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THE shape of the hand cannot to any great extent be changed, by artificial means, from its natural lines to more beautiful ones, but it may be greatly improved by daintily cared for and properly manicured finger nails. The latter may be shaped as fashion dictates, or as refinement ever directs. Fashion is as whimsical on this point as on all others, and sometimes her edicts are questionable, since they may be quite antagonistic to the instincts of good breeding.. For instance, the long, sharp, claw-like nails that many fashionable folk have affected certainly suggest viciousness and a taint of barbarism, no matter how beautifully they may be polished or tinted. Besides, the acute angle of each point is not in the least in harmony with the rounding tip of the finger or the curved crescent at the base of the nail ; and then, if a finger be broad at its tip it is not concealed but rather brought into prominent contrast by the gleaming, claw-like nail with which it is capped. On the contrary, if a nail is left rather long and then shaped in a curve, instead of a point, which may follow more or less closely that of the finger-tip, the impression then becomes associated with civilization and refinement; and ridiculous as the idea may seem, a feeling of safety and serenity comes in place of the nervousness that is akin to fear which possesses many an observer of sharply pointed nails.

GI2iNERAL CARE OF THE NAILS. 319

To properly protect the finger the nail should extend just a little beyond its tip, and its length and shape should result from the use of a nail-file, as cutting the nails with a knife or scissors has a tendency to make them coarse and thick. Sharp nail scissors, however, may be used, as they are rounded for the. purpose and enable one to cut off the sharp corners at the sides, and also remove agnails or "hang-nails" as they are sometimes termed. These small pieces of skin frequently collect about the roots of the nails, and are not only un-pleasant to look at, but decidedly painful; and the only certain treatment is to cut them off close with sharp scissors and then let the wound heal under a tiny piece of court plaster; do not attempt to pull them off, for intense pain will result and the evil be worse than it was before.

The white crescents or half moons seen at the base of most nails should be developed by pressing back the soft rim of flesh which, unless kept back, will grow over them. This can be ordinarily done after washing the hands, using the thumb nail of each hand and the towel to crowd the rim downward and away from each half moon; but later on the manicure method will be explained. When this crescent is brought fully into view, and the nails are shaped at their tips to correspond, then the oval or filbert-shaped nails so often mentioned will result. Another practice to be observed after washing the hands is followed by a young lady whose dainty finger-tips are the admiration of her friends. After pressing back the fleshy curtain which may obscure the pearly moon, and removing any ragged bits that might develop into hangnails, she gently pinches the tip of each finger and thumb

320 BEAUTY.

separately within the folds of the towel, thus practically carrying out tile principle of the shaping thimbles and acorn shells described in the previous chapter. The idea is worth remembering and the theory worthy of investigation, especially if there is a possibility that it may add even the suggestion of a taper to broad fingers.

Before washing the hands, remove all substances from under the nails with a smooth, pointed implement—an ivory nail cleaner, a wooden tooth-pick or a match hollowed out so that it forms a sort of groove in which the nail may run while it is performing its cleansing mission. On no account whatever use an instrument with a sharp edge, such as a knife or the scissors, for they scratch little furrows under the nails which hold the dirt all the more tenaciously. The inner side of the nail should be as smooth as the outer. Then use a nail brush and fine soap vigorously, and occasionally dip the nails in powdered borax and again brush them. If from working upon black material the dye from the fabric has deposited its dust under the nails, warm water made quite strong with ammonia, good soap and an active use of the nail brush will generally remove it. If this does not entirely succeed, take a small pine stick or a piece of rattan pointed flatly at one end, dip it in an oxalic solution such as is used to scour floors and sinks with, and rub it quickly back and forth under each nail till the stain disappears. Then rub in a little bland oil or cream, and after a few minutes again wash and brush the nails with warm water and soap. Borax softens the nails and makes them very amenable to treatment, and many of the expensive nail powders are naught else but borax either plain or perfumed. Keep borax on your wash-stand.

TINTING THE NAILS. 321

in a low dish of convenient shape for dipping the fingers in.

A small ivory knife with a file attachment is one of the best instruments for keeping the nails in order, and should be found in company with the nail brush and borax; and close at hand should be a small square of chamois skin or a nail polisher, which is covered with chamois, with which to render the nails lustrous and semi-transparent.

Rosy finger-tips and pink nails are things of beauty, and if Nature is stubborn and refuses to lend her aid to their attainment, then art must be called upon. The Eastern women are extreme in their desire to obtain these tints and insert a bit of senna into the flesh just under the nails. But a tiny quantity is needed, and its effect, like that of India ink, is permanent.

In the countries of the Western hemisphere, however, other methods are employed for tinting the nails, one of which is here given. It is as follows: After the fingers have been well lathered and washed rub the nails with equal parts of cinnabar and emery, and then with the oil of bitter almonds. The chamois or polisher may then be applied to each nail separately until a fine polish is obtained; but it must be remembered that too high a polish is considered vulgar. To be typical of refinement it should be a soft shining luster.

Another nail powder which will give a delicate roseate hue may be applied by a lengthwise motion with a soft sponge, and is made of emery dust, tinged with vermilion or carmine ; while an equally excellent one is oxide of tin colored with carmine and delicately perfumed. The latter powder will soon render the surface smooth and pink, which is not in the least to be wondered at since

322 BEAUTY.

oxide of tin is used in polishing tortoise shell and horns.

Tiny boxes of tinted nail-powder, and dainty jars of red cream for tinting both the lips and the nails come into play in exercising proper care of the nails and hands; but a good rosy stain for the finger-tips may be made as follows: Soak an eighth of an ounce of the chippings of alkanet for one week in some diluted alcohol—say an ounce or so, and at the end of this time the tincture will be of a lovely hue. Touch the fingertips with jeweler’s cotton dipped in this tincture, blending it properly with another bit of cotton.

The white specks seen upon the nails may be removed by the following mixture Melt equal parts of pitch and turpentine in a small Cup and add a little vinegar and powdered sulphur. Rubbed with this mixture the specks will soon disappear. It is said that they may also be removed with pitch and myrrh, equal parts, melted together.

Sometimes the nails crack or split and are very brittle. This is owing to a lack of lime in the system, and requires medical treatment. The following deformity of the nails often accompanies a consumptive tendency: they curve over the ends of the fingers and grow in quite perceptible ridges. Such ridges will also result from scraping the nails with a knife or a bit of glass, either of which should never be done. The writer has seen a naturally beautiful hand and nails very much marred by a habit of scraping the nails longitudinally with a sharp knife, thus leaving minute but disfiguring ridges which prevented the attainment of the desired luster or polish.

The habit of biting the nails is one which often clings

BITING THE NAILS. 323

to an individual from infancy to old age. It cannot be too strongly condemned, nor can too urgent efforts be made to overcome the habit. A beautiful hand may be ruined in this way, and an unshapely one is still further disfigured by the reprehensible habit. With children, rub a little extract of quassia on the finger tips; it is very bitter and may prevent the pursuance of the habit. Bitter aloes and tying the fingers up in red rags are also recommended for overcoming the habit; but with some children it is ineradicable, nor do the years bring always that expected sense of shame through which every mother hopes to finally conquer the annoying habit.

If remedies will not cure children, how can we hope to cure adults who will not refrain from biting their nails? If their mortification does not come to the rescue, only on their vanity can we rely for hope. No one who bites her nails, sometimes away down to the quick, can ever expect to have pretty fingers, for she will thus make them blunt and dingy, ragged and untidy looking; and as for her nails they can never be the dainty pink shells upon the white shore of her hands. A rosy shining nail is one of Nature’s gems, and as much an ornament as the costly ones slipped on over them; and when rings are worn upon hands with ugly, dirty finger nails, who does not shudder at the vulgarity of the combination ? But when nails are polished and each sheds a pinky luster, such a hand can do very well without rings, since on each finger tip is a dainty jewel all its own. But if rings are worn how much more attractive do the)’ seem when the nails themselves add to the collection another form of gem? Dear girls, if you will not keep your nails in order, do opt wear jewels on your fingers and thus call attention to

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your disregard of the refinement of cleanliness and your evidently defective idea of "the eternal fitness of things."

A popular writer of the mysteries of the toilet has given very explicit instructions ~s to the manicuring of the nails together with considerable incidental information concerning them, and so definite are her directions that they cannot be improved upon. Therefore we quote them:

"There cannot be a beautiful hand with uncared-for nails. These ought to be slightly arched, and only long enough to extend as far as the flesh terminating the fingers. They must be well polished and of a rosy hue. Because of the daily occupation, or because they have not been cared for, the nails may not be nice in shape or coloring, and you, just beginning to find that out, want to remedy it. Go to work in the same way as the manicure does, or rather, for the first time, get some friend to undertake the duty for you. The professional has a great number of tools, but you can attain your ends if provided with a pair of sharp, curving scissors, a file, a stick of soft wood with one end cut out to make a hollow, a box of polishing powder, some cold-cream or vaseline, and a very weak solution of oxalic acid, which must, by-the-bye, be used with great care.

"Put the tips of your fingers in a bowl of tepid water (at the manicure’s they use finger-bowls), and let them soften under its influence for about ten minutes. Then dry them by pressure- not by rubbing with a towel—and give your hand to your friend. It is most likely that the skin has grown up so that it hides the half-moon at the

MANICURING. 325

base of the nail, and that this skin is hard to remove. Well, you will have to endure a little martyrdom in the cause of beauty. Dipping a little paint-brush in the acid, the worker will touch the objectionable skin and, when it has been pushed down with a soft piece of wood or a blunt instrument of steel or ivory, will take the curving scissors and trim it into shape wherever it has become ragged and uneven. If your skin is sensitive it will probably bleed, but the cold-cream, put on to counteract the acid, will help heal it, and a little raw cotton wrapped about the fingers for a few minutes will prove soothing. Then, with the file, the nails are shaped—Fashion may call for a sharp point, but good taste will choose a semicircle. The little wooden stick is then run under to remove any dust or particles of skin that may have collected under the nails. Next a slight dash of cold-cream is put on each nail, and then they are covered with the polishing powder. Now, the chamois rubber is employed, and each nail is rubbed separately until it burns and tingles from the heat. Time must be given to this process, else the clear, shell-like effect will not be acquired. With the powder still on the nails the hands are bathed in warm water, a delicate soap being used, and each nail being washed separately. Then the final rubbing takes place, not with brush or powder, but with the hand of the operator. There is something in the human flesh that gives a polish to the nails that powder or rubber cannot achieve, and the manicure has found this out. They are rubbed separately and together with the palm. of the hand, until they feel warm and are a lovely pink shade. Then all is done, and with proper care, your nails may be kept beautiful for all time.

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" Manicures protest against the use of nail-brushes and knives. Certainly the last are to be avoided, and for the wooden instrument employed in cleaning, and which does not shock or bruise the nails, a match stick, with its ends hollowed out, may be used. A piece of chamois, with sufficient energy directing it, may take the place of the rubber, though the latter is not expensive and is certainly very convenient.

"After this revolution in your hand, it is probable that your nails will be sensitive for some days; in that case rub them well with cold-cream or vaseline at night, wearing gloves to preserve the bed linen from stain. Mothers of lovely baby girls would do well to remember that the shape of the nail in after-life depends much on the way it is cut during infancy, for most of us are born, if not altogether equal in point of fortune, certainly with properly shaped finger nails.

"The perfect roseate hue of health—for one’s physical condition has much to do with the beauty of the nails—is aided by the pale pink powder, and in helping Nature we are only doing what older nations, famed for their beautiful women, taught as one of the arts of the toilette. Cleopatra had her finger tips burnished till they looked like pearl. Oriental women, who give their lives up to being beautiful, regard with great respect the woman who has a well-cared-for hand and are always anxious to discover her method of preserving its beauties. Granted that one’s life should not be devoted to mere physical loveliness, still there is time to take advantage of the knowledge that took whole lives to gain, and which may be used for a few hours of life to effect good, because

beautiful, purposes."

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The nails of the feet should also receive similar attentions to those bestowed upon the nails of fingers; but they should be cut almost squarely across instead of rounding or oval, and not allowed to project beyond the flesh. Well pedicured feet are as much an evidence of refinement as well manicured hands; and it is not certain, but that they are more so, since human nature is prone to neglecting what is usually hidden, and when it so extends its religion of cleanliness that complete inspection will detect no slights, it has indeed reach the summits of refinement.

321- Senna. It is possible that Henna is intended here. Senna is commonly used as a laxative and it is unclear whether it has any additional colouring potential.

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