5. BE A BEAUTY EXPERT

By now you've analyzed your own special way to look your prettiest, and you've decided on your most becoming hairdos. Note the plural (no one should be content to look the same, day in and day out).

You've studied your face, your profile, your fea­tures. But, unless you are more of an egotist than most, you have also read about what other types should do. ("Sue, with Tier high forehead, should certainly wear bangs!" or "Mary's receding chin could surely be uplifted with a few tricks.")

So think of yourself as a beauty expert. Call in your most friendly friends and have a beauty bee! You'll have a ball playing pro. The ever-popular "slumber party" is a good time to run a beauty clinic.

Keep the hairdo party small—more than five or six will smother you with questions and argu­ments. You'll need a few props like a ruler and a tape measure, and of course your "school" book, The Tip-Top Book of Easy-to-do Hair Styles!

Ask each girl to bring her own brush and comb and, of course, her own Tip-Top rollers and clips. When the clinic is in session, have each girl brush her hair back and anchor it with a ribbon, leaving the entire face and ears uncovered.

Now, take the measure of perfection!

Since this is a hairdos-for-fun party, don't try to put everyone through the entire proportions-of-beauty routine. It will take too long with a group. And besides, few people want to be measured (and possibly found wanting) right out in public, especially before their best friends.

Concentrate on face shapes and neck lengths. (See pages 18 to 31.)

Diagram the shape of her face (see page 18 for your instructions) and decide if it is oval, square, triangular, round, etc.

When all shapes have been diagrammed, and before you start picking out hairdos, have a round table discussion of "The Real Me."

You may be astonished to find who wants to look like Audrey Hepburn and whose inner image is a twin of Connie Stevens or Diane McBain.

If none of them has the slightest resemblance to these ideal dream pictures, you can, as a beauty expert, head them off tactfully! Before the beauty bee, the best system for a pro is to sum up the types that your friends really represent and pick a flattering counterpart for each. If Linda, who is gentle, moon-faced, pretty and slightly plump admits she really wants to look like Elizabeth Taylor, don't gag. Say something like, "Well, your bone structure is a bit like hers around the eyes but I always thought you were more the Audrey Hepburn type."

After this discussion, you'll have an insight as to the kind of hairdo that will be becoming both physically and psychologically.

Now is the time to open the book to the “20 Tip fop Hairdos” and help everyone choose the ones that go with both her face and her person­ality. There should be a choice of several.

When you're agreed on what would be the best style for each, show everyone how to do the quickie (dry) set (page 143). Then, let them follow the roll-up instructions for their particular coif (see Hairdo How-To's after each style).

Since the brushout is so very important, you might give a hand on this step—if you have prac­ticed enough With your own hair to follow direc­tions easily.

Take a vote on the beauty parade that follows—better than before, very good, wonderful! Don't hesitate to flip a curl another way if the style isn't close to perfect. And don't be squeamish about coaxing out wisps of hair to soften a harsh con­tour. Or suggesting a light brushing over the top for a smoother line.

Always remember, of course, that when you style with a brush after the hair has been teased, you should not use a vigorous stroke that pene­trates to the scalp. Just smooth very lightly over the top.

Not every hairdo is bound to be completely successful at the first beauty clinic you hold. And even if you think they are all simply dreamy, don't argue with anyone who is slightly unhappy about the results. She can brush it back to the way she wore it before and try another styling that's right for her face and personality next time.

Always remember that a hairdo that makes you self-conscious, or slightly uneasy, is wrong. You should be able to "put on" your hairdo and forget it for most of the time. A girl who isn't happy about her hair is apt to fiddle with it nervously, an unattractive habit. Graceful, animated gestures are all very fine, but hair-twiddling is in the class with nail-biting. So, as the group's beauty expert, try to discourage anything that's too elaborate.

While you are working out this "design clinic," you're bound to notice the condition of each head. Of course, it's more fun to play around with styl­ing, but questions of hair health will come up. You'll find the answers to problems about dry, oily, baby fine, coarse hair and dandruff in Sec­tion III—Take Care op Your Hair.

Have a home permanent clinic at another "slum­ber party." Get the same girls back for a perma­nent bee. In this case, have each bring the home perm kit for her type of hair. You will be one of the guests this time. The package instructions will be the "pro."

Experimenting with color is as much fun as trying out new hairdos. You might have another "beauty clinic" on this. (See pages 146 to 151 for the whats, hows and whys). You prescribe the color (temporary, of course) that you think would do the most for each girl's hair. For some you might find the same shade would add zoom in a different way. Then have a "water-color" party— shampoo, tint and set.

Careful of your timing though! Don't do your first color clinic the morning of the big prom! Temporary tints will wash out but don’t try ex­periments when everyone is in a tizzy anyhow.

And no matter what you do, take it easy. Don't tell anyone her hair is a drab, dreary mess. Be tactful and she'll continue to love you if you say, "You know, you have that lovely, soft, ashy blonde color—you really should emphasize it!" Or, "With that skin, I wonder how you'd look as a redhead?" Make every suggested change into a compliment and your clinic will wind up with everyone in a beautiful mood, not an ugly temper!

Twenty Tip-Top ways to keep your figure  in Tip-Top shape

Your hair, your skin, your makeup may be ab­solutely perfect, but if you let your figure go, the whole effect is spoiled. You wouldn't display a beautiful work of art on an ugly base, so be sure your pretty head tops an equally pretty figure. You can keep your muscles toned with a few simple exercises that demand little time and no more space than you need for standing or sitting. Do them every day, at first only as often as you think of it, maybe only once an hour. Soon, how­ever, you'll be tightening those muscles without conscious thought* Some of the exercises suggested here are invisible. You can do them sitting at a desk, even on a bus!

How to flatten your stomach

1. Sit with your spine against the base of any seat. Hold your back straight, consciously posi­tioning your shoulders in a line with your ears. Tighten your stomach muscles and hold them taut while you count ten. Repeat from time to time as you remember. Very soon you'll find this is an automatic exercise and your muscles will tone up and stay flat and firm without will power.
2. Stand with your feet together and raise your arms, with palms facing, straight up on a level with your ears. With one arm at a time, stretch as high as you can. Drop back to normal reach, alternating the stretch ten times with each arm.
3. Take a deep breath—and feel your chest lift, your stomach flatten. It's an easy exercise that should become second nature to you—a habit of correct breathing that will help you to a better figure.

How to slim your ankles

4. Sit up straight and raise your heels as high as is comfortable. Then rock your feet, alternately, heel up, toes up. This is good exercise for legs, too, and one that is quite inconspicuous behind a desk.
5. Simply rotate your ankles. The easiest way is to cross your knees and alternate the rotation of each foot—five times to the right, five times to the left. Done slowly, this really strengthens those muscles and makes them lean and hard.
6. This is a tippy-toe exercise, like a seated ballerina. Sit up straight and pretend you are wearing ballet slippers. Bend your ankles so that your foot makes a straight line from the knee to the floor. Bring your knees up, alternately, very slowly and as high as they will go, with your toes pointed down.
   How to slim your thighs
7. Stand erect, hands on hips, facing a sturdy chair and about two feet away from it. Be sure the chair is braced so it won't slip. Place the toes of one foot on the chair, with your leg straight. Now rock forward as far as possible. Return to your original position. Repeat the exercise ten times with each leg. You'll feel the muscles pulling taut.
8. This one has to be done lying down. If you have a firm mattress, you can do it in bed. Stretch your arms out level with your shoulders. Raise your legs together a foot or so. Now scissor kick, without touching your feet to the bed or floor. Don't wear yourself out—this one is more strenuous than it sounds for lazy muscles.
   
   How to shrink your waistline
   
   
9. Bo the Twist!
10. Swim in air! The crawl is great for both your waist and your upper arms. The breast stroke will work on arms, waist and bustline.
    How to harden your arm muscles
11. Heavy arms look horrid in sleeveless dresses. so tone them up using your hands. When taking off your makeup, use a circular motion that comes from the biceps, not the wrists. This motion— using the big muscles—will be beneficial no matter what you are doing. When you brush your hair, polish a table, douse light laundry, don't use only wrist action—use the entire arm.
12. Bounce a ball. Buy one with an elastic attachment and bounce it hard against the floor or a convenient wall. Even if you are awkward with one hand, take turns bouncing with both.
    How to flatten your derrière
13. Sit on the floor, arms folded, feet slightly raised, and walk on your buttocks. You'll be surprised how this breaks down fatty tissue, strengthens muscles.
14. Sit up straight in a chair, feet flat on floor, and clench the muscles in your buttocks. This exercise will help to slim your thighs and flatten your stomach, as well.
15. Try pushups in your chair—but don't try this one in a chair with rollers! Grasp the arms of the chair firmly, and using thigh muscles and biceps, push yourself up as far as possible. Don't use your legs for leverage.

What to do about your neck and chin

16. If you have even the suggestion of a pudginess about your jaw, you can get rid of it by throwing your head back and blowing: imaginary smoke rings. You'll look quite a lot like a fish out of water, so try it in complete privacy—but try it.

How to keep limber

17. Throw a deck of cards on the floor and pick it up, one at a time, with your back straight, bending from the knees. This is good for thighs and calves; too. Pick up shells this way on the beach.
18. Just skip, like a happy child on a sunny summer day.
19. Jump rope, to help your balance, tauten almost every muscle in your body.
20. Lie down and roll First with arms outstretched, turn the lower part of your body slowly from one side to the other, keeping shoulders flat. Repeat ten times.

Next, still lying with arms outstretched, kick alternately up and over your head from left to right, and from right to left, trying to hit your hand with your feet. Repeat ten times on each side if you can. You may be a bit stiff the first time, but you'll be practically acrobatic in the long run.

Finally, sit up and try to touch the toes of your left foot with your right hand, and vice versa.

Now figure it this way—

 You probably don't need all these exercises, but almost everyone who isn't an avid athlete needs some muscle toning. Choose the ones that apply to your personal problems and try to do them regularly. You'll wind up with a better time and effort—and maybe the price of a rubber ball (see exercise #12)!

Happy Ending

Now that you've studied your Tip-Top Book of Easy-to-Do Hair Styles, you should know your­self better than ever before. You know the basic facts of beauty, and how to create an illusion of perfection in your features.

So practice being pretty all the time! Don't skip looking your best ever. No matter how much you would like to drowse in bed another ten minutes, please do not if it means that you will have to omit grooming your hair meticulously. Everyday care of your hair is enormously important. You can wash it and brush it and tint it until it shines, find the most flattering of hairdos, and follow all the rules one day, but if you do not make your beauty tricks into habits, as automatic as wash­ing your hands, you might as well not have both­ered in the first place.

Never forget that you are on view when least you expect it. Who knows when her best beau may catch a glimpse of her at the window of a bus? Would you want him to see you with your hair a mess, without the artful help of makeup? With your brow in a scowl? Check always before you go out of your room to see that your beauty personality is at its charming best!

Do have a special day when you shampoo your hair? If something comes along to interfere, use one of the quick pickups outlined on pages 141 to 145.

Keep an eye on the length. When it gets too long or too thick, hair is hard to keep in shape. Don't neglect a haircut when it is due simply because you don't want to have the permanent in the ends cut off. A fresh permanent that you can give yourself is a snap these days. Refresh your memory by checking back to pages 139 and 140.

If you have changed the color of your hair radically, watch those roots! Nothing looks worse than an ash blonde with a rim of brown on her crown. If you decide to let your hair go back to its original color, use one of the tints that match to cover up the lighter shade until it all grows out. See pages 146 to 151, if you've forgotten some of the highlights of highlighting your hair.

When taking care of your hair has become a habit, you'll find it goes fast—you'll be able to set it in a jiffy when you have practiced enough and use the right equipment. And what a pleasure to know that you always look your best from the tips of your toes to the crown of your Tip-Top hairdo.