Learning how to make witch hazel is simple and it gives you assurance of its purity. DIY witch hazel is a great base in many DIY solutions.
Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is one of my favorite local shrubs. It’s hard to decide whether I like it most for its unique leaves or its spectacular flowers. First, the yellow flowers bloom from September through November, most startlingly after the leaves have dropped in the fall. Further, yellow explosions of floral fireworks set off against the bare, dark grey of the smooth bark. Yes, it’s a sight to behold on the edge of the woods here in Ohio!
Witch hazel (WH) is one of the plants that we learned about from the Native Americans. Historically, they used a distillate of the plant for wounds and tumors among other things. Both the bark and the leaves are highly astringent, though the bark is most often used. It is harvested and dried in the early spring or late fall. WH is known to be helpful externally for bruising, sores, and swellings. It is just the thing in a liniment for varicose veins or hemorrhoids. When I gave birth at home I made myself a WH tincture to take internally in the case of heavy bleeding.
DIY Witch Hazel
You can find witch hazel, a bottled liquid, for use in all types of astringent products in any drugstore. The negative is that you will have to accept all the adulterants that come with it. If you make it yourself you’ll always know exactly what is in your own supply.
How to Make Witch Hazel Tonic
Ingredients
- ½ pound witch hazel bark (you can purchase witch hazel bark here)
- distilled water to cover 1-2 inches above bark
- vodka or pure grain alcohol
Directions
Add the first two ingredients to a stockpot on the stove. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and keep the stockpot covered until your tea is completely cooled. Strain and add half the total volume of tea in vodka or pure grain alcohol. (If you have 18 ounces of tea, add 9 ounces of alcohol.) If you prefer to leave out the alcohol to minimize any drying on very sensitive skin that is fine, but you will need to store your tonic in the refrigerator for up to a week. Otherwise, this tonic has a shelf life of 1-2 years. Store it in a cool place away from direct sunlight.
Using Your Witch Hazel Tonic
Once you’ve got your own supply of witch hazel you can use it as an ingredient in other products. Moreover, astringents are good at tightening pores and this can be applied to any kind of leaky or loose tissue condition. Therefore, I use this tonic as the base for our facial astringents. I love to teach my community how to make these with fresh, local ingredients or a simple combination of essential oils. These astringents act to close the pores in our skin after a gentle wash and prevent dirt and grime from building up.
Astringent Spritzer
Equipment
- 2 oz spritzer bottle
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Witch Hazel Tonic (from recipe above)
- distilled water (enough to fill the bottle)
- 8-10 drops essential oil
Directions
Pour the witch hazel into a small spritzer bottle and fill the rest of the way with distilled water. Add an essential oil or combination of essential oils. Store this spritzer in a cool dark place, or the refrigerator if you’d like. One of my favorite ways to relax before bed on a hot summer night is a lavender face astringent after washing my face.
Tip: you may also like this witch hazel toner recipe.
Don’t want to make your own witch hazel? DIY Natural recommends this brand that only contains witch hazel extract and grain alcohol.
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Carla says
Hi, I wanted to know if the alcohol recipe would work as astrigent for making bath bombs. Look forward to your answer. Great posts!
Thanks,
Carla
TRACY says
I would love to make my own…wonder if i could get a bush to grow here in saskatchewan canada…..if i could find one …do tell us more about the tincture that you took internally for bleeding.
Edna says
Where can I find witch hazel bark?
Matt Jabs says
You can find it here on the MRH website. Blessings.
Hanna says
Approximately how many ounces does this recipe make ?
Dawn says
The recipe is rather scaleable… you just want to make sure there is 1-2 inches of water over the amount of witch hazel bark you use. This particular recipe when all is said and done should make around a gallon of witch hazel. The facial toner is intended to go in a 2 ounce spritzer bottle.
Linda Dykes says
I do not drink nor do I like to use alcohol in recipes…could glycerine be substituted?
Dawn says
You could just leave the alcohol out. It won’t have the preservative value so you’ll need to make smaller batches more frequently but it will have the same benefit.
Shana says
Fantastic timing! I’m running low on witch hazel & wondered if it was something I could DIY!
Can you recommend a supplier for the Witch Hazel bark? I don’t think I’ve run across either the bush or the bark yet 🙂
Thank you for all of the wonderful information you share!
Dawn says
I like mountainroseherbs.com
Matt Jabs says
We agree with Dawn and recommend MRH for witch hazel bark, among many other things. Blessings.
Michele says
Perfect timing! I just bought a gallon of witch hazel and was wondering what all I would do with it. And now that I know how easy it is to make, I wish I had a plant. Thanks for the great info!