When it comes to improving your skin health, there is a lot to learn. It helps to first understand your own type of skin, what might be plaguing it, and any skin conditions you have. This is often where many people go wrong, because they are buying expensive skin care products meant for oily skin, when they have dry skin.
The next thing you should do if you want beautiful, flawless skin is to think about the types of products you use on your skin. While there are many store-bought products that can do wonderful things, many people have sensitive skin to fragrances and other additives, so these might not be the best option for you.
There are a wide range of natural skin care products you can try using instead, from tea tree oil to homemade moisturizers, and yes – witch hazel! This is definitely one of the most popular ‘natural’ skin care products out there. It is inexpensive, easy to find, and has so many uses.
What is Witch Hazel?
So, what exactly is witch hazel? You might have seen bottles of a clear liquid at your local drug store or health food store, but weren’t entirely sure what it was or how it got to that point, so here’s a brief summary:
Witch hazel is a type of herb that typically grows in North America. It was originally used by Native Americans as a natural medicinal herb, like many other herbs that are still used today.
The witch hazel plant is turned into a topical astringent, using both the leaves and barks from this healing plant. You can also take the parts of the plant and boil them in order to reduce inflammation in the skin and use for many other skin ailments.
There are a few different uses for witch hazel, as you will learn below, but it is most often used as a toner and face rinse. There are so many natural healing qualities to witch hazel, that it might become your favorite new product in your own home apothecary.
Benefits of Using Witch Hazel on Your Skin
The next most common question about using witch hazel on the skin has to do with why it is so effective. As you know, witch hazel is a powerful medicinal herb, but why exactly is it so healing for the skin?
This is primarily due to the tannins and polyphenols found in the herb. These are extracted from the bark and twigs of the plant when making a witch hazel astringent or topical product. Once the tannins are extracted from the herb, they are added to water or alcohol.
When added to alcohol, that is when the witch hazel becomes an astringent, often used as a toner for the face. But that’s not all.
The natural properties of witch hazel are also anti-inflammatory, so they work great on sun damage, wrinkles, scars, and so much more as you will learn in the next section. The tannins will help to remove excess oils from the skin, while the witch hazel also works as a natural antibacterial medicine for the skin.
Different Uses for Witch Hazel
Now for what you really want to know – how you can use witch hazel. Here are some of the top ways that you can improve your skin with witch hazel, but keep in mind there are many more options. This stuff truly is a skin miracle.
Astringent
Naturally, using it as a natural astringent comes first, since this is one of the top ways people will use witch hazel for their skin. When using it as an astringent, make sure you get an alcohol-free version. Most witch hazel products are going to be water-based, but you should still check to be sure. Otherwise, it will work more like a toner.
When you rinse your face like an astringent with the witch hazel, you help to remove excess oil from your skin while cleaning out your pores, which is going to help reduce them over time. You can also remove other makeup or buildup left on your face after your typical makeup removing technique.
Improve Your Acne
As you might have guessed, witch hazel is great at treating your acne in a more natural way. To start with, cleaning out your pores by rinsing your face with witch hazel is going to reduce those pores, which right away starts improving the appearance of acne. But that’s not the only benefit for your complexion.
Witch hazel also has some other benefits for your face acne. To start with, it is going to work as a natural anti-inflammatory, which reduces puffiness, pimples, and redness of the face. It is also a natural anti-bacterial, so no longer will you have bacteria on your face clogging your pores over and over again.
If you have old acne scars, the witch hazel can help reduce the appearance of the scars as well. Another benefit is that since witch hazel is natural, it is much better for sensitive skin that might breakout from other types of skincare products.
Helps Dry Skin
If you are a sufferer of dry skin, you know how frustrating it can be. Dry skin not only causes dry flakes and makes it hard to put on other products over it, but it can lead to itching and pain of the face or neck. A good addition to your dry skincare regimen is to use witch hazel on your face.
Many of your other skincare products and cosmetics are likely drying out your skin even more, without you realizing it. Try rinsing your face each day with witch hazel to get a little natural hydration to your skin, which can really make a dramatic difference.
Reduces Stretch Marks
Yes, you can reduce your stretch marks naturally! One thing to keep in mind is that stretch marks are never going to go away completely, but you can reduce the appearance of them. Alongside other natural remedies for reducing stretch marks, including vitamin E oil and certain essential oils, witch hazel can also be a great help for this.
Get yourself a bottle of witch hazel extract that is water-based, meaning it doesn’t have any alcohol in it. You then just want to start spraying your stretch marks on a daily basis – or multiple times a day. You should notice a difference within a few months.
Another option is to try dry brushing first before getting in the shower, then use your witch hazel, then jump in the shower.
Minimize Puffy Eyes
Are you someone that is plagued with puffy eyes? If so, you might find it hard to keep it under control. Puffy eyes can come from a few different sources, including being tired, stress, too much time out in the sun, and just the natural aging process.
Witch hazel provides an excellent natural remedy for reducing those puffy eyes and dark circles under your eyes. Just dab a little bit of the witch hazel liquid to your under eye are with cotton balls once or twice a day.
Hide Bruises and Skin Spots
Getting a bruise on your face or neck from a previous accident is unfortunate, especially when it is difficult to cover up with makeup. If you have a bruise or other blemish on your face, you might be able to reduce and fade it more quickly with witch hazel. Again, use a cosmetic pad or cotton ball to apply witch hazel to these areas. It will reduce
irritation, redness, and help them heal faster.
Natural Anti-Aging Benefits
Who doesn’t want to look younger for longer? Anti-aging is not meant to take 20 years off your appearance, but just help you to gradually age more casually. You can do more healthy aging just by minimizing some unhealthy habits, like being out in the sun for too long and following a healthy diet, as well as using natural products like witch hazel on your skin.
Witch hazel will help with aging in the following ways:
- Reducing the signs of wrinkles and lines
- Helping with sun exposure
- Providing your skin with antioxidants
- Tightening your skin
- Reducing redness and puffiness
- Relieve itching
Another great benefit of witch hazel for your skin is to relieve itching. This is not only for comfort reasons, but for aesthetic reasons as well. When you have skin that is itching a lot, you tend to scratch it, which can lead to scars that are a lot harder to hide. Relieve the itching before it gets to this point by applying some witch hazel on irritated areas.
Use as Natural Bug Bite Treatment
Next up is using witch hazel for bug bites, which is also partly due to how witch hazel can relieve itching. In addition to that, your skin gets irritated, red, and inflamed from bug bites. The witch hazel is a miracle for bug bites in that it helps with all of this at one time.
Protect Your Lips and Gums
You can also use witch hazel on your lips! If you want to protect your lips from sunburn or you have a little blister on your lip or inside your cheek, you can dab a little witch hazel on them. This reduces the pain or inflammation, and helps it to heal a little faster. You might want to combine it with another oil for taste purposes if you are using it inside your mouth.
Tips for Buying Witch Hazel
Now that you know all the many ways you can use witch hazel and the benefits, it is time to discuss actually purchasing this natural remedy for your skin. There are a variety of places that sell it, but there are also some things you should keep in mind. Here are some tips for buying witch hazel to make sure you have the right thing.
Where to Buy Witch Hazel
The good news is that you probably won’t have much trouble finding witch hazel, as long as you read the label and make sure it is genuine and doesn’t have anything added to it. To start your search, here are some good places:
- Drug stores and pharmacies
- Regular grocery stores
- Health food stores
- Online
If you’re having trouble finding it, ask the pharmacist or check the first aid section. It is often found next to other first aid products like antibacterial soaps and rubbing alcohol.
What to Look For
Pay close attention to the ingredients and label of the witch hazel you are purchasing. First of all, you need to see if it has alcohol or not. Some witch hazel is alcohol-based and some of it is water-based. This does make a difference depending on where you are using it and for what purpose.
Also look at the ingredients to see if anything odd is added to it. You might be allergic to some of these, which is why it is so important.
