Your Daily Almanac for March 2, 2015

I enjoy researching the old ways of using what’s at hand for healing minor ills and meeting the needs of everyday life. But I’m also a fan of science and hard evidence, and sometimes science reveals that a tried-and-true solution to a common problem is ineffective—or worse, harmful.

Take cosmetics, for example. In centuries past, women (and many men) used lead, mercury, or arsenic compounds to lighten skin and conceal skin flaws. They also lightened their skin by eating chalk and iodine or using leeches to drain their blood. To remove unwanted body hair, they made a mixture of arsenic and caustic lime and applied it to their skin, often removing or blistering skin in the process. To dilate their pupils and thus make their eyes look larger, some women used tinctures of deadly nightshade. More than a few went blind as a result. People are still using many “natural” remedies that don’t work or could cause more harm than good. –Margaret Boyles

Here are a few of the many remedies from our March Monthly that Margaret Boyles suggests you think twice about before continuing to use at home!