100 years ago: Horseradish, borax and boiling water advised for ‘tanned or freckled’ shoulders (and other beauty tips)

The Spokesman-Review’s Sunday magazine was full of health and beauty tips, including this: “If the shoulders have become tanned or freckled, they should be treated twice a day with some healing, whitening lotion.”

The paper advised a homemade lotion consisting of “an ounce of horseradish, two drams of borax and a pint of boiling water.”

Then there was the advice for a reader who said he suffered from “sour belching and gas,” caused by “grief and worry.”

The doctor suggested frequent bathing, preferably a “cold plunge.” He also suggested “a change of work or of environment,” and avoiding “excitement and excessive mental work.”

“Give your stomach a vacation by going on a buttermilk diet for a few days,”

Finally, he suggested a “nerve sedative,” consisting of bromide of strontium and essence of pepsin.

One woman wrote in to ask if 180 pounds was too much weight “for a woman of 20 who is nursing a baby nine months old?”

The answer was: “That depends on your height.” However, the doctor said that she would have to be over six feet tall for 180 pounds to be a proper weight. He suggested cutting back on bread, pastry, cake and crackers.