Wendy the good little witch and her friend Hazel

  I thought with it being Halloween I would share with you uses for witch hazel.  I recently bought a 16 oz bottle at Wal-Mart for under $2.00.  First let me start by saying I have seen many uses on various websites that include ingesting witch hazel for a multitude of symptoms.  I do not recommend this.  The FDA does not regulate any kind of supplement that is sold over the counter.  That being said I have used it topically for many things. 

Witch hazel can be used as an astringent to help clear up/prevent acne.  It can be applied to the skin to ease the pain of a sunburn.  You can apply it to a bruise three times a day to make it fade quicker.  Dab a little under you eyes, avoiding
                                   direct contact with your eyes, to shrink the bags under your eyes.  You may have
                                   heard of using hemorrhoid cream to shrink those bags.  Witch hazel is one of the
                                   active ingredients in those creams.





 

Oatmeal.... it is not just for breakfast

My son has ezcema and at times gets some pretty nasty flares.  We have splent plenty on lotions and ointments, one cost $100 for a tiny tube!!  Something that I have found helps is oatmeal bathes.  You put a cup of plain oatmeal, not the instant kind, in a food processor or blender and process into a fine powder.  Add the oatmeal to a warm but not hot bath.  If you have flares on your face you can cook the plain oatmeal as directed and let cool.  Once cool apply to your face, leave on for 15 minutes then wash off. 

Biore be gone

I can remember standing in the bathroom with my sister counting  1.....2.....3.  We would pull off the dried Biore strips.  We would then hold them up towards the light to see what we had just pulled out of our pores.  "Eww gross look at that! "  Now a days I don't spend money on black head removal.  It is fairly easy to do it at home.  You will need:

School glue and time.

Apply a thick layer of school glue to the affected area*.  Let it dry completely.  This is a very important step or it won't work.  After it is dried slowly remove.  Hold up to the light and say "Eww gross look at that!" 
That last step is optional :)

*I have used this on my nose only but I am sure it would work on any area.