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Do you want to get rid of freckles
instantly? Then follow what the Irish recommend: anoint your
face with the blood of a bull or hare and your problems are over!
Too hard for you? Check out this
preventive measure from Filipinos: don’t eat barbecue or
any fried foods on Good Friday so you won’t have freckles.
While doctors say that freckles
are harmless and don’t signify a health problem, a lot of
people don’t want them. That’s understandable since
these pigment cells can make you look ugly and old. Perhaps that’s
the reason why our forefathers tried desperately to eliminate
them. No wonder they came up with these silly superstitious beliefs
about freckles – some of which survive to this day.
The Encyclopedia of Superstitions,
Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World published in 1903
offers a fascinating glimpse into early man’s obsession
with freckles and his desire to remove them. It says that freckles
around the eyes means you’ll drown to death! |
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To lift this curse (and remove
freckles), the author provides several options. You can wash
in the dew before sunrise on the first of May. If you just read
this now and realized it’s already September, go to a graveyard
and wash your face in any urn you find there. The third option
is a variation of the first – wash with dew from wheat before
sunrise.
If wheat is a problem,
young lilies of the valley gathered before sunrise will work
just as well. Rub them on your face to take away freckles. An
easier way is to count your freckles, wrap the same number of
pebbles in a piece of paper, and throw it away. Whoever picks
up that paper will inherit your freckles!
The last advice is reincarnated in The All New
Book of Lists for Kids by Sandra and Harry Choron. An old folk
cure suggests rubbing your freckles with a penny and throwing
it away. The poor soul who finds the penny will get your freckles!
Or mix buttermilk with lemon juice and apply this to your face
together with a live frog!
Ovid,
the most widely read Roman poet, recommended the Pharian wash
for freckles. This exotic scrub was made of crocodile entrails
and was guaranteed to whiten the skin. The Germans, on the other
hand, believed that rainwater found on tombstones is a great
freckle fighter.
In Superstitions:
10,000 You Really Need edited by William Carroll, children are
warned not to pop the seedpods of the maple tree into each other’s
faces or they will soon develop freckles. March snow water or
lemon juice is said to be a good freckle remover. If you can
stomach it, a more effective cure is washing your face with your
own urine or smearing it with cow manure. A baby’s wet diaper
will also do.
Luckily, we
are light years away from our forefathers when it comes to fighting
freckles. Today, we have a variety of anti-freckle creams that
are safe and effective. Most of these products are easy to use
and can lighten freckles over a period of time. A popular choice
is Lumnaderm, a whitening cream that eliminates freckles, unsightly
age spots, sun spots, blemishes and hyperpigmentation. When used
as directed, Lumnaderm will balance uneven skin tones and illuminate
your skin. For more information, visit http://www.lumnaderm.com. |
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