Washing Hands During The Day

( Originally Published 1907 )

Never have soiled hands, but do not wash oftener than necessary. Lemon juice will remove many stains. If a little salt is added to this juice it is still more efficacious.

A bit of orange or lemon skin removes tar stains. Care must be taken to wipe the hands dry immediately. Fresh tomatoes and strawberries, a leaf of sorrel, a little milk, are excellent for removing ink stains. Before peeling Irish potatoes, the hands should be well dried, and should not be washed immediately after. By this slight precaution they will not be stained with the juice of the tuber. After paring certain fruits and vegetables a little lemon juice removes all stain. The hands must first be moistened in water.

To cleanse the hands after very rough work use a good emollient or cream. Rub the hands with a small quantity of the emollient, which will penetrate well into the pores of the skin and become incorporated with the greasy substances. Wash the hands in hot water and soap. This treatment make them very soft.

Hands which are "sanctified by labor" may thus retain an agreeable appearance, which is not to he disdained, especially when it is so easily obtained.

Moist hands are unfit for certain kinds of work, and are unpleasant to the touch. To keep the hands agreeably dry, rub the palms several times each day with a cloth soaked in the following preparation: Cologne water, seventy grammes; tincture of belladonna; fifteen grammes.