As if women don’t have enough worries, many still have to contend with unwanted facial hair. The genetic tendency to downy hair on the cheeks has been admired by many poets and novelists. Usually this soft, fine hair decreases by the age of 30. Women are dismayed, in contrast, by the appearance of thick, dark hairs on the cheeks or chin (stimulated after menopause by the adrenal androgens no longer balanced by higher levels of ovarian estrogens). (more…)
There are two types of sweat glands. The eccrine glands which are most numerous on the palms, soles, and forehead, and the apocrine glands which are in the armpits, anogenital area, nipples, eyelids, ear canal (secreting ear wax) and around the belly button. The apocrine secretions are regulated by sex hormones that activate at puberty and decline with old age. It is the apocrine sweat which breeds the bacteria that causes body odor, explaining why pre-adolescents and the elderly usually suffer less from this problem. (more…)
The whole universe is held together by gravity. The movements of the earth around the sun (determining the seasons) and of the moon around the earth (regulating the tides) are all according to the invisible force of gravity. Although gravity makes life possible (and helps people walk rather than float!), we are not often conscious of gravity’s effect on our appearance. (more…)
The activities of the body-mind are engendered and maintained by the vibrations of the environment. Certain vibration frequencies are picked up by our sense organs. Colors, light, sounds, and the resistance of matter are manifestations of the same energy, segments perceived in a continuous range of waves.
We are sometimes conscious of these phenomena, and sometimes not. The same can be said of the waves picked up by our skin, the palms of our hands, and the soles of our feet. Not all human beings pick up energy in the same way, because many receive vibrations from the environment badly or incompletely. (more…)
Most people who are plump are jolly and good natured. They are pleasant and easy going and not at all hard to get along with—until perhaps they take it into their heads to begin to reduce! Most of them are full of alibis and reasons for their extra weight. Except in rare cases there is only one reason why any of them are plump and well padded. They just love to eat! (more…)
Meditation has been practiced for centuries in many spiritual traditions as a way of purifying the mind. Basically, meditation involves quieting the mind so that the mental chatter that fills your waking consciousness can be stilled, if even for a moment. Through quieting the mind, you cultivate a sense of calm, and come to know yourself in a deeper way. Meditation helps you to become aware of habitual patterns of thinking so that you can make better choices about how you are living. Meditation is an excellent way of relieving stress, because when the mind is calm, the body naturally follows. Many people experience feelings of deep peace and clarity through meditation. Experiment with the different meditation techniques that follow and find those which appeal to you. (more…)
The use of chemicals to “peel away” unwanted or dead skin is a practice with a past. Chemical face peeling can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where creams of alabaster particles suspended in milk and honey were applied to the face for “tightening”. The Egyptians also used animal oils mixed with salt and natural minerals, and plant substances to “exfoliate” their faces. Later, poultices containing mustard, sulfur and limestone were used. (more…)
Every living thing seems to have some enemy. Wherever we look, we see the evidences of conflict in one form or another. Human life is no exception. Some of our enemies come out into the open where we can see and watch their movements, but others are far too small for the eye to see. What is worse, they are many times more numerous and far more dangerous. Most of them have the power to multiply within the human body in enormous numbers. These are the enemies we call germs. Some of them may cause serious diseases that could have been prevented with a little care. (more…)
The medical meaning of the word tumor is simply a swelling or lump raised above the skin surface. Although some tumors are cancers, most are not and the word can be applied to something as harmless as a wart.
Harmless skin lumps of one type or another are exceedingly common: in fact everyone has one or more at some time in their life. Although moles, which are raised, could also be considered here they are dealt with in detail in the section on birthmarks and pigment. This section deals with both harmless or benign lumps as well as true cancers or malignant lumps. (more…)
Several fungi can infect human skin, nails and hair. Those fungi which normally live in the soil or on animals tend to produce inflammation as well as scaling but those which are specifically human fungi give rise to little reaction on the skin. The term ringworm is used because many fungal infections produce a circular rash.
Ringworm on the foot is also called athlete’s foot and it is the most widespread form of fungal infection. It is easily spread from one person to another and swimming baths and changing rooms are likely sources of infection. The usual changes are redness, scaling and maceration in the space between fourth and fifth toes, and it may be accompanied by small blisters. It may remain like this for years causing no discomfort, however, it may itch and spread to the other web spaces or other body sites. (more…)
Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and fungi and they are not usually found on normal skin. Many viruses can cause a rash - e.g. measles and glandular fever - but these diseases are not dealt with here. This section describes some virus infections in which either the only signs or the commonest signs of the disease are on the skin.
It is now known that there are several strains of wart virus and each tends to produce its own type of wart. Some cause the ordinary wart on the hands, others painful warts on the feet; and still others warts on the face or genitals. Warts are caught from other people. This happens easily in children who have not had time to develop immunity to the virus but adults are more resistant. Even when the virus has gained access to the skin it may lie dormant for weeks or months before the wart itself appears. (more…)
This group of diseases is extremely common and no one goes through life without some infection of the skin at one time or another. In hot countries it is even more of a problem. An infection is caused by tiny organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi and can spread from one person to another. They are microscopic. An infestation, on the other hand, is caused by small creatures that can generally be seen with the naked eye. (more…)
It’s common for the boy to try again, right away or later. He hopes that the girl was just pretending to be reluctant, so as not to seem too easy. He thinks she is perhaps wanting and expecting him to persist and that she will look down on him as a mouse if he doesn‘t. Her cue is to be as definite at the second try as she was at the first. But she can still be friendly, as if appreciating his attention.
Another common manoeuvre of the male is to begin arguing : ‘But you said you liked me…. What’s the harm?… Don’t you have any feelings? … Isn’t it abnormal not to want to? … All the other girls do…. I don’t want to date a person who doesn‘t like this side of me…. A boy has strong instincts that have to be satisfied….’ There are thousands of arguments that have been used since (more…)
Most people who are plump are jolly and good natured. They are pleasant and easy going and not at all hard to get along with—until perhaps they take it into their heads to begin to reduce! Most of them are full of alibis and reasons for their extra weight. Except in rare cases there is only one reason why any of them are plump and well padded. They just love to eat!
“What’s the use?” they wail. “Everything I eat turns to fat. I just can’t lose weight.” This is probably true, partly because of the way they are going about it.
Going on a reducing diet is no new experience for most of these people. Usually they have tried all kinds of diets, liberal and otherwise. For a time they succeed, but in the end they often find themselves back at the same old level, far above the average for their height and age. Sometimes they are the butt of unfortunate jokes among their friends. In desperation they determine once and for all to lose weight. They are invariably in a hurry to do this. Some abandon food altogether for a time, only to return to their former eating habits with a vengeance and perhaps add a few more pounds. This is not a sensible way to lose weight. (more…)
Try to avoid having a fitted carpet under the dining table; it will stain very fast indeed. If you have fitted carpet, put a patterned rug on it — easier than the carpet to take away and clean.
Don’t have white or very pale floors of any sort — paint, carpet, rugs, linoleum, tiles — unless you are prepared for cleaning headaches.
Every home editor I know has had some sort of pale floor trauma before she learned her lesson.
Kitchen floor covering should be non-slip, not cold or hard to the feet, easy to clean and hardwearing. Sealed cork is all of these things. (Wicanders have the best selection.) Otherwise use good-quality PVC tiles or linoleum. Avoid ceramic tiles which are very hard on the feet, though practical. (more…)
Acontinental quilt almost eliminates bedmaking. A good continental quilt (or duvet) can be the equivalent of at least three blankets and can cost and weigh considerably less than conventional bed clothes.
You’re supposed to make the bed only using a bottom sheet and a quilt cover, but I use two sheets traditionally and keep the quilt in its special case until spring cleaning time comes round.
You may want to know the difference between an eiderdown and a continental quilt and whether you can use a double bed eiderdown as a single quilt? No, not efficiently, because the eiderdown is tightly packed and crushed down and there are no air pockets to trap the warm air round you, as does the quilt, on the same principle as a string vest. (more…)
I took my first unconscious step towards female emancipation and away from martyrdom when I decided that, instead of teaching the au pair girl to cook for the children, it might be a better investment of time to teach the children to cook for the au pair. After all, I don’t change the children every year. For the first time they always ate what was put before them and they eventually asked to do the shopping, a task which they performed far more frugally than I.
The next step was to find a new job for the au pair, and to invest the money saved on wages in anti-drudge machines. One was the fridge-freezer, the other was the dishwasher, and any working woman with a family could regard these as business investments to offset against her wages in the family budget. The cost of both machines was equivalent to the au pair’s wages for eighteen months, not taking her keep into account. Furthermore, I’ll never have to do the freezer’s homework and the dishwasher is hardly likely to have an affair with my husband. (more…)
Should you work part-time or full- time? It depends on your needs. When I had my first baby I did part- time design work at home. Then I worked full-time from an office with resident home help. Then I worked full-time at home with no home help. Now I work at home, full-time during the term and theoretically not at all during school holidays. I have found it easiest (but not always possible) to go out to work full-time, and pay for adequate home help. For me working part-time seemed to involve twice the work for half the money with none of the office perks and protection. (more…)
Full-time or part-time shop assistant: Hard on the feet but can be more interesting than office work if you like meeting people. Part-time work is often easier on Saturdays.
Stocking shelves in supermarkets, to prepare for the next day, is one example of evening preparation work. Ask the manager of your local supermarket if there’s anything going.
Welfare workers are largely women. Child care officers are needed (training from one to three years necessary) so are youth club workers, youth employment officers, young people’s advisers (being married is a qualification and it’s possible to do as little as thirteen hours a week work). (more…)
Training: If you have had training you can probably find job opportunities through your professional body or through reading or advertising in your professional journal.
Assuming that you haven’t had any training prior to marriage and aren’t coping with pre-school age children, what is available? Most women are unskilled. Only 6 per cent receive any further training when they leave school. However, there are suitable training courses for `mature students’, the official description of any woman over twenty- three. You can exploit a talent which you already possess and are practising in your home (sewing or cooking) or be trained by a firm who wishes to employ you, or at one of the many courses at a local technical college. Generally what is difficult to acquire isn’t really the training, or even the job, but the determination to forget embarrassment, laziness or shyness — and go out and get it. (more…)
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