Witch Hazel (4oz rose-colored glass dropper)

Foraged and made and infused by hand on our farm.

Witch hazel is an astringent with anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. 

It may help relieve inflammation and fight acne, reduce redness, soothe skin, manage hemorrhoids, alleviate rashes and stings, you may have even been sent home pads soaked in this wonder water for your perineal care, after having a baby, among numerous other uses!!

Well just sum this up by saying witch hazel is a plant with powerful medicinal properties that can be used in a variety of ways.

There are many species of witch hazel, but Hamamelis virginiana, a type of shrub native to North America is most commonly used in folk medicine in the US.

It can be cultivated or foraged towards the end of fall. But you can also support other farmers and wildcrafters and buy the plant from them as well.

 The leaves and bark are made into teas and extractions for astringents and ointments.

It can also be added to herbal teas and ingested orally in small amounts as a natural treatment for other conditions, as well!

Witch hazel isn’t hard to find, either. It can be found at most health food stores, and, really, it’s pretty common in everyday grocery stores and drug stores too. 

The problem is, the pre-packaged witch hazel extract available in stores has very little actual witch hazel inside.  

It’s almost all alcohol, which is also a disinfectant, but if you wanted a bottle of isopropyl alcohol you could easily buy it for 1/10th the price.

High-quality witch hazel extract is usually advertised as “low alcohol witch hazel,” which is much more expensive, but only has around 12-16% alcohol to preserve the fresh plant extract.  (It’s also much more expensive.)

But did you know witch hazel is so easy to make?! All you need is some witch hazel bark and leaves, some distilled water, and a splash of alcohol to make it shelf stable?

ingredients: witch hazel, distilled water, alcohol