Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel Toner

When you first glanced at the (not so great) picture of this product that I took, you probably thought, "Gee, was that taken with an iPhone?! You might want to take some better pictures for your reviews, buddy!" But, there was a purpose to the overuse of the flash and the close up effect of the image. Look closely and you will notice that the container is about 1/4 of the way full. Now, I mention this to you because there is a caveat that I never read in any reviews about this product. If you are married, you are going to just have to "deal with" your wife or significant other, using this product quite frequently: morning, night, after a shower or hike, or to just feel "refreshed". Now that my caveat is out of the way, on to the review!

I have always had trouble finding a really nice aftershave balm/toner that worked well with my skin. My skin sometimes is oily, sometimes is dry, sometimes is "in-between". Yes, I have schitzophrenic skin (which I am told is normal). Many aftershaves which I have tried would leave a "residue" on my skin, or would leave my skin oily. Alcohol based toners? Forget about it. They would dry me out. I used the old Harris milk which was quite nice (and discontinued). The Harris Pink is a good one, but full of dye and other things I really didn't want to put on my skin.

So one day, I was in the check out line at Whole Foods, and noticed Thayer's Witch Hazel toner staring right at me. I thought "Sonofabitch! This might be it!" as I had read some reviews about this product on other forums but completely overlooked it. So, I picked up a bottle of the rose toner and, well, we have a 1/4 of a bottle left.

This toner is very natural and contains a lot of organic ingredients (which I have been leaning towards lately) including Aloe leaf, natural rose, and of course Witch Hazel. Let's talk about the main ingredient here and what it does for the skin. Witch hazel is an astringent made from the bark of the witch hazel shrub. It has been used by Native Americans for all kinds of ailments from inflammation to tumors. After a shave, this astringent is quite soothing, doesn't burn, and doesn't leave a residue on my face. It helps with irritation and helps prevent ingrown hairs. And the rose has quite a nice scent. Overall, it's a pretty miraculous, soothing toner. You can also use it very liberally - it's darn cheap. I even use it after a shower on days that I don't shave. Oh, and here's what a full bottle might look like staring back at you in the store: