A tiny bit of history
The witch hazel tree, Hamamelis Virginiana is native to North America and can be found all along the eastern coast, from Nova Scotia Canada right down to Florida in the US. Native Americans started to figure out it's therapeutic uses around the 1600s. It seems to have been introduced to Europeans in the 1800s but it's quite possible that the first settlers started to use it upon contact with the First Nations.
Witch hazel became popular in the 1900s and was sold by 2 major companies who are still in existence today.
In 1847, Dr Henry Thayer opened a laboratory on Main Street Cambridge Massachusetts. It would later become Henry Thayer & Company, known today as simply Thayer's. They offer a wide range of combinations. Meaning, they have several options of witch hazel mixed with other ingredients like, for example, aloe and rose water.
Thomas Newton Dickinson Sr is credited with starting commercial production of witch hazel. Based in Essex Connecticut. Diskinson refined the distillation method developed by missionary Dr Charles Hawes which was being sold locally in Essex by Alvan Whittmore a druggist and chemist, as early as 1846. Dickinson took over the company in 1866 and he is credited with the addition of the 14% alcohol which would remain a family secret for as long as the Dickinson's remained proprietors of the company. Today, the company known as Dickinson's, has been owned by M.K.Laboratories since 1980.
Witch hazel, Hamamelis Virginiana
