Life Brand Witch Hazel
Witch Hazel Solution
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This review is for: Life Witch Hazel 500 mL
This is what we th.ink.
This product review is for Life brand Witch Hazel 500 mL bottle. I purchased this at Shopper's Drug Mart for $7.99 plus taxes. For how long this stuff lasts, the price is really a steal. You use so little at a time, and it works for so many things that there is no reason not to have it. I use it in my wash bottle, to thin my inks, and to make grey washes. Life brand Witch Hazel is the manufacture's standard for the product.
When setting up my wash bottle I put in all my soap, and distilled water, then add four cap fulls of Witch Hazel to the
mixture. Witch Hazel is used for relief of bruises, swelling, and insect stings. It may also be used as a skin cleanser, and toner. When used in the tattoo wash bottle it drastically reduces redness, and swelling. I have noticed a huge difference between when I didn't use it, and now that I do. My clients thank me for it. I had one client that always got really red, bruised, and swelled up like a balloon after a tattoo. After I added Witch Hazel to my mixture her swelling is minor, no redness, and her tattoos no longer bruise.
I also use Witch Hazel in making my greywashes. When added to the greywash it diffuses the pigment more than just straight distilled water. I find this makes a more smooth gradient, and softer greys. I use Kuro Sumi ink for my greywashes, so this is all based off my experience using that ink. I use various ink bottles ranging from 75% pigment, to 10% pigment. I then add 10% Witch Hazel, and top it off with distilled water. I have also seen people add rose water to their greywashes, but I have yet to try this. I find this method works perfectly for what I use it for, and my greys are very smooth.
Witch Hazel can also be used to thin other inks as well. I use Alla Prima inks a lot. They are a quite thick pigment. I found that I needed to add a sterile ball bearing to the bottles to aid in mixing. It comes out of the bottle pretty thick into the cup. However, by simply adding one to three drops of With Hazel—depending on the size of cup—then the ink thins out a bit making it a lot easier to manage, and work with. This, of course, comes down to your specific style of tattooing. Some like their inks thicker, some like them thinner. I prefer them somewhere in the middle myself.
Do not use this product if the protective seal is broken, or missing. I use my wash bottle like normal for cleaning the area, and shaving. I also spray my paper towel while tattooing to create a wet wipe. I find this really helps. It subjects the area to the Witch Hazel throughout the tattoo process increasing effectiveness. The only medical ingredient in Witch Hazel is Aqueos Distillate of Witch Hazel 85% v/v. There are two non-medical ingredients: Ethyl Alcohol, and water. Shopper's Drug Mart offers a full money back guarantee.
This brand of Witch Hazel gets 5 out of 5. The price can't be beaten, and it is also made in Canada for a Canadian company which is perfect for me. It also doesn't have any unnecessary additives, and gives the desired effects. A 500 mL bottle being used just for my wash bottle lasts me a couple months. Did I mention the price is amazing?
