Your Beauty: No Shadows Upon It

It is noticeable that some women of hairy growth have a black shadow on their upper lips, or carry abundant hair on their arms, when it is in their power to be rid of this superfluous hair.

If you are one of the fortunate ones, with long lashes and thick hair on your head, then be sure that this advantage claims a debt of you — especially if you are dark of complexion. Yes: if you are hairy in this fashion, there is no doubt that a layer of hair shadows your upper lip and shades your arms and your legs, and the specialists advise you not to leave this hair to grow however it will.

Mrs. Jeanne Claire says, in the magazine 'Home Notes,' that she does not advise ladies to remove superfluous hair except in extreme cases.

If the growth of the hair is moderate, it is better left untouched; but if its growth is so evident that it casts a shadow on the face, it is better removed.

This lady holds that there are various methods of removing superfluous hair. One of them is to take three drops of ammonia and mix it with a teaspoon of peroxide, then wet a piece of cotton with this solution and rub with it, for five minutes, the place of the hair you wish to be rid of; then wash the place with cold water, and if it turns red, anoint it with cream.

If your hair is coarse, it is preferable to pluck out the superfluous hairs with tweezers. Stubborn hair, however, demands stern treatment... so should you use the razor?

In fact, shaving with the razor does not increase the growth of the hair, as is commonly believed, but it does make it coarser; and it stimulates the cells in which fine hair sprouts, and then makes that coarsen too.

Mrs. Jeanne Claire holds that you may use depilatory wax to remove the superfluous hair, and that this wax is of two kinds: one melts over the fire in a small vessel, and the other is the cold wax, which is used in a room where the temperature is high.

The way to use the wax is to sprinkle powder on your arm, for example, then lay a thin layer of the wax over the hair cells by means of a spatula resembling a pharmacist's spoon; then press a piece of cloth onto the wax, and when it has cooled, pull it off with a quick motion, and it uproots the superfluous hair from its roots — and weeks pass before it grows again.

The price of this wax is modest, and the gracious reader may use it to remove hair from the upper lip, the chin, the legs, the back of the neck, and even the eyebrows if need be. But it is not at all advisable to use this wax under the armpits, because of the pain and inflammation that accompany the operation.