Part 150

«Hand-Cleaning Paste.»—Cleaning pastes are composed of soap and grit, either with or without some free alkali. Any soap may be used, but a white soap is preferred. Castile soap does not make as firm a paste as soap made from animal fats, and the latter also lather better. For grit, anything may be used, from powdered pumice to fine sand.

A good paste may be made by dissolving soap in the least possible quantity of hot water, and as it cools and sets stirring in the grit. A good formula is:

White soap 2 1⁠/⁠2 pounds Fine sand 1 pound Water 5 1⁠/⁠2 pints

«Lotion for the Hands.»—

Boric acid 1 drachm Glycerine 6 drachms

Dissolve by heat and mix with

Lanolin 6 drachms Vaseline 1 ounce

Add any perfume desired. The borated glycerine should be cooled before mixing it with the lanolin.

«Cosmetic Jelly.»—

Tragacanth (white ribbon) 60 grains Rose water 14 ounces

Macerate for two days and strain forcibly through coarse muslin or cheese {233} cloth. Add glycerine and alcohol, of each 1 ounce. Perfume to suit. Use immediately after bathing, rubbing in well until dry.

«Perspiring Hands.»—I.—Take rectified eau de cologne, 50 parts (by weight); belladonna dye, 8 parts; glycerine, 3 parts; rub gently twice or three times a day with half a tablespoonful of this mixture. One may also employ chalk, carbonate of magnesia, rice starch, hot and cold baths of the hands (as hot and as cold as can be borne), during 6 minutes, followed by a solution of 4 parts of tannin in 32 of glycerine.

II.—Rub the hands several times per day with the following mixture:

By weight Rose water 125 parts Borax 10 parts Glycerine 8 parts

«Hand Bleach.»—Lanolin, 30 parts; glycerine, 20 parts; borax, 10 parts; eucalyptol, 2 parts; essential oil of almonds, 1 part. After rubbing the hands with this mixture, cover them with gloves during the night.

For the removal of developing stains, see Photography.

«MASSAGE CREAMS:»

«Massage Application.»—

White potash soap, shaved 20 parts Glycerine 30 parts Water 30 parts Alcohol (90 per cent) 10 parts

Dissolve the soap by heating it with the glycerine and water, mixed. Add the alcohol, and for every 30 ounces of the solution add 5 or 6 drops of the mistura oleoso balsamica, German Pharmacopœia. Filter while hot.

«Medicated Massage Balls.»—They are the balls of paraffine wax molded with a smooth or rough surface with menthol, camphor, oil of wintergreen, oil of peppermint, etc., added before shaping. Specially useful in headaches, neuralgias, and rheumatic affections, and many other afflictions of the skin and bones. The method of using them is to roll the ball over the affected part by the aid of the palm of the hand with pressure. Continue until relief is obtained or a sensation of warmth. The only external method for the treatment of all kinds of headaches is the menthol medicated massage ball. This may be made with smooth or corrugated surfaces. Keep wrapped in foil in cool places.

«Casein Massage Cream.»—The basis of the modern massage cream is casein. Casein is now produced very cheaply in the powdered form, and by treatment with glycerine and perfumes it is possible to turn out a satisfactory cream. The following formula is suggested:

Skimmed milk 1 gallon Water of ammonia 1 ounce Acetic acid 1 ounce Oil of rose geranium 1 drachm Oil of bitter almond 1 drachm Oil of anise 2 drachms Cold cream (see below), enough. Carmine enough to color.

Add the water of ammonia to the milk and let it stand 24 hours. Then add the acetic acid and let it stand another 24 hours. Then strain through cheese cloth and add the oils. Work this thoroughly in a Wedgwood mortar, adding enough carmine to color it a delicate pink. To the product thus obtained add an equal amount of cold cream made by the formula herewith given:

White wax 4 ounces Spermaceti 4 ounces White petrolatum 12 ounces Rose water 14 ounces Borax 80 grains

Melt the wax, spermaceti, and petrolatum together over a water bath; dissolve the borax in the rose water and add to the melted mass at one time. Agitate violently. Presumably the borax solution should be of the same temperature as the melted mass.

«Massage Skin Foods.»—

This preparation is used in massage for removing wrinkles: