GETTING BEAUTIFUL FOR PENNIES
BY MISS ELIZABETH LACY
DARLING DISPATCH FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1932
Every woman wants to be beautiful, but in these hard times, most women don’t have a lot of money to spend on their appearance. If nickels and dimes are scarce at your house (and the dollars even scarcer), try these tips and tricks, contributed by the friendly ladies of the Darling Dahlias, who know a thing or two about staying beautiful.
Cucumber and Mint Cleanser
Bessie Bloodworth grows cucumber and mint in her garden and aloe on her back porch. She buys the glycerin at Lima’s Drugstore.
3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh cucumber juice
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel, scraped from a fresh leaf
1 tablespoon glycerin
In a nonreactive pan over medium heat, brew the mint leaves in the water for 5 to 8 minutes, to make a strong tea. When it’s cool, strain out the leaves, add the cucumber juice, the aloe vera gel, and the glycerin and mix well. To use, wet a clean cloth with the cleanser and rub lightly over your skin. Store the leftovers in the icebox to keep from spoiling.
Honey Facial Cleanser
Alice Walker’s husband Arnold keeps bees, and Alice makes a facial cleanser with their honey.
1⁄2 cup honey
2 tablespoons mild shampoo (such as Rexall’s or Palmolive, from Lima’s Drugstore)
1 cup glycerin
Put everything in a bowl and mix it up together. You don’t have to keep this one in the icebox.
Rose Skin Toner
Earlynne Biddle has lots of roses. She saves the petals and hips and uses them in the old recipes handed down from her mother and grandmother. This is one of her grandmother’s recipes. Earlynne says you don’t have to keep this in the icebox but it will be nice and cool if you do.
3 tablespoons fresh rose petals
4 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons rosemary
1 cup white wine vinegar
Put your clean plant material in a quart jar. Heat the vinegar and pour it over the leaves. Put a lid on the jar and let it sit for about ten days, shaking every day. Strain out the leaves. Apply to your skin with your fingertips or cotton.
Bessie’s Bath Powder
Bessie Bloodworth has been making her own bath powder ever since Mr. Lima raised the price on her favorite brand. She keeps this in a jar with a lid on it and shakes it up every couple of days to keep it from getting lumpy. But if it does, she says you can just mash the lumps with a fork.
1 cup cornstarch
1⁄2 cup baking soda
Mix it up in a bowl. If you want a little scent, add a tablespoon of ground cloves and a tablespoon of mace. Or get some dried rose petals from Earlynne, grind them up fine, and add them. Bessie says to dust a little into your shoes, as a foot deodorant.
Beeswax and Honey Lip Balm
Lucy Murphy reports that this lip balm is better even than Tangee, because it stays on longer. She gets her beeswax and honey from Alice Ann Walker, who will be glad to save you some, too—all you have to do is ask. The baby oil is fifteen cents a bottle but it’s good for lots of other things: on squeaky hinges, as a furniture polish (mix with a little lemon), and as a cuticle softener. But if that’s too pricey, Lucy says just melt a couple spoonfuls of Vaseline with the beeswax. It won’t smell as good but it will work just fine.
4 tablespoons grated beeswax
2 tablespoons Johnson’s baby oil
1 tablespoon honey
Melt the beeswax in a double boiler. Add the baby oil and stir well. Line a little box with wax paper (like the little box of wooden matches that Mrs. Hancock sells for a nickel). Pour the mixture into it and let it cool. Then you can take it out and leave it on your dressing table.
Banana Hair Conditioner
Myra May Mosswell, at the diner, usually has a banana or two that’s past its prime. If it’s too far gone for banana pudding, she uses it to make a hair and scalp conditioner.
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg
Mix everything together until it’s nice and creamy. Before you shampoo, wet your hair and massage the conditioner into your hair and scalp. Wrap a warm towel around your head and leave it on for about 20 minutes. Rinse well and shampoo as usual. This makes enough for one treatment. Don’t try to save any leftovers.
Beulah’s Setting Lotions
Beulah Trivette has been using her own homemade setting lotions at the Beauty Bower. She has two recipes she’s willing to share with you, but she says her best Beauty Bower Secret Formula Setting Lotion is still a secret. We’re working on that.
Quince Seed Setting Lotion
Seeds from 1 fresh quince (that will usually be 20 to 25)
¼ cup water
In a bowl, cover the seeds with water. Let them soak for 2 to 3 hours. The longer they soak, the thicker the lotion. Strain out the seeds.
Flaxseed Setting Lotion
1 cup flaxseed
3 cups water
Simmer flaxseed and water together for a few minutes until it’s about as thick as you want it. Put through a strainer and throw the seeds away. If the mixture thickens too much, thin it with a little water.
Whipped Cream Body Mask
Ophelia Snow admits that she’s never tried this but it sounds like it would be just wonderful, if you happen to have an extra cup of heavy cream that you’re not putting to some other use, such as strawberry shortcake. (Ophelia says her kids would rather have the cream on their shortcake, rather than on their mama, and anyway, she never has fifteen minutes to loll around with whipped cream all over her.)
1 cup fresh heavy cream
Whip until soft peaks form. Cover your body with the cream, rubbing it into the dry, scaly spots. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse off in a warm bath and pat dry.
Fig Facial Mask
Elizabeth Lacy’s mother has a fig tree in her back yard. If there are any figs left over after making fig jam, Mrs. Lacy uses them for a facial.
One ripe fig
1 tablespoon honey
Cut the fig in two and scrape out the soft fruit into a bowl. Mash with a spoon until smooth. Add the honey and mix well. Spread it on your skin and go sit on the front porch for five or ten minutes. Rinse.
Mashed Potato Hand Cream
This formula for beautiful hands also comes from Beulah Trivette, who has tested it on her clients at the Beauty Bower. They give the recipe a big thumbs-up!
2 potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 tablespoon of cream or top milk
1 tablespoon glycerin
1 tablespoon aloe vera gel
Blend everything together into a smooth, thick paste. Massage into your hands. After ten minutes, rinse. May be stored in your icebox for several days. Be sure to label the bowl so the late-night snackers in your family don’t get into it. Aloe vera is a little bit . . . well, laxative.
Clove Mouthwash
Miss Dorothy Rogers says that she has used this mouthwash for decades and recommends it highly. It will sweeten your breath. She also recommends Syzygium aromaticum (clove) oil for a toothache. (Ask Mr. Lima for this—he keeps it behind the counter so he can tell people they are not supposed to eat it or get it on their skin. But the whole ones are okay.)
2 tablespoons whole Syzygium aromaticum (cloves)
2 cups boiling water
Cover the Syzgium aromaticum with the boiling water. Cool. Strain into a clean jar and store in the icebox. Rinse your mouth morning and evening.
Dry Feet Remedy
Verna Tidwell says that if you suffer from dry skin on your feet, she has the perfect solution.
Before you go to bed, rub Vaseline on your toes and soles and put on a pair of socks. Tomorrow’s toes will be a whole lot softer. You can also use it to scrub the dry skin off: add a couple of spoonfuls of cornmeal or sugar to the Vaseline and rub hard with a washcloth.
Carrot-and-Egg Facial Mask
Fannie Champaign suggests a carrot facial mask to keep the skin young looking.
3 large carrots, cooked and mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
4 tablespoons honey
Mix together and apply to the skin. Fannie says that since this mixture is bright orange, you might want to stay out of sight while you’re wearing it. Rinse with cool water after 10 minutes.
Molasses Nail Soak
For gardeners, Mildred Kilgore recommends a molasses nail soak to prevent dryness, soften cuticles, and promote nail health.
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1⁄4 cup warm water
Mix together as a soak for fingernails. Ten minutes a day will make a big difference, Mildred says. But she adds that you really ought to wear gloves when you are working in the garden. She does.