THE HOSPITAL BEAUTY SCHEME 255 respects, came the day before her return to her home and was given a simple beauty treatment which involved all the techniques she could use herself later. One of the difficulties she had to face was loss of respect from her husband, who was ashamed at the way his wife's personal appearance had deteriorated as her nervous illness had increased. T.: An extremely pretty young mother aged about 22 who, following the birth of her baby, had suffered. a nervous breakdown. One of her symptoms was that she lost all interest in her appearance. Encouraged by treatments in the Beauty Salon which restored her natural good looks and, with them, her confidence, she once more started to take care of her skin and was soon discharged from the hospital as fit. Group Reaction It had been difficult to persuade a whole group of schizophrenics in a ß ward to take any interest in themselves. After several of them had visited ß the Beauty Room, quite spontaneously, they asked the nurses each morning if they might cleanse their faces and put on make-up when previously there had been the greatest difficulty in getting them to wash even their hands. I hope that these case histories show that patients of all types and ages can benefit from beauty treatments. But I do not wish to leave you with the idea that beauty treatments on their own can effect complete cures. They are one factor, albeit a very important one, in a whole series of thera- peutic treatments. As you will have noted, they frequently form a starting point and they are most certainly a link. Because the very idea of cosmetics and attractive things appeal to women, they are something for the patient, back in the stress of normal life, to hang on to and build up. SPASTICS We have not confined our attention to mental patients only. We have done a considerable amount of work with spastics. Their problem is a rather different one. They are, by reason of their physical difficulties, very much shut away from the world and need to be brought in contact with reality in as many ways as possible. Furthermore, they have to go through very arduous and difficult training routines to rehabilitate their maimed limbs. This means a tremendous amount of hard work and ingenuity on the part of the House Mothers who look after them and train them, and also great personal determination by the patients themselves. If a spastic does not have real character she will not overcome her disabilities. But remarkable results are obtained. Not only could they see themselves looking more attractive, but they could learn how to take care of their skin which, because each movement takes so much effort and so long to accomplish, is often a difficult task. So the importance of the Beauty Scheme to spastics was

256 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS 'that they had interesting things to do with their hands--putting on lipstick for example--which was very exciting as well as being a personal discipline. Here are a few case histories: J.: A spastic with little use in her legs, using a wheel-chair the entire time, has very limited use of her hands, but with the help of physiotherapy is gaining some mobility in one hand. To begin with, J. was unfamiliar with cosmetics but most anxious to co-operate in every way. She likes attractive things and wants to make a good impression on others. Had to learn how to care for her skin and also how to apply make-up. In spite of the consider- able physical effort involved, she now always tries to apply make-up and never appears for my weekly visit without lipstick and powder. Her tech- niques of application are improving all the time, lipstick better outlined, skin clearer and better groomed, which constitutes a considerable personal discipline with her hands. When praised for this, the joy and gratitude in her face is most touching. B.: Unable to walk, always uses the wheel-chair. One very good hand, one poor hand. Has a lovely complexion and blue eyes. Very interested in grooming herself and has an excellent colour sense. Her beauty techniques and knowledge are improving all the time, and in spite of the great difficulty of maneeuvring her chair and physically reaching the faces of her colleagues, she does a lot to help those more handicapped than her. M.: Originally very handicapped, unable to use hands, to walk and to keep body and head steady, but feet highly mobile and used in place of hands. All effort has been concentrated on transferring the mobility to her hands and stilling the agitation of her body. Others have helped with her skin cleansing and she is fascinated not only by improving herself and using the right make-up but by the idea of feminine charm, elegance and style, which we talk of frequently. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHEME There are many difficulties before this Hospital Beauty Scheme can become a national practice. At the h•oment 12 hospitals are taking part and another 10 or 12 who would like to adopt the scheme. But the stumbling blocks are money, time, prejudice and scepticism. Money does count, because unless you set up a charming Beauty Room where the atmosphere is different and more colourful than the rest of the hospital, you do not get the surroundings which are effective. Ideally, a really attractive place can be established for as little as •60 or •70, or if a simple trolley only is wanted, for much less. Nevertheless, to justify even •10 with the present National Health Scheme is difficult, so unless the hospital has a hidden fund or a "Friends of the Hospital" Association who can give the required amount, there are money problems. The training of