Thread: The Vetiver Witch Hazel Experiment

Sounds like the title of a hippy poem . Anyway, my wife has a huge crop of lemon grass out in the yard. She cooks with it occassionally and as I enjoyed my morning pipe and coffee this morning, it occured to me that this is what they make vetiver out of. So I cut some of the grass and a few large sections of the root (looks like leeks or large green onions), and put them in a mason jar. I then dumped Dickinson's Witch Hazel over the top. I'll let it sit for a few weeks, strain it and see what happens. If the smell of the grass and roots is any indication, it will be a lovely, fragrant vetiver treat.

Only an old GI would do something like that... I did not know what Vetiver was so I looked it up it on Wikipedia of all places and it says it is similar to Lemongrass. Either way it should be good right? I would use Lemongrass infused Witch Hazel, when I get home I am going to try make some if you report back that it works. I have a small farm with a field of Lemongrass. I have some interesting things growing on my property courtesy of my in laws. I wonder how a Kaffir Lime soap or Witch Hazel would be?

About 150 pounds of Lemongrass ready for delivery.

Vetiver: Chrysopogon zizanioides - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lemongrass: Cymbopogon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What a great thread...
The more I use Witch Hazel the more I like it...
And I've been thinking about all of that stuff growing in the herb garden (Tarragon, Mint, Rosemary come to mind)
Suggestions appreciated...
Especially the "don't try this" notes...

Next to the lemon grass (she calls it tanglad as in the wiki reference) she's also got a couple pineapple plants growing. Maybe in the spring and summer I'll try that and go to work smelling like a pina colada

I would think rosemary would be a addition. Since this is my first experiment of this type I really wasn't sure about the quantity to use. I just filled the jar up and poured the witch hazel over it. Now to let it brew for a spell.

Originally Posted by 1OldGI

Next to the lemon grass (she calls it tanglad as in the wiki reference) she's also got a couple pineapple plants growing. Maybe in the spring and summer I'll try that and go to work smelling like a pina colada

I would think rosemary would be a addition. Since this is my first experiment of this type I really wasn't sure about the quantity to use. I just filled the jar up and poured the witch hazel over it. Now to let it brew for a spell.

Very cool let us know how it goes. I take it your wife is Filipino? Mine is Lao and sometimes mistaken for being Filipino. There are many Filipinos in Hawaii were you stationed there at all?

Originally Posted by 1OldGI

Sounds like the title of a hippy poem

Or, something akin to the Blair Witch Project!!

The Vetiver Blair Witch Hazel Experiment?

Originally Posted by dustoff003

Very cool let us know how it goes. I take it your wife is Filipino? Mine is Lao and sometimes mistaken for being Filipino. There are many Filipinos in Hawaii were you stationed there at all?

Clark Air Base 1982-1986. A tough place to leave single, so I decided not to I was there for the revolution when Marcos was booted out of the country. Pretty wild stuff.

Funny you started this thread today, since I started experimenting with witch hazel and rum today. I got the idea from a bottle of Ogallala Bay Rum (witch hazel) that my brother gave me, and I finished; it used witch hazel, bay rum oil, sage oil, and cedar oil. I mixed witch hazel, dark rum, and honey in one mixture, & witch hazel, dark rum, and vanilla extract in a separate mixture. I'll try them out after my shave tomorrow.

I think I'll try experimenting with herbs & witch hazel next. Thanks for the idea!

This thread gave me an idea as well.

The Witch Hazel that I use doesn't smell great. It works and the smell goes away pretty quickly after I put it on but I'd like to make it smell better.

I don't use cologne but I have some. It smells good but cologne in general is just too overpowering to me. I've had this bottle for years and it's still almost full.

I just decided to open up the Witch Hazel bottle and spray the cologne into it a few times and I then shook the Witch Hazel bottle to hopefully mix it well.

It's hard to say if it worked at the moment since the bathroom still smell like cologne. I'll find out tomorrow.

Have any of you tried mixing a little cologne with your Witch Hazel?

I generally layer cologne on top of my witch hazel. Lately, I've picked up a bottle of Thayer's Lavendar Witch Hazel. Although quite a bit spendier than your garden variety witch hazel (i.e. TN Dickinson, store brand, etc.) the "flavoring" does seem to successfully mask that initial wet paper bag smell.