Take a bath for beauty

It had been a while since I conveyed some of the beauty tips from Vivan Huber's Skönhet, so I dived into i again and feeling a bit chilly due to the winter weather I lost myself in the chapter about baths. We only have a shower and I miss my baths terribly, especially in the wintertime.

A bath should, the book says, if possible not be taken in the mornings- a shower is so much better to revive the spirits. If you really must, then make sure the bath is quick and the water lukewarm. A hot bath in the mornings before you go out may give you a cold. However, taking a bath in the evenings is very good for you as it helps not only against tiredness, but also nervosity, insomnia and headache. To promote the healthy effects even more, consider to add one the following suggestions;

A beautiful smile

Please note that this is advice on dental care from the 1940’s. If you find that they differ from what your dentist tells you, then I think you should listen to your dentist!

The best way to ensure beautiful teeth is to take care of them. Brush your teeth morning and nights with a hard toothbrush of good quality. Make sure that you brush every angle of every tooth that you get to and lightly brush the gums too. Rinse the mouth after every meal with tepid water; possibly add a few drops of refreshing mouth water.

Hair care

A beautiful hairdo begins with taking care of the hair. The recommendations in the 1940’s were a bit different from today, for example how often one should wash. There are different bids, though. I have found one recommendation for washing normal hair once a week and greasy hair even less often. Another book states that really dry hair should only be washed every third week- if possible only every forth, while greasy hair should be washed every seventh or tenth day. But whatever advice you follow, the rule is that the hair should be as clean as possible.

Five Cold cream recipes

Something much like cold cream, i e an emulsion of fat and water, have been around for some 2000 years, at least. Beeswax, almond oil and olive oil always seem to have been used to make it. In the 18th century spermaceti, the waxy substance found in the heads of sperm whale, became an ingredient. Borax was eventually added, which gives the cold cream its colour, but also makes it thicker. In the 1940's cold cream still contained spermaceti, which luckily isn't used today. Jojoba esters have a similar chemistry and is now used instead. If that can't be found, jojoba oil works too, but makes the cream a little runnier. Modern cold cremes also substitute organic oils with mineral oil. If you don't feel up to make your own cold cream, but don't want a modern one, then Ageless Artifice sells one from a 19th century recipe.

Make-up in the 1940's- eyes and lipstick

Here are the rest of the make-up tips from Skönhet by Vivan Huber from 1946, covering the proper colours of eyeshadows and lipstick.

1940's nails

The past week I have tried, but not succeeded, in making a 1940's half moon manicure. To paint the half moon isn't that hard to do free hand, but to remove a sliver of polish from the top of the nail only ends up being very messy. Oh well, practise makes better, I hope.