Thayers Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner

Price: About 7 bucks for a huge bottle. Cannot be beat.

Quality and All The Rest: All natural ingredients (I am aware that "natural" can be a misnomer, but seriously, read the label--there is nothing that requires a chemistry degree to pronounce), fights mild razor burn well, has a medium, powdery rose-scent that is pleasant but not cloying or old-ladyish, a nice cooling sensation without the chill of menthol, and no alcohol, so no burn. This splash is moderately moisturizing, but I always follow with a balm or moisturizer anyway, since my skin tends towards the dry side.

I would like to try the Lavender now as well, but it will take me a while to get through this huge bottle...

This is fantastic stuff. I use it an aftershave splash and also as a toner sometimes on days when I don't shave. Wouldn't be without it. It's also worth noting the ingredients list has changed a bit since the first review was written. It no longer contains parabens.

Here:

Ingredients: Purified Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf (Certified Organic Filet Of Aloe Vera), Glycerin (Vegetable), Fragrance (Natural Rose) Hamamelis Virginiana (THAYERS® proprietary un-distilled Witch Hazel) Extract, Rosa Centifolia (Rose) Flower Water, Citric Acid, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate.

Price: 8 - b/c they upped to $10, but a little does go a long way.
Quality: 10 - there's no better witch hazel on the market
Fights Razor Burn: 7 - b/c it's rose it's meant to tone the skin more
Cooling Sensation: 8 - more of a calming than a cooling
Scent: 9 - rather subdued and pleasant, fades quickly
Efficacy: 10 - does what it's supposed to do and does it well
Moisturizing: 8 - definitely does but not as much as lavender
Overall: 8.5 - a nice addition to shaving/grooming regimen

I don't use this product as an aftershave. I shave in the morning and use my typical moisturizing aftershave, but then at night I use this all over my face. It works great as a toner. If I am still irritated by a bad morning shave, this is nice before I go to bed. I like the scent, but it is really strong. The scent is not liked by my wife.

I love Thayer's Witch Hazel....It is the one product that I use with every shave. Yes...every shave. I think it is also very useful as a toner before bed and sometimes as a splash on mornings when I don't shower or shave right away. The one downer for this product for me is the scent. I enjoy rose scents but this one is not my favorite. I would choose the Lavender over the Rose for sure.

I just got this stuff over the weekend and used it after my shave this morning and WOW thayer's feels so good on my skin and the rose smell is great!!! I wash my face with a face cleaner at night and usally get a little dry from it. But with thayer's I just spray it in my hands then just put it on and skin is smooth and soft and smell is great before bed.

I have to say this is the best! Much better then the stuff I got at wallgreens I will never switch to anything else I paid 7.45 for 12oz at a health food store. I can say in the summer time this will be all you need to keep your skin soft and smooth without drying. But seeing it is winter time I put on a little almond oil after.

If your using wallgreens or some other brand swith your skin will thank you!

Uh, Thayer's doesn't contain ethylene glycol; it's made with propylene glycol. Although PG is technically an alcohol (it's a diol) it doesn't contain the usual isopropyl or denatured ethanol alcohols. PG in this concentration is used as a humectant.

Here is the ingredient list from the Rose Petal:

Rose Petal water and natural rose fragrance blended with Thayers Proprietary Witch Hazel extract, fillet of the Aloe Vera plant, Vitamin E, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Fillet of the Aloe Vera Plant, Propylene Glycol, 3% (food grade, derived from corn), methylparaben (0.10%) and Polysorbate 20

BTW, this stuff is incredible! I've been using witch hazel for the past four or five years, and started using Thayer's Rose Petal last year. SWMBO makes fun of me smelling "like an old woman", but I love the classic scent.

cr8n;308489 said:

This product contains ethylene glycol. That's an alcohol, despite the claims on the label that it is an alcohol-free product.

A fine product for all of the reasons above - except that it's not an alcohol.

"-ol" ... = alcohol.

Click to expand...

True, it is an alcohol, but not of the "drying sort" like the other alcohols, if that makes sense. Propylene (and ethylene) glycol actually moisturize or lubricate (check the ingredients in "personal lubricants" such as KY or Astroglide, for example), so the reasons one would avoid alcohol in an aftershave do not apply to the "non-alcohol" varieties of the witch hazels. I use and really like the aloe vera "alcohol-free" version. It does not have the fragrance of the others, but I like that.

Great stuff! Smells nice (and I don't think it lingers too long), WH provides cooling effect without the burn of alcohol, moisturizes well without being overly sticky/tacky. Bottles last forever. Thayers sells a sample pack that gets you a travel-sized bottle of each of their varieties; check out the website for details.

I don't have a razor burn issue, so it got a 10 for that.

Good stuff. I don't really care for the scent. I think I am going to trying mixing it with the Lavender (it was a close call between buying Rose or the Lavender, should have gone with my instincts and bought both).
I use this as a toner as well. Its very gentle and effective compared to the higher end alcohol stuff I was using before.

greychamp;290237 said:

I think the non-alcoholic witch hazel is very soothing to my face. It fights razor burn and smells GREAT!!

Click to expand...

This product contains ethylene glycol. That's an alcohol, despite the claims on the label that it is an alcohol-free product.

A fine product for all of the reasons above - except that it's not an alcohol.

"-ol" ... = alcohol.

Great stuff. Better than all the rest. I've tried the lavender as well. Highly reccomend both.

My after shave routine is the same as the previous posters: warm splash, cold splash, alum block, then I mess around a few minutes cleaning up the shave den while the alum dries abit, then another cold rinse, then THAYER's ROSE WH.

I love this stuff. Since I switched to WH from alcohol products my skin is in much better shape. I keep a small mister bottle full of it at work and spray my face a couple of times a day for "refreshment".

As far as my after shave ritual, the last step is rubbing in some very cooling & non-comedonegenci CETAPHIL moisturizing cream which really kills off any
razor burn and is dirt cheap also.

My after shave routine is to rinse my face with warm water, make a quick alum block pass over my face, let it dry until my face itches slightly then rinse with cold water. I then put a little Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel into the palm of my hand, rub my hands together and apply to my face. I think the non-alcoholic witch hazel is very soothing to my face. It fights razor burn and smells GREAT!!

I Use the unscented version of the Thayer's alcohol-free toner every day after I shave and out of all the various adaptations to my routine it has probably made the single biggest difference in the health of my skin. You would think that something better would have come along since 1847, but apparently not...

I also apply some Thayer's throughout the day when I start to get sweaty and grimy. Works like a charm to keep everything clean and comfortable.

I noticed this am that my half full bottle has been in use since august(9 months). amazing.

not really an aftershave balm. it's a wonderful toner. since using it I stopped using my alum bar.

In combination wit Nivea or L'Oreal it makes a perfect after shave

I reaaly like this stuff particularly the scent. But I also like a bit of alcohol burn, which, IMO, is one of the best properties of Pinaud Bay Rum. What do you think the result would be if I were to add grain alcohol to my current bottle, say 10%? Would it noticeably impair the fabulous scent?

I've probably used this more than any other product. It's a great, soothing toner and first line of defense. Smells pretty good, too.

It's cheap enough to splash on willy nilly, but I find it works better applied gently with an atomizer, and goes a very long way when applied in that manner. A bottle can last a year that way.

As for mixing their rose and lavender witch hazels, check the archives unders ghetto DaVinci water.

I purchased this at a Whole Foods grocery store, along with the lavender version. It was rather expensive. The lavender dried my skin out, but the rose version has worked beautifully and I can use it daily.

If the rose scent lasts too long, try the unscented or lavender. I don't like to put alcohol on my face; so this works extremely well. As for quality, Thayers has been in business since 1847; so they must be something right.

Go ahead take a drink; if the dead could, they would.