Talk:Witch hazel (astringent)

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The supposed use of witch hazel to renew furniture finishes sounds to me like it's simply an effect of the alcohol in the preparation acting as a solvent. Does witch hazel work any better for this purpose than a simple alcohol-water mixture with a similar amount of alcohol? 216.59.230.140 03:04, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

The effect of alcohols on clear wood finishes is restricted to the lacquers, (solvent release finishes.) Alcohols have no effect on varnishes (polymerizing finishes). The process of renewing a lacquer finish with a simple application of solvent is known as 're-amalgamation'. Moreover, the solvent (alcohols, ketones, xylenes)) has to be pretty much pure, since lacquers are hydrophilic, and the presence of ANY water (even high humidity) will turn the result cloudy.This is the cause of the white rings on furniture ,where the condensation from a cold glass has come in contact with the finish. Bottom line? The use of witch hazel for this purpose sounds like an old wives' tale to me.Toyokuni3 (talk) 06:14, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

i finally got around to looking at the label on a bottle of witch hazel at the drugstore. it does in fact contain 14% of some unspecified alcohol, presumably either isopropanol or ethanol. the remaining 86% is all essential oil (no water). so it could have some (i emphasize, some)application to clear wood finishing. now i have to take issue with calling it 'the treatment of choice' for hemorrhoids. otc hemorrhoid preparations contain a wide variety of ingredients, including glycerin (emollient), zinc oxide (protectant), hydrocortisone (anti-inflammatory), pramoxine (topical anaesthetic) and whale oil (!!!?????!!!!)(check the label on preparation h). unless somebody objects here soon, i'm going to change it to 'a treatment'.Toyokuni3 (talk) 20:51, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

There is a misplaced sentence after the furniture section that I'm moving closer to the acne discussion. The furniture section sounds as though it could be anecdotal and should be cited. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mkow88 (talk • contribs) 15:50, 27 January 2008 (UTC)