleanliness. Hands should be neither
too fat nor too thin. Regular diet in the first
place, then massage and special exercises are
correctives. This applies as well to fat wrists.
Remember that, like the ideal face and figure, the
ideal hand is only relatively so. There is a
different style of hand for nearly every style of
being, and there are as many different hands as
there are face beauties.

Gloves.—Tight gloves will make your palms perspire,
give your hands a pudgy look, and, if you
wear them right along, will turn the hands red
and mottled. Red hands often result from continual
wearing of tight-fitting gloves.
And—if you do not chemically clean your gloves after each
wearing—your hands will grow dirty as soon as
you put them on. Gloves which are not perfectly
clean chap and coarsen the skin texture of the hand,
and at times cause infections.

ARE THESE YOURS?

A narrow palm is supposed to be a sign of a
feeble temperament, one lacking imagination.
A fairly generous palm shows imagination and a
nature capable of greatly enjoying physical pleasures.
Too large, broad and pronounced a palm
denotes egoism and sensuality. Hard, thick palms,
out of proportion to the rest of the hand, show
an animal nature, void of intelligence. Knotty
fingers mean originality, imagination and a
scientific trend. Smooth, tapering fingers hint at aptitude
in art and sentiment predominating over reason.
Square fingers mean a sense of method and order.
Spatulate fingers are a sign of ability, activity, tact
and knowledge.

THE NAILS

A woman's nails should have home attention,
but this should be supplemented by occasional visits
to the manicurist. Else it is impossible to keep
them in perfect condition. You may use an orange
stick or an ivory pusher to push back the cuticle
from the nails (after it has been softened by cold
cream or vaseline), but do not cut the cuticle your-
self. This had far better be left to the professional.
If you use the professional cutting tools you may
easily cut and scar the surface of the nail, and weeks
may elapse before the scar disappears. If the cuticle
be cut constantly the edges grow hard and thick.
Manicuring.—Always see to it that your orange
stick is well covered with absorbent cotton or a
bit of silk. When you have shaped the external
edge of the nails with a fine pair of scissors, finish
with emery or a steel nail file. And always, before
beginning to manicure your nails, soak them in hot
soap water and cleanse with the nail brush. When
you polish the nails, use paste first, and do not
apply the powder till afterward. As a buffer you
can use the palm of the other hand. A thorough
"home" manicuring should be undertaken at least
once a week.
There are many very satisfactory nail pastes and
polishes on the market. A liquid polish is usually
best for the nails, all the more if there is no paste
foundation. Carmine, which gives a pleasing pink
tint, should be the paste used. Never use the
liquid varnishes which produce a sheen without the
aid of the buffer. They have a deteriorating action
on the nails themselves. You brush your teeth every
night. It is just as easy to devote a few minutes
to your nail cuticles as well.

The Nail Bleach.
—A good and simple nail bleach
for use beneath the free edges of the nails is made
by mixing an ounce of hydrogen peroxide with a
quarter-ounce, respectively, of ammonia and lemon
juice. Before polishing the nails wash out the
bleach with hot water.
Keep your manicuring tools in good condition,
and throw away your orange stick as soon roughens.
For a buffer, if you do not care to use
your palm, buy a buffer frame and renew the
chamois skin.

Bruised Nails.
—A hot water dip, with an overnight
application of antiphlogiston, is good for
bruised nails. The white nail spots which often
result from a bruise will fade out slowly of them-
selves as a rule. Their departure can be hastened,
however, by application of refined pitch and myrrh
in equal parts.

Nail-Bite.
—The only real cure for nail biting is
not to bite the nails. The application of tincture of
myrrh is merely a reminder not to do so.

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