Witch Hazel: You’re New Best Friend

For those of us not blessed with flawless skin, witch hazel is your new savior. Comparable to a toner or acne astringent, you use it as the second step in your skin care routine, and depending on your skin it can be used morning and night. In relation to acne, it’s best used by those who have oily or oily/combination skin.

Before buying any face cleansing product though, you should have a basic knowledge of how your pores work and what acne is.

Acne is a bacteria caused by dirt, oil, and dead skin getting into hair follicles. What we generally refer to as oil is sebum, which actually protects our skin in different ways when it isn’t over or under producing itself.

If it’s overproducing you most likely have oily/combination skin because not only is your face shiny, but you’re more likely to have acne. If it’s underproducing you most likely have dry skin which can also lead to acne because dead skin gets into your pores.

Witch hazel helps to control this production because it mimics the sebum tricking your skin into not producing excess.

You can buy witch hazel at any drug store, the most common brand is Dickinson’s, and I suggest using it at night to see how it affects your skin before using it in the morning. Here are my morning and night routines:

1. Aveeno Clear Complexion: I personally like foaming cleansers because they feel lighter on my skin and cleansers with exfoliating ingredients can strip your skin too much. The two things I look for when buying skin care products are salicylic acid and an oil-free base.

2. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel: I use this second as a toner, it absorbs right into the skin and you wait for it to dry before the next layer.

3. DDF Acne Control Treatment: This is part of a three-step system that is way to expensive for my college budget, hence why this is a small sample from my BirchBox. I love this product because after I use it I can feel my skin tighten up, the only flaw is that is doesn’t contain any sunscreen which is something your day moisturizer should have. It obviously has salicylic acid, but the wonder ingredient is the glycerin that is naturally found in skin and helps fight dryness. The directions say to apply this over the affected area 1-3 times a day after cleansing, but I use it as an all-over moisturizer and for me, that works.

4. No7 Rebalancing Day Fluid: This is what I usually use during my morning routine. It has sunscreen and it’s not too heavy, but it isn’t a life-changing moisturizer. 

1. Aveeno Clear Complexion

2. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel

3. Evologie Serum: I use this as a spot solution after the witch hazel because it has willow bark in it which helps reduce inflammation and redness.  It also helps reduce surface scars.

4. Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer: Layering products at night is a must. This moisturizer is extremely heavy but after my morning routine I lose a lot of moisture and this helps my skin recover over night.

Experiment with your skin while you still can. Witch hazel was a taboo that I read about online a year ago and now it is one of my staple skin care products. It isn’t a cure for acne, but it does help control your skin throughout the day. 

This is also perfect for college students, girls and guys, because it’s simple enough to use on the nights you don’t want to spend 15 minutes washing your face and also as a touch up during the day.

I have a travel-sized bottle of witch hazel for my gym bag also. When girls wear foundation while working out it clogs your pores because it mixes with your sweat and continually wiping the sweat form your face can push dead skin into your pores, causing bacteria AKA acne. 

Witch hazel is one of those products you should always have around even if you don’t need it for your skin too. It can relieve skin irritation, misquote bites, reduces puffiness around the eyes, heal a bruise, and cleansing wounds. 

• CMich beauty