Witch Hazel - benefits or is it necessary?

What are the benefits of using witch hazel on your face after shaving? Doesn't the aftershaves usually have an astringent effect to close the pores? Benefits, pluses or minuses?

 

Witch Hazel is an astringent. I use Thayers which is more expensive than the generic store brands but is alcohol free. No burn Thayers also contains Aloe which is soothing for razor burn. I add a teaspoon of pure glycerin to the bottle and it makes a great A/S I use both the Un-scented and the Lavender. They also make a Rose scented.

 

where do you get pure glycerin?

 

Most drug stores have it. You can often find it by the skin care/anti-itch goo. Usually a clear gel in a clear bottle.

 

I live in Montreal, and I wanted to buy witch hazel to send to someone in Europe, but I could not find it.

 

That is a good question. I was about to ask the same thing. I found some witch hazel and I was thinking of putting the glycerin in and some scent to give the witch hazel a finer nose instead of the training room smell. :sick007 Would that work, I donno????

 

I've made very good AS using this formula:

3 parts Witch Hazel
2 parts Glycerine or Rosewater & Glycerine
9 drops of essential oil (more or less depending on preference).

I have been using a Sandalwood AS I made for about a year. It doesn't break down but you do have to shake the bottle to mix it before applying.

It also has a good staying power if you like your AS scent to last all day.

 

Use it for a while. I think you'll find that the smell in the bottle and even the smell when initially applied goes away really fast. While definitely not a really offensive smell, I wouldn't want to smell that way all day. The good thing is that the smell literally has a lifespan of about 20 seconds so it's not something you have to scramble to cover up. Just my $.02

 

I love witch hazel. It's the magic stuff that keeps any razor burn I happen to get completely in check and it makes my skin feel smooth and happy. Great stuff!

 

FYI, the Whole Foods Market nearest me sells Thayer's Witch Hazel in the skin care section. I bought the Rose in the red bottle, they also sell whatever scent is in the yellow bottle.

 

I have Thayer's with a yellow label. It is lemon scented. I like it very much but the scent doesn't last.

 

Thanks a lot for the formula to make the AS/Splash. I bought some T.N. Dickinson's Witch Hazel at the Savon Pharmacy (unscented) (I didn't know they had scented WH and when I saw the TND I bought it. I didn't realize it would smell that bad!):sick007 It sounds like the smell goes away really quick from the comments of 1oldGI et al so that's reassuring. I'm interested in making up some AS like you did. I thought of mixing some glycerine and some really strong AS into the WH because I don't know where I could find the scents (maybe a scented candle shop????? I'll have to give that a try.) :signs002 At any rate thanks to all for the help and suggestions:bounce015

 

I'm a witch hazel aficionado, also, and have made it a part of my A/S routine. To me, the smell of witch hazel starts out with a smoky note, but then drifts into what I can best describe as the smell of a poorly maintained public rest room. The smell may last only 20 seconds, but it is an annoyance. To alleviate this little drawback to witch hazel, I added some cheap drugstore aftershave lotion. I added it little by little until I had blocked the unpleasant aroma without imparting much of the A/S lotion aroma. It is much more pleasant now, but has slightly more alcohol from the A/S lotion. I think adding glycerin and essential oils would give one an inexpensive Thayer's type of WH. I may try the that next time I need to "doctor" a bottle of WH, which will be soon.

By the way, WalMart and most of the chain drugstores carry their house brand of WH at much less cost than Dickinson's and, especially, Thayers. I'm almost finished with a bottle of Dickinson's, but have already purchased the generic stuff to make my own wonder elixir.

-Vance

 

Thanks Queen, I saw on another post that I needed to use ESSENTIAL Oils which I take is different that the candle scents. I think there are some whole food stores or such here as well that I can try. I also want to get some gylcerine at the drug store (I guess). I used the Witch Hazel this morning after my shave and the smell went away pretty quick. I really don't think it's that bad straight but I still want to doctor it up with some scent and glycerine. I'll see what I can find.

 

My local drug store sells essential oils in the cosmetic section. I have also seen it in card shops so they must be pretty widely available. I bought mine at a local upscale grocery. You might ask some lady friends if they know. I know women who use essential oil as a perfume.

 

Good idea. Thanks Dex!

 

I mixed some Pinaud Clubman with Dickinson Witch Hazel, about
5 parts WH to 1 part Clubman. Tones down the Clubman and gets rid of the WH smell. The scent still lasts most of the day but not as over powering as full strength Pinaud.

 

I use Dickensons. I usually add a small splash of AV of whatever AS I feel like in the palm of my hand. I then add the witch hazel on top of that,and splash this mixture on. This way I'm not stuck with a whole bottle of whatever scent I would have mixed up. I have allergies, and this helps tone down the scent.

 

I used to use dickinson's and it was ok but I'm trying an alum block now. The alum is astringent, antiseptic, stops minor bleeding and contains no alcohol. On the other hand the witch hazel can stay on the skin while the alum should be rinsed off after one minute or so. On balance I think the alum leaves my skin feeling better than the witch hazel.
But I like the idea of making up my own aftershave using witch hazel, glycerin, and essential oils. I think I'm going to give that a try.