I've always been interested in minimal skincare routines and natural remedies. I read about the caveman regimen but that's a bit extreme for me. I need a real cleansing on a daily basis or I think I'd feel gross. But the theory of letting the skin naturally heal itself kinda makes sense. Especially when we continually pile on different products yet still suffer from breakouts.
I just started using Witch Hazel again as a toner and it makes my skin feel very nice. I was researching and found that some people just use Witch Hazel and nothing else and have wonderful skin. I don't know if they ever had acne problems though like those of us here though.
I'm thinking about ditching my cleanser and moisturizer for a few weeks and just use witch hazel morning and night before bed. Has anyone ever tried this or something similar?
i think it would dry the crap out of your face. Unless your skin is really oily and you can tolerate it. I think you'd have to at least moisturize once a day.
I played around with the water only regimen and it was a complete mistake. I tried adding witch hazel in but it dried me out too much. now i just use it to clean after i pop a zit.
I've recently rediscovered Witch Hazel and have been using it somewhat differently during the past 3 weeks. I use it as a cleanser. I apply it, leave on for a minute or two, then rinse. Sometimes I will do it a second time if my skin is extra oily. What I've noticed is that it makes my skin feel really clean yet not stripped. I was pleasantly surprised. My son is also trying this out on more acne prone skin than I have and so far so good. We are using the Dickinson's Brand in the blue bottle. If this contines to work I will be thrilled becasue my teenage son is not into complex skin care routines. I found that it's very convenient while travelling too!
Thanks for the input! I've been using witch hazel ONLY for the last couple days and I can tell it's drying out some spots that I have. The skin around the spots is kinda flakey. The rest of my face looks good. It's a matte finish, though not dried out like a desert. At least not yet. It's nice to just swab down and go. I'll update again after I give my skin more time to adjust.
Thanks for the input! I've been using witch hazel ONLY for the last couple days and I can tell it's drying out some spots that I have. The skin around the spots is kinda flakey. The rest of my face looks good. It's a matte finish, though not dried out like a desert. At least not yet. It's nice to just swab down and go. I'll update again after I give my skin more time to adjust.
Dickinson's has expanded their line with yellow-labeled "skin care" products with gentler formulas. The blue-labeled bottle that I have is considered one of their "first aid" products. Thayer's also has a line of gentler skin care formulas. I guess I'll just stick with what I'm using now to keep it simple. I'lll update in a while too.
I use witch hazel after I pop a pimple as well. It does a great job at scabbing it up and reduces redness and possibly reduces the chances of a prolonged red mark. I use to use it as a daily toner, but I can't do that anymore. If your skin is uber sensitive, it may be too much for you.
I'm now using Clean & Clear Sensitive Skin Foaming Cleanser (aka Purpose), followed by a cotton pad soaked in Witch Hazel. I do this morning and night. I'm not using a moisturizer at this time. My results are very good so far! My face feels clean, balanced, but not over dry. The Witch Hazel feels nice soaking into my skin, almost moisturizing. I love that it's all natural and supposed to be healthy for the skin.
Before starting I had about 4 small active zits on my right cheek. This regimen dried them up and they flaked away without a trace, all in about a few days. I can also tell that overall my face is a lot calmer and even toned. The redness in my cheeks has improved a lot just in the past few days.
I'm going to stick to this regimen as long as I can. Trying to treat my skin as gently as possible while still fighting acne, so I'm betting on witch hazel right now. I'll update again in the future but so far so good!
The witch hazel I'm using contains 14% natural grain alcohol. I'm watching for any negative effects from putting this alcohol on my face, but so far my skin is handling it well. I never feel totally dried out, cracked or unable to smile like some other products have done to my face in the past. I know the alcohol helps cut down acne bacteria in the skin so that's one benefit. I think the witch hazel though is the dominant ingredient and does a great job conditioning the skin to a normal matte finish.
In case anyone is interested, here's a link to American Distilling in Connecticut where Witch Hazel is distilled: http://www.whazel.com/
this regimen is quite drying... make sure to use a moisturizer....
Yeah my face got too dry without any moisturizer.. My face was feeling uncomfortably tight and a couple random whiteheads cropped up here and there. So I started using my old cleanser and moisturizer again. I'll still stick with the witch hazel though to see if it improves my skin over the long run.
Trying this again. I got fed up with putting so much chemical crap on my face day & night, so I've been doing this simple regimen for almost 2 weeks now.
Wash my face, then splash witch hazel all over my face with my bare hands. I shave everyday so this doubles as an aftershave for me as well.
My face looks alot more "matte" throughout the day compared to when I was using a moisturizer. I was dry and a bit flakey around my mouth for the first week but that's gone away. I've also noticed stray whiteheads here and there but they go away in a couple days with no problem. I'm hoping that it's just cleaning out my pores.
I'll update again in a couple more weeks. I'm really making myself stick to this cause I want a natural acne treatment I can use for life.
My son still uses the witch hazel as his main cleanser. First a warm water wash with a reusable Bamboo towel (found in the cleaning section of health food stores...love those!) then he applies the witch hazel with some aloe mixed in. He does need a salicylic acid treatment once or twice a week to treat blackheads though.
I've been using a witch hazel regime only for over a month now and I've noticed several super positive changes in my skin. I'm far less dry, less prone to breakouts, and less red. I think my skin coloring is way more even (and healthy glowy looking). I've even had people who didn't know I'd changed my skin care regime at all comment on my skin's improved appearance and ask me what I was doing.
I think the key is to find a witch hazel that is alcohol-free. The alcohol, I think, contributes to that skin-burned feeling and definitely causes the dry out and acts more like an astringent than a toner. I use Thayer's witch hazel with rose petal water toner. A friend of mine had been using it for months before she mentioned it to me and now, having used it for some time, I can see why she loves it. I'll be going back for their Cucumber version this weekend. Oh, and they also contain Vitamin E.