May Day dew: a green way to hit the spot?
It's May Day. The dew today, so old wives say, has magical pimple-banishing properties and anyone who bathes their face in it will have a flawless complexion for the rest of the year.
Of course, the medieval maiden's only form of spot control (a damp hawthorn tree - the best place to gather your dew, apparently) probably didn't work the wonders that, say, a dab of benzoyl peroxide, might have achieved. But looking good back then was a damn sight cheaper - and greener - than it is today.
According to a Mintel report published this month, Britain now spends £7.8bn on zit creams and other grooming products every year - emitting something in the realm of 3m tonnes of CO2 in the pursuit of perfection. (Calculated using Do The Green Thing's estimate that every pound spent in Britain emits at least 0.4 kg of CO2.)
The report, 'Consumer Choices in a Fear-led Economy' (which isn't available online), also found that we are buying more and more 'natural' beauty products. So, dew might just make a comeback yet. (Let's just hope calling women 'handsome' doesn't.)
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