Astringent is commonly used for skin care. It is good for oily skin as it helps open up pores and gets rid of dirt and excess oil on the face. Herbal astringents are commercially available but you can easily make yours using natural ingredients available in your home.

Choose the natural herbs you like such as lemon balm, chamomile, chocolate mint and others. Take one cup of the herbs you chose and pour 2 cups of alcohol. Make sure that the herbs are totally submerged in the alcohol, seal tight and steep for 2 weeks. Strain the herbs and the remaining liquid is your extract. Mix 1 cup of your extract with 1 cup of witch hazel and pour the mixture into a jar. Seal this jar tightly then shake well. You can now use this mixture as your herbal astringent. You can add about 2 drops for peppermint oil for some fragrance.

This is how you make herbal astringent made of vodka and witch hazel:

Combine ½ cup vodka. 3 tbsp herbs, ¼ cup witch hazel and 1 cup distilled water. Mix well and place the mixture in a lidded jar then seal tightly for 2 weeks in a cool place away from sunlight. After 2 weeks, strain the herbs and you have your astringent for use. Put it in a bottle for easy use.

Another way to make herbal astringent is by boiling distilled water and witch hazel. Remove this mixture from heat then stir in the herbs - chamomile, marshmallow, fennel, eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender. Strain the herbs and leave until become steep for about 3 hours. Add lemon peels and let it steep again for 3 hours. Strain the mixture again and then add in Aloe Vera powder and glycerin. Mix and blend everything thoroughly and place in a sterile bottle then refrigerate for 3 days.

It may be useful to take note of the herbs you want to use for your astringent that will suit your skin type. For normal skin, you can use lavender, peppermint, rosemary and chamomile. For dry skin, you can use calendula, comfrey, fennel and coltsfoot. You can use lemongrass, thyme, lavender or chamomile for oily skin. For acne, you can use red clover, sage, lemon balm or lavender. Just warm about 1 cup distilled water and ¼ cup witch hazel then stir in about 3 tbsp of the herbs of your choice. You can choose to use only one kind of herb or you can also choose a combination of any good for your type of kin. Remember to use dried herbs not fresh herbs for your herbal astringent.

Useful tip: Add about ¼ tsp of potassium sorbate to the distilled water and witch hazel if you want your herbal astringent to last longer than 3 days.

Jason Ladock

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