Witch Hazel Uses

Witch hazel is an ornamental shrub or small tree that bears bright yellow blooms in winter season, when other flowers are hardly present in the garden. This plant not only yields breathtaking fragrant blooms, but it is used in herbal medicine for treating several health conditions. The effectiveness of witch hazel for treating skin symptoms has been known since a long time by now. In fact, the oldest skin care product commercially sold in the United States was based on witch hazel. With this brief introduction, let's delve more on witch hazel uses and benefits.

Uses of Witch Hazel

Witch hazel uses are many and varied, while this plant is specifically known for its therapeutic benefits on skin and hair care. All parts of the shrub or tree are useful, including the leaves, bark, flowers and twigs. The curative effect of this plant is credited to the presence of catechol tannin, a phenolic derivative. Witch hazel extract is a clear solution sold as over the counter liquid in pharmacy stores. Listed below are some of the profound witch hazel uses that you may prefer to know about this wonderful plant:

Witch Hazel for Skin
Witch hazel benefits for skin in many ways. Be it the unsightly acne, itchy poison ivy rash, diaper rash or painful chickenpox blisters, witch hazel is the ultimate remedy. You can use a cotton ball dipped in witch hazel water over the affected skin areas to quicken the healing time. Using it in the same way helps combat the discomfort symptoms of sunburn and windburn.

Witch Hazel for Tired Eyes
Another witch hazel usage is for refreshing tired eyes. This also includes getting rid of bags under eyes. Never indulge in putting witch hazel directly over the eyes. What you can do is soak a clean rag in cold witch hazel water and place it over closed eyes for about 5 minutes. Repeating it twice daily will cure redness, puffiness and swelling of the eyes caused due to eye stress.

Witch Hazel for Hair
There are a plethora of hair care products that contain witch hazel as one of the ingredient components. To mention a few, you may come across hair toner, hair oil and anti dandruff shampoos that contain witch hazel. A common non medicinal usage of this plant extract is to set hair while perming or curling. In short, you can apply witch hazel solution instead of hair holding sprays.

Witch Hazel for Hemorrhoids
Witch hazel usage in terms of alleviating hemorrhoids is worth mentioning. Indeed, it is known as one of the most effectual home remedies for treating annoying hemorrhoid symptoms, including bleeding, swelling and at times, infections. When used with glycerin and other skin formulations, witch hazel has shown positive responses in shrinking external hemorrhoids.

Witch Hazel for Pregnant Women
It is effectual to treat varicose veins during pregnancy. The astringent property of witch hazel helps constrict the blood vessels, thus reducing swelling, pain and discomfort symptoms. Nevertheless, as with any herbal remedy, some women may be oversensitive to witch hazel water. Hence, it is always safer to take advice from the concerned physician before using witch hazel extract or other products.

Other Witch Hazel Uses
Besides the above mentioned points, witch hazel is beneficial to reduce muscle aches, swelling and inflammatory responses. Adding few drops of witch hazel in mouth rinsing or gargling soothes soreness in the mouth, gums and throat. Other therapeutic uses of witch hazel include stopping minor bleeding, and treating infections, diarrhea, dry mouth and mucous colitis.

So, this was all about witch hazel uses and health benefits. For safety purpose, internal use of witch hazel is strictly not recommended. The fragrance of this plant is also shown to be repulsive with mosquitoes and household pests. With this brief information on uses of witch hazel, I hope you will agree that this tree is not only a garden delight for hobbyists, but it is a powerful plant with therapeutic properties.