Persuasive Essay Topics on a beautiful complexion via soap!
By Norman Morrison                      

Persuasive Essay Topics of Today and Yesterday: Crunchy Skin Screams For Old Fashioned Soap Scrub

The modern woman and not a few sissy men are held back from adventure because of the dreaded imperfect complexion. They think not of the future when all the secret complexion miracle remedies won't remove even one wrinkle or age spot. They think of today, of smooth skin, of silky countenance, of satin smoothness and velvety appearance. These women and sissy men worship at the altar of the complex chore of maintaining one's radiant complexion. And they'll fight you if you dare to sully their facial characteristics. So, is this a relatively recent phenom, or has past civilizations prostrated themselves before the complexion god?

Along about October 1916 there came a story in the now defunct Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger about saving soap. So, it looks like soap saving isn't such a new idea. The walking, talking, breathing residents of that time spent time thinking about used up soap bars too. Let's look back...

One cannot make a cast-iron rule for all womankind and say, "Thou shalt not use soap." What is good for one complexion is not good for another. If you find that soap does not agree with your skin shun it as you would a poison; if it does agree with it then give the face a gentle scrubbing every night, being careful to rinse away every particle of the soap.

Be sure that your soap is of the very best kind. A large number of toilet soaps are made of rancid or half-putrid fat,
combined with strong alkalies, which cause inestimable damage to the skin by dissolving a minute portion of the cuticle, as well as much of the secretions that impart to it softness and suppleness. Soaps containing a preponderance of oily matter, which most of the milder toilet soap now do, mechanically soften the skin and promote its smoothness. The former possesses greater cleansing power than the latter, but its frequent use is injurious, rendering the skin rough,
harsh, disposed to crack and easily affected by exposure to wind and cold.

Do not use a colored soap. Many of the highly scented and colored toilet soaps contain a considerable amount of lime, chalk or gypsum and owe their attractive tints to noxious mineral matters.
I hate to recommend anything Spanish, but the real imported castile soap which is made of olive oil and soda is all right.

However, the problem is best solved by manufacturing your own toilet soaps. and this is not difficult to do. Here is the
formula for a soap which is particularly nice for the hands on account of the oils which it contains. It is called: Juanita Toilet Soap.

To one good-sized bar of castile soap add sufficient water to dissolve it thoroughly. Stir in one tablespoonful of bicarbonate of soda. Let boil. Remove from fire and stir in one tablespoonful of each of the following oils (mixed):
Coconut, sweet almond and olive. Add one tablespoonful of mixture of equal parts of spirits of camphor, nitre, and ammonia and stir slightly. Put in molds and let stand for some time before using.

If a scented soap is preferred, here is one with a fragrance as of wood violets straight from the meadows:
White castile soap, 8 ounces. Honey, 1 ounce. Spermaceti. 1 ounce. Oil of sweet almonds 1% ounces. white wax 1 ounce. Essence of violets, ounce.

Shave the castile soap very fine. Put the honey in a double boiler and when hot add the soap. In another double
boiler put the oil of almonds and the spermaceti and the wax, which have been grated fine. When the soap is entirely
melted pour the oils and the soap together. Sometimes it may be necessary to add a little hot water to the honey
and soap, but be very sparing of it, lest you weaken your soap, so that it will not harden. Two tablespoonfuls, at most is quite enough. After the oils and the soap have been in the hot water bath, which should be kept boiling briskly, for ten or fifteen minutes, remove from the fire, add the essence of violets, stir and then pour into teacups, if you do not happen to have any molds handy.

Soap, like wine, improves with age, so the longer this is kept before using the better it will be. This is a bit more troublesome to make than the first recipe given, but, if directions are carefully followed, should come out all right.
A liquid soap, which is much easier to compound than either of the other two, which is particularly good for doing away with blackheads and also makes a delightful shampoo, is made after the following fashion: Cut In very small shavings one-half pound of pure imported castile soap. Place in a porcelain vessel with two quarts of boiling water. Let it simmer until every particle of the soap is dissolved. When cold it should be of the consistency of rather thin cream, and if thicker add more warm water. Stir in one-fourth pint of alcohol and then let stand several days in a warm room. All the alkali and impurities will settle to the bottom and the liquid will be as clear as crystal. Pour off very carefully, leaving the residue for kitchen purposes. Add one-fourth ounce essence of verbena. Pour a little of it in the water before bathing. I am sure you will find it delightful.

One word as to the care of soap. Keep perfumed soap in glass or earthen jars, and in a cool, dry place, for damp soap loses its perfume quicker than hard, compact and moderately dry soap.
I wish that my- readers, after experimenting with any of the recipes that I give them, would write to me and let
me know how successful they have been. In the case of failure, I may be able to point out where the error was, or perhaps give a timely hint that may be the means of redeeming some mixture that seems hopeless.

Here at Persuasive Essay Topics of Today and Yesterday we're tickled with pleasure to bring you the great news about household soaps including the ever popular topic of the facial complexion. Unlike you might think, the ladies, and perhaps a few male dandies were extremely concerned about the complexion of the face. Perhaps other parts as well, but in Victorian society, such other things were mentioned in polite society, much less on the printed page.

Persuasive Essay Topics of Today and Yesterday is written by the dynamic team of Norm and Vicky Morrison, miners of great stories from the past for the world of tomorrow. Their latest works include a poignant website about the common Dog Flea Allergy. It's a tear jerker and should not be missed! This is on the heels of their world famous and award winning Gas Fireplace Review website.