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History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:32 am
by malocchio

Re: History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:34 pm
by F.W. Fitch
I always wondered about our use of witch hazel. I knew it was an American product from the early generations of the Eastern seaboard.. They used what was available to them. I knew the Indians had introduced the plant to them as well. There was a very early soap company, from the same region of Buffalo... named The Larkin Soap Co. They made witch hazel bath and shave soaps. The pictured tube is from the late 19th century. Pond's & Larkin were probably a common combo back during the Gilded Age. Williams or Woodbury shave soaps, too. Woodbury was made by Jergens and was a very early one. Thanks for the detective work malocchio.

Re: History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 5:06 pm
by malocchio
Can't say if the medicinal properties are equal,but the scent certainly isn't the same between Walmart purchased house brand W.H. and my all time favorite W.H. Humphreys.The scent of the cheap stuff ($1.44 pint @ Walmart) is rather "pissy" and pungent,bitter.The scent of Humphreys ($11 pint) is mellow,like finely aged Cognac,so smooth and inviting.The face feel is about the same,my old mug has a lot of hard miles on it,so it may not be the best judge for product sensitivity.Is a quality Witch Hazel worth so much more money ?...A tough call if the effect will be the same,but if you want the finest quality,Humpheys is still #1.

Re: History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:24 pm
by rsp1202
I've been using Humphrey's for a long while. I gave Thayers a good try, but the heavy dose of aloe in their formulation left major tack. And drugstore brands do come with a stronger scent that tends to hover; not very appealing. The Humphrey's, OTOH, is clean, clean.

Re: History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:47 am
by brothers
This is a good post, thanks so much! I was inspired to find my bottle of Humphrey's and use it on my face this morning following a great shave. Nice stuff indeed!

Re: History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2019 6:28 pm
by FireDragon76
I use Humphrey's Cucumber Melon Witch Hazel on razor burn and it really does help, it's very cooling. Cucumber water alone is also something I have found refreshing after shaving.

Re: History of Witch Hazel

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:24 am
by Gene
Witch Hazel - I was going to start a thread about this myself. Many long-time posters here at SMF will remember the threads about witch hazel - some of the newer folks might not. At one time we discussed it quite a bit.

I was shopping at our local grocery store last month - and they had a large end cap full of Thayers - in various scents, too. I picked up some lavender. The scent is very faint, but I like how it feels when I splash it on!