Cosmetics have been of interest, particularly to women, for many, many years. Men must formerly have feared the effect of cosmetics, for in 1770 the English Parliament passed an act making any woman who led a man into matrimony with the aid of cosmetics or perfume, subject to penalty of the law

White, Anne

English

Cosmetics have been of interest, particularly to women, for many, many years. Men must formerly have feared the effect of cosmetics, for in 1770 the English Parliament passed an act making any woman who led a man into matrimony with the aid of cosmetics or perfume, subject to penalty of the law.</p

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

,, THE IOWA HOMEMAKER Look at Your Face! ... By Anne Whit:e, Grad. Asst:. Chern. COSMETICS have been of interest, particularly to women, for many, many years. Men must formerly have feared the effect of cosmetics, for in 1770 the English Parliament passed an act making any woman who led a man into matrimony with the aid of cosmetics or perfume, subject to penalty of the law. The lawmakers of today are not enough interested in this matter. Dr. Leach, Director of the Chemical Laboratory of the American Medical As-sociation, declares that cos-metics should be included under the regulationS< of the Pure Food and Drugs Act. Not even the patent medicine vendor has such freedom as has one making and selling cosmetics to-day. The methods of pre-paration of many cosmet-ic materials are supposed to be secret methods. Thus no one is held responsible for the harmfulness or the ordinariness of the pro-duct. One uses face powders and face creams in the hope of bettering the effect given by one's unadorned face. But beauty is not just skin deep. Beautiful complexions are such be-cause of the past and present healthy condition of the individual. Two con-siderations come always before cosmetics-The first of these is a healthy, active body, and one that is not repeatedly over tired. T HE second is the cleansing of the skin. This should be a matter of habit that persists from babyhood. Skin pores which are never clogged by dust, soot and natural oil will tend to remain small. After attending to the proper food, rest, activity and cleanliness, one often requires the aid of powders and creams to meet the current standards for com-plexions. Many a physician will tell you that an oily nose is a sign of youth. But an oily face is avoided scrupulously nowadays. One must coat it with powder of some approved shade. Did you ever stop to wonder what that powder is' The manufacturers and salesfolk never let you think of that. There are two reasons. Occasionally a powder contains ingredients no thoughtful woman would put even on the outside of her skin. Lead compounds have been used in what might be termed heavy powders. Lead is no substance to rub into the skin and to breathe repeatedly. You have a right to ask if lead compounds are used in your favorite powder. Again, if you knew the actual mate-rials in many face ·:Powders, you would refuse to pay extravagant prices for them. Most powders contain such ma-the time. terials as talc, starch, salts and zinc, calcium, mag-nesium and bismuth. None of these materials are very expensive and large profits accrue to those whose pow-ders sell at high prices. The coloring materials used in powders are pres-ent in very small amounts, but even so, the colors which are certified by the federal chemists should be the colors used. Their col-ors can be absorbed into the system without harm. l~ougo cakeS< are usually composed of powder, much coloring matter, and glue to hold the cake together. Here the harmless color be-comes a more important question. Rouge, particu-larly, should be removed by washing before resting at night. The face pores need air at least part of Bath or dusting powders should follow the example of baby talc. The ingred-ients of most baby powders are largely talc, zinc stearate, and boric acid. Often you find a bath powder which is practi-cally all starch. There is no harm about starch powder, but in hot weather it may increase the discomfort of an individual rather than relieve it. Why not buy baby powders in simple packages in preference to an elaborate Jlackage containing pow-der of unwarranted quality¥ Many face creams for many purposes are advertised for sale, but perhaps the essential creams fall into three main classes. Cold creams have a useful purpose in that they supplement the natural oil which the body supplies to the skin. These creams should be applied to a previously cleansed skin and occasionally left on in thin films overnight. This sort of treatment is needed after expos-ure to extreme cold, wind, or very dry atmosphere. Such creams should be com-posed of fats which do not become ran-cid. Metallic compounds are not desir-able in cold creams. Vanishing creams, so called, differ from cold creams in that they contain a large proportion of metallic compounds. The main effect of such a preparation is to clog pores and dry the skin to harsh-ness. A milder treatment for softening skins may be found in the various liquid lotions such as the so-called almond creams. These lotions usually contain benzaldehyde, which is an astringent, and glycerine. Glycerine, if diluted to 50 percent with water or witch-hazel, is an excellent skin softener. Acne creams consist of some antisep-tic material in a fat base and is intended to kill the bacteria which are collected in the little pimples. They doubtless do help, but they are · not a complete rem-( Continued on page 16) Get: "Your Money's Wort:h" I T is not longer necessary to gamble as to whether the tooth paste you are buying will actually prepare you for your ''close-up'' or eventually dissolve the enamel off your teeth. There has been organized a ''Consumer's Club,'' the business of which it is to give to its members unbiased scientific information concerning the products they are purch-asing, with special consideration for the value received for each dollar expended. Bias tape, hand lotion, can openers and a thousand and one other common articles stand or fall in the cold light of. science. The Club does for the consumer what the Bureau of Standards does for the Government. It tests all makes of every type of product, publishes its findings in pamphlet form and sends the results to individual members of the Club so that they may profit by the scientific in-vestigation and purchase wisely. In the pamphlets are given ratings of the pro-ducts, compiled from information gath-ered by expert scientists, and from in-vestigations of the Bureau of Standards and the American Medical Association. F. J. Schlink, Engineer Physicist, who is in charge of the technical work, and Stuart Chase, president of the Consum-er's Research, Inc., have written a book called "Your Money's Worth" which gives the public a concrete yet entertain-ing picture of the waste of the average person's dollar and helps one realize the tremendous importance of the organiza-tion to the thinking consumer. At last we have a chance to couple our own shopping judgement with the advice of experts who are wholly interested in our welfare. We may now purchase ac-cording to value and snap our fingers at the sensational advertisements that line the magazine pages and highways. -Vivian Richie. 16 THE IOWA HOMEMAKER r------------------------1 I ... c~ I I CT~ I ! ~~~ "~~ I I CJ ~~ o· I I (;~~~~ ! I ~ I I . ! ~ I ------------------------~ i ~~~~~:~------] l GAYTEES I II I I! In snap ova I I 1 automatics I ~~ II $1.95 to $3.50 I n ! ! Trueblood's I I I I SHOE STORE I I West Ames I 1-------~--------------_J :------------------------1 ! JUMPEE ! SUITS .. I I I I I I I I I I I I I of Flecked Tweed and Knitted Materials Wine, Green, Brown, Black $10.75 ••• THE RIEKEN BERG CO. W est Ames l ________________ I I I I I I I ... Look at: Your Face! (Continued from page 2) edy, for acne indicates an imperfect in-ternal condition. Freckle remover cream is one type which is distinctly harmful. Freckle;; are deposits of pigment in the outer lay-er of skin. To really remove them, you must peel off that outer skin. Some freck-le creams contain ammoniated mercury to remove the freckle layer. But freckles are le;;s dangerous by far than repeated use of ammoniated mercury. A few freckle creams contain nothing harmful and nothing to take off freckles. In general, one \Should be wary of fads in powder and cream supplies, and would do well to remember this fact; fac"l powder cannot make over your skin. It can only accent your coloring and dull the shine. "Thirty Days t:o Shop" (Continued from page 4) the kind we make ourselves. Every year there is some fad or other enthusiastical-ly taken up for Christmas pre;;ents. One year it may be sealing wax decoration. Milk bottles and pickle jars acquire a gorgeous coat and are promoted to a place of honor on the mantlepiece. An-other year vacant lots are stripped of their dead weeds, which reappear in our homes shining with bronze paint. Poly-chrome work is popular. Magazine cov-er\S are pasted on a board and surrounded by a lumpy mass of clay which is gilded and colored. Our parchment lamp shades blossom out with gaudy flowers and birds. How many of those things are really beautiful, worthy of a place in our homes 1 Any decorative art work, to be really good, requires some training in color and design, to say nothing of skill in execution. If you lack these qualities, knowledge and skill, it is bet-ter not to attempt to do craft work which calls for them, but to do something that you know you can do well. To \SUmmarize, I should like to para-phrase William Morris' famous rule: Buy only those things for gifts that you know to be useful, or believe to be beau-tiful. Remember that simplicity in de-\Sign or decoration is never a fault; that it is better to have things too plain than to have them over-decorated. Buy per-sonal gifts only when you are well ac-quainted with your friend's taste. Buy things for a house to harmonize with the furnishings that are already there. Spend thoughts as well as money on your gifts, and I am sure Christmas will be a happier time for everyone. Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.-Swift. ~----------······------~ I I I I I Try Cooking with I ! Soft Water ! I I I Water Softeners I I Oil Burners I I I I PALMER I I I ! PLUMBING CO. ! L:o~ _ ~:Y:::d.~-. -~h::~~-j ~---------------------~ I I ! FOR THE BEST ! 1 Hardware arid ! 1 Electric Supplies 1 ~~ I 1 VISIT THE 1 ! P. T. FRIEST ! l HOW. STORE ! I 2536 Lincoln Way 11 GIFT GOODS ~------------------------~ ~-----------------------~ Ch rist:mas .. ·I I I I Hundreds of Clever, Inexpensive Gifts at STEPHENSONS i Opposite Campus Where the Finest Fabrics Come From. I ··················------~ , .••.••.•...•. ·----------~ I Ladies' Suits I I . ! Coats, Kmckers 1! and Riding Habits I I Made to Order. Expert Cleaning-Relining-Repairing and .Alterations I Now located in Campustown 1 I 2530 Lincoln Way Phone 49 I ~------------------------~ 

Look at Your Face!

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2278&amp;context=homemaker

Look at Your Face!

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)