Parenting

Girl and boy learn to roller skate in summer park. Children wearing protection pads and safety helme...
Shutterstock

5 Reasons Every Parent Should Always Keep Witch Hazel On Hand

For me it's been an absolute must-have from minute one.

by Katie Cloyd

One of my tenderest childhood memories is my mom gently dabbing witch hazel onto my 9-year-old, itchy, chicken pox-covered body. We had tried calamine lotion, oatmeal baths and ointment, but I was still miserable and sleepless. We had just moved across the country away from everything we’d ever known, and my mom didn’t yet have a support system in place in our new home. Desperate, she called my grandmother for some midnight advice. Grandma told her to find the nearest 24-hour pharmacy, buy a bottle of T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel, and dab it onto each of my spots with some cotton balls. My mom sat patiently and applied witch hazel to every single one of my pox, and I finally fell asleep. From that moment on, T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel held a permanent place in our medicine cabinet.

Now that I’m a mom, I’ve got a medicine cabinet of my own, and it’s stocked with all the things I just don’t want to live without. Let me tell you why T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel has been one of my absolute must-haves from minute one.

1. It’s natural and gentle.

I’m not exceptionally crunchy, but I like to use natural, gentle products as often as I reasonably can. We choose to use T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel because it’s the only witch hazel that meets the United States Pharmacopeia standards. The USP is the independent, FDA-recognized organization that sets the standards for quality, strength, and purity of active ingredients for over-the-counter drug products. That means my grandmother was onto something when she assured my mom that it’s the good stuff. I know exactly what’s in the bottle, and it’s the same 100% clinical grade witch hazel that many generations of moms before me have trusted.

2. Witch hazel is the reason I survived postpartum.

Allow me to introduce you to the “padsicle.” You’ll need one of those extra-long, extra thick maxi pads from the hospital. Soak that bad boy in witch hazel diluted 50/50 with water, pop it into the fridge for an hour or two, then enjoy the sweet soothing relief of the chill and the natural ingredients in witch hazel. It’s great for birth-related soreness, and for painful, pesky hemorrhoids. You can also use T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Hemorrhoidal Pads with Aloe to dab sensitive areas after using the toilet. They’re a postpartum godsend.

3. For first aid, genuine witch hazel is my first choice.

Bug bites? Dash on some witch hazel. Diaper rash? Mist a little witch hazel on that hiney. Sunburn? Prickly heat? Scraped knee? Hit it with the witch hazel. T.N. Dickinson’s 100% Natural Witch Hazel Astringent provides gentle relief for irritated, red, damaged, blemished, or inflamed skin, and it’s safe for the whole family.

4. I don’t always have time for a complicated skincare routine. Hello, witch hazel, you beautiful thing.

Do I try to pamper myself by using an actual regimen to take care of my face? Sure. I try. Sometimes I do it.

But sometimes I am just exhausted, in a hurry, or flat out uninterested in spending twenty minutes on my face. That’s when I grab a T.N. Dickinson’s Cleansing Pad. I can quickly remove my makeup and cleanse my skin and pores of dirt, oil, and impurities without stripping it of essential moisture and over-drying. I can quickly moisturize and go to bed knowing that I’m not sleeping on the remnants of my long day.

5. It’s amazing for aftershave care.

My husband loves T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel, too. He has to shave his face every single morning for work, but his skin is unusually sensitive. The constant shaving can be a source of skin irritation for him, but using a bit of witch hazel after shaving soothes his skin and helps him avoid the frustrating sensation of stinging, razor-burnt skin.

Nothing about parenting is easy, but some things can be simple. Making sure that my favorite products have multiple uses is an important part of keeping things manageable and uncomplicated. T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel is versatile, widely available, and easy to trust. After all, families just like mine have been relying on T.N. Dickinson’s for their skincare needs for over 150 years.