Witch Hazel & Ethyl Alcohol ~ What's the Difference?

Hamamelis virginiana tree

Hamamelis x. intermedia

 +Bloomfield Bath uses two alternatives to alcohol in the making of their skincare products, Witch Hazel and Cetearyl Alcohol. The cetearyl alcohol is used in the lotions, creams, butters, and conditioners to prevent the product from separating. The witch hazel extract is used in the Floral Water Skin Toner to help cleanse and moisturize your face, gently. This blog is going to address effects of witch hazel, cetearyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol on the skin and is only for informational purposes only. Please consult your dermatologist regarding your skincare needs.
  If you are wondering, "What is Witch Hazel?"It is a small tree found in the damp woods through out North America and Asia. There are 3 species in North America and one each in Japan and China. The extract is made from the bark, flowers and leaves. The colors of the petals can be yellow/pale, orange or red. The fruit has two parts each with a black, glossy seed. Eight months after the tree has flowered, the seed explodes from the fruit, flying up to 33 ft away from the tree. Most of the species of the Witch Hazel Tree blooms between January and March, except for the Virginian species. This species blooms between September and November. The branch of a witch hazel tree was once used to find water, now this tree is used as a natural herb for cleansing, moisturizing and toning the skin.

the buds on the witch hazel tree

The bark, leaves and twigs of the witch hazel tree has high amounts of tannins, which when used on your skin, will tighten pores, reduce/soothe aching, inflamed varicose veins and remove excess oils. All this without drying out or breaking down your skin cells. The properties of this tree causes the body tissues to contract which helps with reducing blood flow in minor bruises. There are many uses for witch hazel, most being external, and it is an ingredient used in many healthcare products. In addition to being able to tighten the skin and remove excess oils, witch hazel can be used as a natural remedy for psoriasis, eczema, cracked or blistering skin, poison ivy and even treating insect bites. Witch Hazel is a powerful antioxidant and it also contains procyanadins, resin, and flovonoids. These antioxidants contributes to the removal of damaging impurities. Witch Hazel will even treat sunburn and it will disinfect minor cuts. Many tattoo artists use witch hazel in the after care of doing a tattoo.

Home Remedy uses for Witch Hazel

Why shouldn't we use rubbing alcohol on insect bites, cuts and bruises? Ethyl Alcohol (also known as rubbing alcohol) is a flammable chemical made of a specialized methylated spirit (also known as Denatured), ethanol alcohol and water. (Denaturing makes the solution undrinkable when mixed without altering the chemical makeup.) Rubbing alcohol breaks down your skin's barriers preventing the skin from naturally protecting the body. Witch Hazel, on the other hand, nurtures the skin by moisturizing and preventing it from drying out. When you use witch hazel instead of rubbing alcohol, your skin will continue to doing what it is made to do, defend your body against harmful dirt and grim.

long term alcohol use on the skin prevents your skin from doing its job.

Alcohol can be mixed with any ingredient easily and some skin and hair care companies add this to their products, to increase the ability of their ingredients penetrating through the skin. Some of the ingredients may be good for the body, but there are some ingredients that could be damaging. The more you use alcohol on the skin, the more damage you are doing to your skin cells making it more difficult for them to be repaired. Some with oily skin may think that using ethyl alcohol to wipe away excess oils is helping, but this is not good practice. The alcohol will not only dry up the skin, but it will also cause your pores to produce additional oils as a response to the dry skin. Thus, causing you to use more alcohol. This is not a chain reaction you would want to repeat. The more you apply the alcohol to your skin to more it will tear down your skins barriers. Making you more susceptible to the invasion of impurities. There are natural options available to help keep your skin soft, beautiful and protected. Bloomfield Bath offers a Beautiful Face Set that comes with a cleanser, a toner (alcohol free) and a moisturizer. The beauty in the set is you do not have to use all ingredients at once for the product to work. If you use the cleanser in the morning, there is no need to use the toner. If you choose to use the toner that night, no need for the cleanser. You may want to use the face cream to add moisture, but the key here is minimum works best. There are three floral water options: jasmine, lavender, and rose. This is not a scent choice, it is more of a type of flower you would prefer to receive floral water from. 

Another way to draw out impurities and gently exfoliate your face is using the Facial Mask. The mask contains natural fruit extracts and are beneficial to your body's care as well.

The 2nd alternative to alcohol that Bloomfield Bath uses to keep your skin protected is a natural vegan alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol. Cetearyl Alcohol is a mix of  cetyl and stearyl alcohol and it is found in plants. Cetearyl Alcohol works as a foaming agent in addition to be a stabilizer. This alcohol helps binds ingredients together, naturally. The added bonus of Cetearyl Alcohol is the calming properties that maintains the skins smoothness and softness. Your skin's barriers is the protection your body requires. So Use alcohol free products and say "Bye-Bye" to ethyl alcohol for your skincare needs. 

Bloomfield Bath

Orange Goodness

+Bloomfield Bath is introducing a new scent for the summer, it is called "Orange You Glad".  You can have that scent, or any of Bloomfield Bath's other signature scents, applied to any of our signature soap bars or body products. Today I am going to talk about the advantages oranges provides for your skin. Most people understands that oranges are a great source of calcium and folic acid and this is a great aid for your health in general. Did you know that the orange also produces ingredients that aid in great skin care? Even the peel of the orange will help protect and care for your skin. Let's talk about the orange peel. 

   

The orange peel has more Vitamin C than the pulp of the orange, it helps reduce aging and oiliness of your skin, and it can aid in the cleaning out of excess dirt and bacteria that could clog your pores. Orange peels can even lighten dark spots and give your skin that shine everyone strive to get. Since the orange peel have more Vitamin C than the orange itself, it will protect your skin again premature ageing. You can use the orange peel by drying it, then grind it into a powder to be use as a body scrub or by placing the powder in milk or milk cream to be applied to your face.(Please dilute the paste because of the high content of citric acid) When the orange peels are added to the upper layer of your skin it will meet 16% of your daily dietary supplements for calcium. Which is also great for bone strength. Over time, the orange peel paste will reduce any blemishes and dark spot and provide your skin with a natural glow. Topical application of oranges peels on your skin removes dirt and dead skin cells keeping your skin moist and toned. It also defends your skin against harmful UV rays. The Vitamin C and calcium antioxidants maintains the oils in your skin reversing dry skin helping your skin look and feel healthy.

Not only are oranges good for your skin but they, also, boost your hair health. Oranges stimulates hair growth, treats dandruff, and is the perfect conditioner for your hair and scalp. In addition to vitamin C, the orange contains vitamin B and insonitol, which helps avoids hair loss and stimulates hair growth. When applied to the scalp or used as a cleanser or rinse, the orange, naturally can rid your scalp of dandruff leaving your hair clean and shiny. Now you can add the orange to your list of natural products usable for great skin health.

Orange You Glad

It's your Face...be Gentle.

The face is the first body part seen. We do so much to our face without noticing the effects of what we do. Always consult your dermatologist if your skin problems are serious. There are 4 different skin types of the face, normal, oily, dry, and combination. Most people with normal skin believe they have combination, but this is a misconception. Normal skin will be dry on the cheeks and oily in the "T zone" and nose. Also, normal skin changes with the seasons. For example, it will be dry in the winter and oily in the summer. Someone that has combination skin will have extreme skin differences on the face, like acne or oil in one area of the face while the other areas are generally dry. Treatment for normal skin is washing with a cleanser designed for the area type you have and applying a  moisturizer. Use moisturizer more frequently on the dry areas of the skin. Treatment for combination skin will vary by the degree of condition on your skin. Always consult your dermatologist regarding serious skin conditions.  

Early Morning after washing with water & lip butter.

When you have dry skin, your skin lacks elasticity and maybe sensitive to the elements. The plus side is you will have fewer break outs :o) Taking care of dry skin is a little bit easier. You want to avoid alcohol on your skin. It will only take away what little moisture your skin has making your skin flaky. Wash your face once a day with a creamy cleanser and warm water. Than pat your skin dry. Try using +Bloomfield Bath's Floral Water Skin Toner. It's alcohol free! The two main ingredients in our toner is floral water and witch hazel. If you wondering if these ingredients are natural, I will tell you yes and they are both made from flowers. Witch Hazel is made from the bark and leaves of  "a shrub with fragrant yellow flowers..." and the floral water is produce after plants are steamed in the process of making essential oils. Floral Water have similar properties of essential oils but are less concentrated. 

 Our toner comes with 30 pads, one side soft the other side for exfoliation. Don't scrub to hard. :o)

Someone with oily skin are more prone to break outs. The pores on their skin are slightly enlarge and the texture of the skin is coarse. Oily skin has a lot of shine after cleansing. Even though the skin is oily, it still needs to be moisturized daily. When doing so, you would want to use a lotion that has little oil in it. You would want to use a gentle non-foaming cleanser to clean your face. Bloomfield Bath has a face cleanser that does not have any harsh chemicals. The main ingredients in our Premium Face Cleanser is purified water and aloe vera. 

A person with sensitive skin can have any of the four previous stated skin types in addition to the sensitive skin. According to Dermatologist Leslie Baumann, MD, there are four different types of sensitive skin all causing inflammation of some type, acne, rosecea, burning/stinging, and contact dermatitis (allergies/irritants). You will want to understand the type of sensitive skin you have when buying anything labeled, "for sensitive skin". Anyone with Sensitive Skin should be very selective about the product use on their face. When using Bloomfield Bath's facial products,or any product made by us, remember we do not use "...artificial coloring, fragrances, parabens, urea, paba, phthalates, paraffin, propylene glycol, mineral oil, petrolatum, animal ingredients or sulfates." And an added bonus, we do not test on animals. When it comes to your face you want to take it easy and not use to much at one time. 

 The Beautiful Face Set comes with our face cleanser, toner & facial cream.

Bloomfield Bath has additional natural facial care products to gently clean, exfoliate and moisturize your face:

• Vitamin A Serum - use once a week, helps reduce wrinkles, use at night. 
• Vitamin C Serum - use 1-3 times a week (depends on skin sensitivity), helps reduce the unstable molecules that cause aging, use at night
• Butter My Lips - Lip Butter - once daily, helps moisturize & soften dry lips, main ingredient is shea butter 
• Facial Mask - use weekly, helps draws out impurities & exfoliate the skin, keep refrigerated, use at night. 
• the facial mask is made of Kaolin Clay, brown sugar & fruit exact acids.
• it is suggested, when using the facial mask use the face cream to moisturize and nothing else but water.  

Routine Skin Care