I think I've found something cool. I have realized that I maybe waste too much witch hazel when applying it like a splash. I started wondering if someone made a gel. After a bit of searching I came up with a product called HazoGel. It does have a bit of alcohol in it but, I don't really mind. I ended up spending like $4 for a 5oz bottle. I had ordered some TOBS Mr Taylor balm/gel which is witch hazel and aloe. I was a bit worried about the strength of the scent so I mixed a bit of the HazoGel with it and it works well. The only draw back that I can find is that for the first 15min or so my face was sticky, but once it dried my skin is nice an smooth and the scent of the Mr Taylor is very mild.
I waste tons of WH when I use it, it feels so soothing and cool after a close shave. I use a small spray bottle to apply mine. It's so cheap I don't mind using too much. That is not a bad idea though.
Normal Witch Hazel is 14% alcohol, so the fact that there is alcohol in the gel, is nothing suprizing. I'd be wondering, though, that even if you are wasting WH splash through excessive use, you'd still be saving money in the long run. HazoGel: 5oz @ $4 = 80 cents/oz Witch Hazel 16oz @$1.50 = 9 cents per ounce Would you be using 10 times less of the gel as opposed to the liquid to make up the difference? Doubtful.
I'm also pretty liberal with the witch hazel. It looks like the Hazogel was a nice solution to tone down your TOBS balm. I'm not comfortable with the company though. Hazogel's label feels deceptive. The ingredient list innocuously describes the gel-forming agent as a resin & doesn't indicate that Unapol is actually a trademarked name for a complex compound in category of "Paint Products, Fuel & lubricants..." I'm not web & trademark savvy enough to find out what the compound contains. It may be totally benign, but I'm not cool with how Hazogel's being marketed as "Nature's gel" etc. Usually trademarked chemicals are written with a small superscript. Capitalizing "Unopol," but omitting the TM on the packaging is misleading because many people will assume that it's just the scientific name for the "resin," particularly in light of all the "natural" propaganda.
@ohpaos, I was kind of wondering the same thing. It was worth a try however. I am only using about a "bean" sized amount of this where I was probably using a couple to 3 or 4 tablespoons of the Thayer's. So, @thevez2, what Witch Hazel do you use with Alcohol in it? I was using Thayer's which everybody here recommends and it doesn't have alcohol. I like the little cooling feeling I get while the alcohol dries and it keeps my skin from getting as oily this time of year... I wonder if there is some way to take a more well known Witch Hazel and make it into a "user friendly" gel? I really dig the ease of use with it not running all over the place but, the spray bottle that @FacialCarnage uses is a good idea. I just wonder with a face wet with WH how easy it would be to apply the TOBS' gel like aftershave?
My face is literally soaking wet after I apply it. I'll let it kind of drip dry while I clean up the area and then any left I'll dab dry with my towel. Then I'll apply my aftersahve of choice, which is usually GFT skin food or Lucky Tiger...lately I have been using TSD Milk ASB 'Vanilla Burbon' mixed half with 'Lemon Cedar'. I ordered a package for my brother for his birthday with a ton of awesome TSD samples.
Normal witch hazel has alcohol in it. You have to go out of your way to find one that doesn't. That said I just use plain old generic witch hazel pfrom the pharmacy section of walmart. It's super cheap. I use whatever fits in the palm of my hand, (roughly 1-2 tsp) then splash that on my face. It is more than enough.
I abandoned this gel for now. I'm using a spray bottle like @Facial Carnage is and it works a bit better. After finding out a bit more about the binder I'm a bit leary...
I guess I had a bad spelling moment. oops! Oh, and I hadn't noticed too much before but, the blonde on my avatar is pretty cute... Hmm, my first vintage shaving crush...
