Beauty Charms
By Eliza Yetter, © 2004.

Ground Rosemary

“Of rosmayr she took six pounde,
And ground it well into a stownde.”
[from Folklore of Women by T.F. Thiselton-Dyer. 1906.]

To remove the signs of old age, women would bathe in ground rosemary three times a day. This herbal bath was believed to wash away wrinkles and restore youth.

Disclout

One folk-rhyme gives the time-honored advice of washing with a washcloth to maintain one’s beauty and health:

“Those who wish to be fair and stout,
Must wash their faces with the disclout;
Those who wish to be wrinkled and grey,
Must keep the disclout far away.”
[Folklore of Women.]

Beauty Baths

Mary, Queen of Scots, would bathe in wine to enhance her beauty. The common people, on the other hand, bathed in milk to soften their skin and to give it a whitened appearance.

May First

A very popular folk-rhyme states that:

“The fair maid who, the first of May,
Goes to the fields at break of day,
And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree,
Will ever after handsome be.”

This beauty charm continues to be practiced today. A handkerchief is hung overnight on a hawthorn tree or rose bush, and on the morning of May 1st the dew-damp handkerchief is used to wipe the face and body.