From “The Woman's Corner” at the house of Radio Lebanon — presented at half past nine on Friday and Sunday mornings by the editor-in-chief of this magazine, Edvick Jureidini Shayboub — we excerpt here some of the readers' vital problems, together with all the expert suggestions, and we ask our readers to send us their problems, in matters of upbringing, beauty, and health, to feed this section in the future.
Q — I am a young woman of twenty-two, in good health and with a smooth complexion, and I never use powders or pastes at all. Two years ago I noticed some small pimples appearing on my forehead and chin, which leave ugly marks behind them after they go, and this sours my temper... I have also noticed that my tongue is coated with a yellow layer. Is there a remedy?
Miss S. R. — Tripoli
A — Your last observation throws light on the matter. The yellow coating on your tongue shows that the small pimples scattered over your forehead and chin come from within, and I suspect you are frequently subject to constipation. I therefore advise you to drink no fewer than eight glasses of water a day, and to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, which loosen the stomach. And if your life is sedentary, with little physical exercise, take up whatever exercise you can manage — walking and doing the housework are the simplest of it — for movement is necessary to stimulate the bowels and help them perform their function to perfection... It would also be well for you to make a habit of taking a teaspoon of licorice syrup or of paraffin oil, which eases the stomach naturally and without discomfort. The all-important thing is to attend to your stomach and your food; once that process is regular, the troublesome pimples will vanish from your face and your smooth complexion will come back to you.
Q — I am a girl of seventeen. I got “acne” when I was fourteen and treated it with a certain paste, but it left many black spots on my face which trouble me even more than the “acne.” How can I get rid of them?
Amal — Burj al-Barajneh — Beirut
A — You did not make clear, my dear questioner, whether these black spots are of the “blackhead” kind or of the “dark blotch” kind, and each has its own treatment. If they are blackheads, rub your face morning and evening — after washing it well with lukewarm water and soap — with a simple paste made up of equal quantities of the following: glycerin, white spirit, and ether.
If they are “dark blotches,” then it is essential that you guard against exposure to sunlight, for it seems to me that your skin is sensitive... And here is a paste called “Summer Day,” devised by a specialist physician. Apply it to your face morning and afternoon, after washing with lukewarm water and soap. Have the pharmacist prepare it according to the following instructions:
Two grams of fine sublimed sulfur One gram of zinc oxide powder Two grams of lanolin Two grams of sweet almond oil A drop of violet perfume
Q — I am a married lady with two children, and I am now nursing. After my first confinement, and then my second, I noticed a swelling of my “stomach,” so that I look as if I were still five months with child — this although I do all the housework without help; but I take no physical exercise. My height is 153 cm and my weight 72 kilograms.
R. A. H. — Beirut
A — Your problem, my dear questioner, appears to be a simple one. It is not confined to your stomach but lies in your stoutness generally, and it is clear to me from your stated height and weight that your attention should be turned to reducing your weight. Once you have brought your weight down to about 53 kilos, as the rule requires, no trace will remain of the stomach you complain
