Witch Hazel:
Medicinal Uses, Cultivation & Folklore
Your Wisest Guide to Growing, Gathering, and Using Witch Hazel
Ready to meet the witchiest witch of them all?
Witch hazel works its herbal magic in the apothecary as a premier strengthener of the skin and blood vessels—its bark, twigs, and leaves are used for a cascade of conditions ranging from eczema to poison ivy to varicose veins.
Come take a witchy wink!
Pull up a toadstool and pore over our wee spellbook of articles on witch hazel:
Witch Hazel's Medicinal Uses
Come stir the cauldron with us and drink up everything you need to know about identifying, gathering, and using witch hazel. We’ll also introduce you to your new favorite past time: bloomoogling (witch speak for oohing and aahing over the spidery yellow blooms of witch hazel in the weeks following Halloween and into the cold moons). Feeling curious as a black cat? You can whet your whiskers here.
Witch Hazel Wonders: Cultivation and Herbal Uses
Penned by guest blogger, Mary Plantwalker, this is your guide to growing witch hazel and brewing up an apothecary full of soothing, toning, and anti-inflammatory potions. Get out your best glass bottles! If you’d like to wave a magic wand at hemorrhoids, acne, eczema, and gingivitis, this article will set you up with the herbal equivalent of abracadabra.
The Folklore and Medicine of Witch Hazel
Itching to know the story behind witch hazel’s wonderful name? Or why its twigs are used in the traditional practice of water witching (aka dowsing)? Settle back on your broomstick and take a peek at Mary Plantwalker’s exposé on the folklore of witch hazel. You’ll also be treated to a gaggle of green recipes for sitz baths, soothing compresses, liniments for sore muscles, and a special ancestral aftershave.
–
Subscribe to our newsletter & receive our Guide for Budding Herbalists, a FREE 100-page eBook bundled up with herbal resources and my personal herbal career advice.
Meet the Model
INDY SRINATH is a Los Angeles based urban gardener, mushroom cultivator, and food justice advocate. She’s committed to increasing organic food access and health literacy in underserved populations. Find her work on Instagram @indyofficinalis. Photo by Juliet Blankespoor