Witch Hazel: Nature’s Magic Potion
It doesn't have anything to do with witches, but inexpensive witch hazel has amazing healing properties that feel like magic! See its many uses.
Walk into your local drugstore some time and take a look around. On every shelf you’ll find chemical remedies for just about every imaginable ailment, all developed by pharmaceutical companies who invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the name of making massive profits. It may seem hard to believe, then, that one of the most effective remedies in the drugstore sells for only a few dollars. It’s called witch hazel. And it has nothing to do with witches!
What Is Witch Hazel?
Witch hazel has existed in its commercial form for about 150 years but has been in use for much longer. It looks unassuming in its clear plastic bottle like it could be just plain water. Actually, though, it’s an extract produced from the leaves and bark of witch-hazel plants, Hamamelis virginiana—one of three species of deciduous flowering shrubs found in North America, both in the wild and as ornamental garden shrubs. The plant features shiny, green oval leaves ranging in length from just under two inches to just over six and arranged alternately along the branches. Yellow or orange flowers appear on the plant in the fall or winter, depending on the species. It occurs naturally throughout the eastern half of the United States and Canada.
What’s In A Name?
Though witch hazel’s healing powers are pretty magical, the word “witch” in its name actually has nothing to do with witches. Rather, it comes from the Old English word wiche, which meant “pliant” or “bendable.” The term had been used in the names of several plant species in Europe for hundreds of years before it was applied to the genus Hamamelis in North America. Other popular names for witch hazel include “snapping hazel” and “winterbloom.”
Medicinal Properties of Witch Hazel
Its medicinal properties were well known to Native Americans, who used it for a variety of purposes, including to treat swelling, inflammation, tumors, and other skin ailments. Puritan colonists got wind of the plant’s potential almost as soon as they arrived in North America, and began making their own extracts. By the mid-19th Century, companies had begun to produce extracts of the plant for commercial sale.
By now you’re probably thinking, “All that is well and good, but what does witch hazel actually do?” Here is a list of 10 topical uses and why you should keep a bottle of witch hazel in your medicine cabinet:
Uses For Witch Hazel
- Soothes razor burn. Because of its natural astringent properties, witch hazel is popularly used by both men and women as a soothing post-shave treatment. Just wet hands with witch hazel, rub together, and tap on affected skin like aftershave.
- Provides hemorrhoid relief. Witch hazel is effective at easing the itching, swelling, and pain of hemorrhoids. Just apply to affected areas with a cotton pad to get relief.
- Treats skin irritations. Because of its drying and anti-itch properties, witch hazel can be used to soothe irritated skin caused by poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.
- Heals bruises. Witch hazel can help fade discoloration and speed up the healing process of bruises. Just apply to bruises with a cotton ball.
- Treats acne. Witch hazel’s astringent properties help remove impurities from pores and keep skin clear. Apply after cleansing.
- Soothes and heals eczema. Applying witch hazel to affected areas helps to treat the skin condition.
- Treats varicose veins. Soak a soft cloth in witch hazel and lay over varicose veins to temporarily reduce swelling and pain.
- Provides post-natal relief to new mothers. Dab affected areas with witch hazel to reduce swelling and fight bacteria.
- Cools sunburn and soothes windburn. Witch hazel combined with aloe can soothe painful sunburn. The anti-inflammatory powers aid in healing sunburned and windburned skin. Just apply to affected areas with a cotton ball in a gentle dabbing motion.
- Treats bug bites. Applying witch hazel with a cotton pad to insect bites helps reduce swelling, sting, and itch.
Because of its healing properties, you’ll find witch hazel extract as an active ingredient in many over-the-counter applications, including acne preparations, hemorrhoid creams, aftershave lotions, treatments for poison ivy, and insect bites, and even eye drops.
Witch hazel extract can be easily made at home if you have access to the plant. You just have to boil about a pound of the twigs in two gallons of water. Because witch-hazel is so inexpensive and easy to get, though, most people don’t bother.
Freelancer Jamie McLeod contributed to research and information for this story.
This article was published by the staff at Farmers' Almanac. Do you have a question or an idea for an article? Contact us!
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
Witch Hazel is excellent for jellyfish stings, after 20 years on the Chesapeake, it was indispensable. Also took to beach just in case.
I use witch hazel every morning and every night before my moisturizers! Been using it for years….(70 yrs old). Great stuff.
Is anyone using the bottled kind? What I’ve seen at pharmacy/store is usually sold as an astringent and is a low percentage Witch Hazel and water, I think.
Our veterinarian recommended witch hazel as a simple and inexpensive cleaner, with cotton balls, for dog’s ears.
I buy the alcohol free witch hazel at the health food store. Although it is more expensive it doesn’t burn when applied to raw skin.
Can witch hazel help with toenail fungus? I don’t want to take prescription medications.
Hi Gerri, no, unfortunately. You could try tea tree oil, which has anti-fungal properties but you have to mix it with a carrier oil like coconut oil. We also found these natural remedies you could try, but please check with your doctor first: https://www.healthline.com/health/home-remedies-for-toenail-fungus#oregano-oil
have you tried soaking your feet in vinegar?
Vick’s vaper rub.
make sure to put on bandage,so it doesn’t run off.apply a couple days a week. Hope this works for you
Witch Hazel is wonderful natural product. My family are Vermonters and it grows readily
throughout the woods, I learned from my grandparents all the wonderful uses of witch hazel. 1.wash your face to help with acne, ( young or old) makes for a beautiful complection,( never had acne as a teen!),helps with heat rash,all rashes really , good on dogs hot spot, and now that I am I the south, works great on fire ant bites, try it folks, just cause it’s cheap and not a perscription doesn’t mean it won’t work! Go for it ! No side effects !
I got in fireants over the weekend, poured witch hazel on the bites and no more pain!
I use bleach or ammonia on fresh ant bites. Just stand in the yard or dap it on, it helps the itch and pretty much no pus marks from the ant bites.
Ester, those really aren’t safe to use on skin. Better to switch to the witch!
Splashed on your face ice-cold, it’s a great after-shave lotion. Just store the bottle in the refrigerator.
GREAT tip!
A First Class article, thank you.
As I shall be 88 in six weeks time… do you think if I stood in bowl of Witch Hazel, this pain in my left hip, might just ease for a while?
NEF
Try Magnesium oil. It feels weird and kind of dry at first, not greasy, but it works wonders for my knees!
Magnesium oil for arthritis in your knees?
my friend is having iron treatments with an IV medication and some lesions have been popping up on her scalp. her hair is already fragile. can she dab some of it on those to dry up the lesions?
Hi Renae Randall, it’s best if you check with her doctor first.