Personal Hygiene

Every Lady Owes it to Herself

As a kid the term 'toilet water' always sounded funny to me, but I bought gallons of it for my mother at Christmas, and though it smelled more like turpentine than perfume, she'd splash it on to please me, and surprisingly would use it up within a week.  I gather she released it back to the toilet, but at thirty-nine cents a jug, what did you expect?

However, the term 'toilet', was used during Victorian times to describe the act of bathing and grooming.  No doubt when indoor plumbing became available, they borrowed the word to make their flushable device sound less distasteful, but only succeeded in demeaning it's original intent. Light on Dark Corners does use the term subtitled with The Care of the Person.

The Toilet The Care of the Person Important Rules

GOOD APPEARANCE - The first care of all persons should be their personal appearance.  Those who are slovenly or careless in their habits are unfit for refined society, and cannot possibly make a good appearance in it.  A well-bred person will always cultivate habits of the most scrupulous neatness.  A gentleman or lady is always dressed.  The garment may be plain or of a coarse material, or even worn "thin and shiny" but if it is carefully brushed and neat, it can be worn with dignity. PERSONAL CLEANLINESS - Personal appearance depends greatly on the careful toilet and scrupulous attention to dress.  The first point which marks the gentleman or lady in appearance is rigid cleanliness.  This remark supplies to the body and everything that covers it.  A clean skin - only to be secured by frequent baths - is indispensable. THE TEETH - The teeth should receive the utmost attention.  Many a young man has been disgusted with a lady by seeing her unclean and discolored teeth.  It takes but a few moments, and if necessary secure some simple tooth powder or rub the teeth thoroughly everyday with a linen handkerchief, and it will give the teeth and mouth a beautiful and clean appearance.

THE HAIR - The hair should be thoroughly brushed, and well kept. UNDERCLOTHING - The matter of cleanliness extends to all articles of clothing, underwear as well as the outer-clothing.  Cleanliness is a mark of true utility.  The clothes need not necessarily be of rich and expensive quality, but they can all be kept clean.  Some persons may have an odour about them that is very offensive, simply on account of thier underclothing being worn too long without washing.  This odour of course cannot be detected by the person who wears the soiled garments, but other persons can easily detect it and are offended by it.

THE BATH - No person should think for a moment that they can be popular in society without regular bathing.  A bath should be taken at least once a week, and if the feet perspire they should be washed two or three times a week, as the case may require.  Occasionally a young lady will be called upon unexpectantly when her neck and smiling face are not emblems of cleanliness.  Every lady owes it to herself to be fascinating; but beyond this there is an obligation to society, to one's friends and to those with whom we may be brought  in contact.  SOILED GARMENTS - There is no excuse for wearing a soiled dress or carrying a soiled handkerchief.  No one should appear as though they have slept in a stable with soiled garments and shaggy hair.

Practical Rules For Bathing

1.  Bathe at least once a week, all over, thoroughly. No one can preserve health by neglecting personal cleanliness.   Remember, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." 2.  Only mild soap should ue used in bathing the body. 3.  Wipe quickly and dry the body thoroughly with a moderately coarse towel.  Rub the skin vigorously.

4. Many people have contracted severe and fatal diseases by neglecting to trike proper care of the body after bathing. 5. If you get up a good reaction by thorough rubbing in a mild temperature, the effect is always good. 6. Never go into a cold room, or allow cold air to enter the room until you are dressed. 7. Bathing in cold rooms and in cold water, is positively injurious, unless the person possesses a very strong and vigorous constitution, and then there is great danger of laying the foundation of some serious disease. 8. Never bathe within two hours after eating. It injures digestion. 9. Never bathe when the body or mind is much exhausted.  It is liable to check the healthful  circulation. 10. A good time for bathing is just before retiring. The morning hour is a good time also, if a warm room and warm water can be secured. 11. Never bathe a fresh wound or broken skin with cold water; the wound absorbs water, and causes swelling and irritation. 12. A person not robust should be very careful in bathing;

How to Cure Pimples or Other Facial Eruptions

SELF-DENIAL -  It requires self-denial to get rid of pimples, for persons troubled with them will persist in eating fat meats and other articles of food calculated to produce them. Avoid the use of rich gravies, or pastry, or anything of the kind in excess. Take all the out-door exercise you can and never indulge in a late supper. Retire at a reasonable hour, and rise early in the morning.  Sulphur to purify the blood may be taken three times a week - a thimbleful in a glass of milk before breakfast. It takes some time for the sulphur to do its work, therefore persevere in its use till the humors, or pimples, or blotches, disappear. Avoid getting wet while taking the sulphur. TRY THIS RECIPE - Wash the face twice a day in warm water, and rub dry with a coarse towel. Then with a soft towel rub in a lotion made of two ounces of white brandy, one ounce of cologne, and one.half ounce of liquor potassa.  Persons subject to skin eruptions should avoid very salty fat food.  A dose of Epsom salts occasionally might prove beneficial.

WASH THE FACE - Wash the face in a dilution of carbolic acid, allowing one teaspoonful to a pint of water. This is an excellent and purifying lotion, and may be used on the most delicate skins. Be careful about letting this wash get into the eyes. FACE LOTION - Oil of sweet almonds, one ounce; fluid potash, one drachm. Shake well together, and then add rose water, one ounce; pure water, six ounces. Mix. Rub the pimples or blotches for some minutes with a rough towel, and then dab them with the lotion. ANOTHER FACE WASH - Dissolve one ounce of borax, and sponge the face with it every night. When there are insects, rub on flower of sulphur, dry after washing, rub well and wipe dry; use plenty of castile soap. OR TRY THIS - Dilute corrosive sublimate with oil of almonds. A few days' application will remove them.

BLACK-HEADS - There is a lttle creature, hardly visible to the naked eye, with comparitively large fore body, a more slender hind body and eight little stumpy processes that do duty as legs. No specialized head is visible, althongh of course there is a mouth orifice. These creatures live on the sweat glands or pores of the human face, and owing to the appearance that they give to the infested pores, they are usually known as "black-heads." It is not at all uncommon to see an otherwise pretty face disfigured by these ugly creatures, although the insects themselves are nearly transparent white. The black appearance is really due the accumulation of dirt which gets under the edges of the skin of the enlarged sweat glands and cannot be removed in the ordinary way by washing, because the abnormal, hardened secretion of the gland itself becomes

hardened making it difficult to satisfactorily deal with them, and they sometimes cause the continual festering of the skin which they inhabit.  Remedy - Press them out with a hollow key or with the thumb and fingers, and apply a mixture of sulphur and cream every evening. Wash every morning with the best toilet soap, or wash the face with hot water with a soft flannel at bedtime.

E-MAIL ME

Being a Woman Home Page

Uniquely Canadian Home Page

Victorian Canada Home Page