. For actual cleansing warm water and pure soap are necessary.
The shock of cold water immediately closes the pores, and they then
retain all the impurities that they should cast out. The temperature of
the water for the daily tepid bath should be about seventy-five or
eighty degrees, never more than that.

Whether or not the bath should be taken at night or in the morning is a
question which each must decide for herself. While it has often been
claimed that a bath at night will quiet the nerves and make one sleep
sweetly, I have known many persons who found it an utter impossibility,
as it caused them to be restless and wide-awake. One reason why the
bath before going to bed is desirable is that a soothing emollient can
be applied to the face, neck and hands, and thus will the skin be
whitened and beautified. After a warm plunge the pores of the skin are
opened and in excellent condition to absorb a good skin food or a
pleasant cream.

Bath bags are simply luxuries. They are pleasant ones, to be sure, but
they should never take the place of the flesh brush. It is best to
follow the scrubbing with a gentle washing with a bath bag, for the
almond meal and the orris root will give a charming, velvety appearance
to the skin. They should never be used a second time, as the bran
frequently becomes sour after a drying. So, if you are of an economical
turn of mind, you will make your bath bags very small, just large
enough to serve for one beauty bath.

A little starch thrown into the bath will sometimes whiten the skin.
Salt is not cleansing at all, but is very invigorating and a pleasant
tonic if one is worn out and languid. Turkish baths are splendid
complexion-makers, but must not be indulged in too frequently. If the
skin is dry and feverish, a dry bath--or massage--with oil of sweet
almonds will promote a healthy skin and bring about good circulation.

Constant bathing is the best remedy for excessive perspiration. But
this is not really effective unless a little benzoin is added to the
water, and the armpits well dried, and dusted with powder afterward. A
good bathing powder for this purpose is made of two and one-half drams
of camphor, four ounces of orris root and sixteen ounces of starch.
Reduce to a fine powder and tie in coarse muslin bags.

Remember that a coarse complexion, with black, disfiguring, open pores,
can be almost entirely cured by keeping the pores of the body free from
sebaceous matter. Have the