Hazel the Good (for your skin) Witch

I didn’t use any sort of skin care routine when I was younger, I just washed my face in the shower (with shampoo generally) and if it was a non-shower day I splashed on plain water. I had fairly good facial skin when I was young and my non-skin care routine worked for me so I never bothered to do anything different.

As I got older I started using Ivory soap, oil of olay and rubbing alcohol as a skin care routine for my face. Yup, I used straight rubbing alcohol on my face!

When I moved over to the UK I found a pore cleanser product marketed under the name “Simple” and started using their whole line of products. I thought they were great and I would probably have continued to use them if they had been available in the US when I moved back. They actually started selling the Simple brand in the US about a year after I moved, but I felt the price was a bit too high and I was really happy with what I had subbed in for it.

I bought my first bottle of T.N. Dickinson’s witch hazel the week I moved back to California and I’ve used no other astringent ever since. I pretty much never get any pimples except that one that must visit monthly to add to the emotional and hormonal upheaval… but other than that my skin looks pretty good most of the time.

From what I understand, it is the tannins in witch hazel that help reduce swelling, repair broken skin, stop bleeding and fight the bacteria that causes acne. The other facial astringents/pore cleansers I have used in the past all contained witch hazel and a load of other useless crap that made it seem like it was worth spending more money on it.

I CBA to look up what useless crap is added to other products but I do know that witch hazel astringent is made from the liquid that is distilled from leaves and bark of the witch hazel plant (Hamamelis Virginiana) and that the brand I use is 100% natural… yeah they sell witch hazel at the Dollar Store, but T. N. Dickinson’s brand is the only one I buy… it’s only a few $$ for a huge bottle anyway.

I’m not saying that witch hazel is for you or that you should use it or that it will clear up all your skin problems if you do use it. I’m just saying that it works really well for me and I don’t feel the need to use any fancy facial astringents or pore cleansers.