TOILET SOAPS Soaps.—Pure soaps do not irritate the skin. There are two principal kinds of soaps: those containing free alkali in the form of potash or soda lye, and the so-called neutral or fatty soaps. The former increase the swell ing and softening of the horny parts of the skin. When these are removed, they of course take the dirt with them. The latter are better adapted to persons of sensitive skin, although their detergent effects are not so marked. Among these are castile, glycerin, curd soaps, and the like. Medicated and highly colored or scented soaps should rarely be used, and we recommend purchasing for household use only well-known soaps which have an established reputation for purity and general satisfaction. It must be borne in mind that toilet preparations which may give good effects on one skin are sometimes in jurious to another. Glycerin is said to burn some skins, and benzoin cannot be used by some persons. This shows how important it is for U. woman to know what ingredients are used in making up her toilet preparations. It is not always safe to " try " some compound, the con tents of which are unknown, be cause it is highly recommended by others.
On the other hand, the difference in results obtained by two women may often be attributed to the dif ference in the method of use. One woman will cleanse her face thor oughly as above indicated, while the other will merely apply a cream or lotion when the skin may be covered with grime and the pores filled with dirt. The result may be to still fur ther clog the pores and produce an eruption of pimples and blackheads. No preparation can give satisfactory results in the absence of absolute cleanliness.
Toilet Soaps.—These soaps are dis tinguished by the purity of their in gredients, as almond oil, beef mar row, refined lard, and the like. They are usually saponified without heat, and may be perfumed according to taste. Any neutral hard white soap may be used as a foundation for toilet soaps if prepared as follows: Shave the soap thin or run it through a meat cutter, and melt in a double boiler with rose water, orange-flower water, or other distilled water, and common salt, in the pro portion of 6 pounds of soap to 1 pint each of rose water or orange-flower water and 2 ounces of salt.
After boiling, allow the mixture to cool. Cut it into small squares with a cord or wire, and dry without ex posing to the sun. When dry, melt it again down with the same proportion of rose water or orange-flower water. Strain, cool, and dry thoroughly in a warm oven. Now reduce it to pow der and expose it to the air under a screen. Coloring matter and perfume may be added according to taste. Other methods of purifying common household soaps and recipes for standard popular toilet soaps are given below.
Among the most popular toilet ar ticles are honey, Windsor, borax, glyc erin, and almond soaps, besides a multitude of soaps which derive their name from the various perfumes added, as cinnamon, orange flower, sandalwood, rose, musk, violet, citron, etc.
Perfumed Soaps.--Soaps may be perfumed by adding a few drops of any essential oil, or a proportionately larger quantity of essences or per fumed distilled waters to the saponi fied mass while cooling, but before hard soap has become cool enough to set. If perfumes are added while the soap is too hot they tend to vola tilize and escape with the steam; if the soap is too cold they cannot be readily incorporated. Ordinary soap may be perfumed by cutting it with alcohol or other spirits and adding the perfume before the mixture hard ens; or by melting up the soap in a small quantity of water, adding the perfume, and evaporating the excess of water by very gentle heat in a double boiler. Or the soap may be reduced to shavings, moistened slight ly with distilled water, and the per fume incorporated by kneading or by the use of a mortar and pestle.
Honey Soap.—This is common yel low soap of good quality, to which has been added a certain proportion of pure strained honey and other in gredients. Shave and melt in a dou ble boiler 9 pounds of yellow soap. Add 4 ounces of palm oil, 4 ounces of honey, and 1 ounce of oil of cin namon or other perfume according to taste. Boil for 10 minutes. While cooling stir vigorously with an egg beater to thoroughly emulsify the in gredients. Cool. Ready for use as soon as hardened.