Ingredient Hall of Fame: Witch Hazel
For centuries, witch hazel has been known for its soothing and cleansing properties, but right now, one of our Web editors is going completely nuts over the stuff. While searching for an alternative to her over-drying cleanser, she tried a witch hazel-infused one, and it did the trick, degreasing her skin, without drying or stripping it.
"Witch hazel is a natural astringent," says Kenneth Beer, a cosmetic dermatologist in West Palm Beach. "It removes surface debris and oil, and has a long history of safety and efficacy." Hmm. No wonder why it's in tons of popular face cleansers, treatments, and atomizers. Here are a few of my favorites:
Decleor Gel Demaquillante. Witch hazel is refreshing by nature, and this gel cleanser pairs it with mint. Zing!
Dr. Brandt Lineless Tone. Talk about soothing: Dr. B put witch hazel-along with calming chamomile and green tea-into a spray bottle. I'd keep this in the fridge for all of August.
Olay Daily Facials Lathering Cleansing Cloths - Clarifying for Combination/Oily Skin. There's a reason the girl on the box looks so happy: These single-use, nubby cleansing cloths use witch hazel extract (among other ingredients) to leave skin feeling so, so fresh.
Peter Thomas Roth Max Correction Complexion Pads. My former roommate was foolish enough to keep these blackhead-clearing pads in our communal medicine cabinet. (I "borrowed" one almost every day. Oops.)
Bottom line: Witch hazel is the Madonna of skincare ingredients-it takes many forms and has been around forever.
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