Wednesday's Question: Natural Remedies

Posted on 30-Aug-2006 at 15:10

Nancy Carter has an interesting post over at the HomesteadBlogger Front Porch about natural remedies.  What's your favorite natural remedy?  Nancy's is acidophilus. 

I've certainly described my absolute favorite natural remedy (lavender) plenty of times here and on the Front Porch.  I think now it's time to put some focus on my second favorite: witch hazel!

My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all used Dickinson's witch hazel as I was growing up.  They used witch hazel for cooling off on hot days or when fever struck; nothing feels as good when you're in bed hot as can be as a nice, cool washrag soaked in witch hazel.  With its astringent properties, witch hazel is a great cleanser as well.  I didn't realize until I was an adult how well it worked, but you can bet I packed a bottle of Dickinson's when I went to the hospital to have the Little.  Not only did I feel refreshed, I also felt comforted, thanks to the sentimental value of a scent I've known since my youngest days!

Did your grandmother use Pond's cold cream to take off her makeup?  Mine did, and so did my mom.  I rarely saw my mother in makeup, but the few times she wore it, she taught me to remove mascara and all the other "goo" with Pond's.  As I learned at the Fort Nisqually Brigade Encampment recently, cold cream contains witch hazel...which is why our foremothers used to stock up on both products: because they are natural, gentle, and they work!

Witch hazel also happens to be a lovely plant to look at.  My next homestead will have witch hazel, especially if I can figure out a way to plant it in containers that can travel with us!  Want to learn more about witch hazel (the plant and the product)?  Photographer Steven Foster has pulled together a good, concise history, including a few of the ways the plant became the product my family has used for generations.  He's also got some neat stock photos available as well, in case you're wondering how witch hazel would look in your garden!  For a more scientific insight, check out this Wikipedia entry about witch hazel.

"Witch" me luck on finding some witch hazel for my container garden to come!