Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel

Another day, another product review! Today, I want to rave about Thayer’s Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner. I’ve been using this stuff for almost a year, and I can tell that it has been working wonders on my skin.

Now, my skin is not bad, but it does occasionally misbehave. The biggest problem that I tend to have with it, however, is that it’s fairly oily. To combat that, I of course used many toners to help me deal with my shiny problem. For years, I was an avid user of Clinique’s “three step” product line. And while their toner left a nice tingly sensation on my skin, it did absolutely nothing to better my skin. At that price tag, I was expecting more!

My sister, who also battles with oily skin, told me that I should try using an alcohol-free toner. After all, the problem with oily skin is not that it needs to be dried out with alcohol, but that it needs to be moisturized properly so as to lessen the need for the skin to produce excess oil. And one day I stumbled upon Thayer’s Rose Petal Toner.

This stuff is amazing. Its ingredients are practically all natural, and include aloe, grapefruit, witch hazel, and of course rose water to give it that lovely scent. It does not sting the skin and leaves it soft and clean. Since I’ve started using it, I noticed that my skin is a little less oily and that I get far fewer breakouts, so this product is a definite must have in my books!

Why do I include this lovely product on this site? Because Thayer’s Natural Remedies have been around since 1847! And here’s a bit of history on the company, straight from its official website:

“In 1847, Henry Thayer M.D., opened a laboratory on Main Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts to produce his newly developed line of herbal extracts for sale to the medical profession. Born in 1828, into one of Massachusetts' founding families, he was trained in the medical arts of his day by his physician father. His method produced, for the first time, standardized strengths, enabling physicians to regulate dosages accurately. The company, named Henry Thayer & Company, prospered and broadened its line of products and has been described as the largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in America at the time of the Civil War. In 1875, the company published ‘Descriptive Catalogue of Fluid and Solid Extracts in Vacuo’ listing over 800 of its products: herbal based, presented in the forms of tinctures, infusions, syrups, poultices and wines. Prominent among these products was a Fluid Extract of Witch Hazel, listed as a ‘Tonic, astringent, and sedative; useful in checking hemorrhages and excessive discharges.’”

The witch hazel used in that tonic is of the kind used in Thayer’s products today, which means that it’s undistilled, certified organic witch hazel. Who needs alcohol when you’ve got this fighting breakouts on your skin?

The Rose Petal Witch Hazel, however, has it’s own bit of history within the company. As the bottle tells us, this particular kind of tonic was developed by Rose Thayer, a niece of Henry Thayer, the Thayer Company’s founder himself. Rose, it seems, was looking for an all-natural recipe that would give her youthful-looking skin, and she succeeded. As she aged, many would comment on how she looked at least ten years younger than her age. While I may still be in my twenties, surviving law school has not been kind on my face, so I’ll be glad to have any help to help my skin look fresh! So the product's slogan – “Rose’s secret to looking 10 years younger…naturally” – had me sold!

And with that, I’d say this Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner is simply fantastic. I loved it so much, I decided to try out the lavender tonic, as well – which I now use before going to bed, so that the lavender smell helps me relax and fall asleep.

I’d recommend this product to anyone. It’s fantastic and has clearly stood the test of time, helping women like Rose Thayer and myself feel and look more beautiful. And with so many different kinds of toner, I bet that anyone would be able to find one to their taste. 

À la prochaine,

AVB