Vitamin C & Witch Hazel Facial Toner Recipe

Katie Wells Avatar

Reading Time: 3 minutes

This post contains affiliate links.

Read my affiliate policy.

Vitamin C and Witch Hazel Facial Toner Recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Beauty » Vitamin C & Witch Hazel Facial Toner Recipe

Finding a natural skincare routine can be tough. It often leads to strange things like washing your face with olive oil or making a face mask out of yogurt.

It can be hard to find natural alternatives to some of your favorite conventional products, but this recipe is one that made the switch easy!

How to Make a DIY Natural Witch Hazel Toner Recipe

I never really understood the purpose of a facial toner until I had kids and occasionally had skin that was a mix between dry and oily at the same time.

My confused skin was challenging to care for, as I needed something that would help even out my skin’s oil production.

I found that a toner greatly improved my skin tone almost immediately and realized there were several reasons for this:

  • Skin is naturally acidic, but many skincare products are more on the alkaline side. A quality toner can help restore natural skin pH.
  • Facial toners can also help shrink pores and balance oil production.
  • When used under makeup, toners can provide a protective barrier on the skin to prevent impurities from makeup from penetrating skin.

Natural Facial Toner Ingredients: Vitamin C and Witch Hazel

I chose the ingredients for this toner carefully.

Witch Hazel Benefits

Witch hazel, an extract from the leaves and bark of the Hamamelis virginiana shrub, has a long history of use, especially in skincare. Many use it successfully as a natural remedy for hemorrhoids, burns, and other skin irritation.

It is naturally anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, making it excellent for helping reduce the appearance of acne, redness, and skin irritation. It helps lock in moisture, making it a good choice for oily and dry skin, and is high in tannins that reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Vitamin C Benefits

Vitamin C helps tighten the skin and maintain the natural pH. Many high-end skin products (that cost hundreds of times as much as this homemade toner) use vitamin C (often synthetic) for this purpose. Vitamin C is also important internally, but topical vitamin C provides much more skin benefit.

IMPORTANT: Vitamin C is an acid and while the skin likes a mildly acidic environment, too much too fast can create irritation, especially if you have sensitive skin. You can add up to 3 times as much vitamin C as I include in this recipe, but start slowly and work up to find your skin’s perfect balance. Over time, you can add slightly more vitamin C, but don’t exceed 1.5 teaspoons.

Tips for Homemade Facial Toner Success

This recipe makes a small amount of facial toner, and this is important. Though you could easily double the recipe, it wouldn’t be as effective.

Vitamin C breaks down over time. I prefer to make about as much as I need for a week at a time and keep it in the fridge to have a cooling toner to use after washing my face.

You do not need to keep this refrigerated, but it slightly extends its shelf life. Either way, keep out of sunlight and away from heat.

Vitamin C and Witch Hazel Facial Toner Recipe
Print
3.25 from 77 votes

Witch Hazel Toner Recipe

Make this gentle and cleansing natural witch hazel toner with a boost of antioxidant vitamin C.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Yield: 20 uses
Author: Katie Wells

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a small glass bottle, spray bottle, or dropper bottle.
  • Shake well to incorporate.

Notes

Use after washing face each day. Apply with a cloth or cotton pad.

Or, Make Vitamin C Serum Instead!

If you have really dry skin or don’t want to use witch hazel, you can use food-grade glycerin in place of the witch hazel. This will produce a serum instead of a toner. Either one should be made in small batches and often because vitamin C oxidizes so quickly.

Ever made your own witch hazel toner? Try it and let me know what you think!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

68 responses to “Vitamin C & Witch Hazel Facial Toner Recipe”

  1. Lerushka Avatar
    Lerushka

    I love the cooling effect of witch hazel 🙂 . I personally make a toner using witch hazel, a bit of apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. Then I use a facial lavender essential oil face mist . Though I like to try the vitamin c combination in my own mix…I think I just might add in some camu camu!

    1. Cynthia Avatar
      Cynthia

      Lerushka – your ‘toner’ sounds interesting. Can you supply the ingredient measurements? And, what type of skin do you have? I suffer terribly from blackheads more than anything so I’m always looking for a solution!

  2. Nadine Avatar
    Nadine

    According to PaulasChoice.com, witch hazel is actually pretty bad for the skin and is a huge anti irritant.

    1. Wendy Avatar

      Thanks for siting your resource. After reading the info on the site and reading the abstracts and articles of the references sited to support the rating, not really sure how they could generalize and have given all witch hazel a “poor” rating. I’ll continue to do my own research from more than one site that produces their own skin line.

  3. Ruth Avatar

    I love all the suggestions but I need more specifics. I have wrinkles around my mouth & would love something that would help those. Which formula would be good using vitamin C ? Also I read one article saying they use C powder & distilled water followed by moisturizer. Another article used Vit C then applied HA then Vit E over Vit C serum. Lease help me. Which suggestion is best for mouth wrinkles. Thank you!!!

  4. Chris Avatar

    Can you tell me what the difference would be between vitamin c powder, and citric acid that I see in bath bomb recipes? Could citric acid be used in this recipe?

  5. Sherry Avatar

    Thank you for this post. Since I am part of a month-long annual mission trip, I am always on the lookout for products that don’t need to be refrigerated. To that end, I have a couple more questions: Does the Vitamin C itself need refrigeration (i.e., before mixing)? And how long do you think the mixture would last in a suitcase w/o refrigeration? Would I be able to take the components and mix it once I get there?

  6. Marilee Avatar

    Witch hazel is an irritant for skin according to the Paulas Choice ingredient dictionary. Lavender is as well. Vitamin c is much more effective in the form of a ascorbic acid.

    1. N Bell Avatar

      There is a big difference between typical drug store witch hazel astringent that contains alcohol and a bunch of synthetic additives. That can definitively be irritative. I use and absolutely love pure organic, food grade, extract from the witch hazel plant with no additives, which is radically different than the drug store crap. I mix organic witch hazel (Thayer’s unscented witch hazel toner is the next best thing) with (diluted) organic apple cider vinegar. I refrigerated it and use it as a toner after washing my face. It’s AMAZING. It clarifies and tightens, and -most importantly- soothes my skin. I feel like I’m using a $100 high-end clean toner for a fraction of the price. My next step is to try adding a capsule or two of the vitamin C power Katie recommends. If that works, then I’ll have a great clean toner and vitamin C serum in one:-)

  7. anna Avatar

    Does the vitamin c powder oxidize only when added to the witch hazel ? I have some vitamin c powder and wonder if it’s less effective.

    1. Vanessa Avatar

      I am wondering the same thing. Also, when she says vitamin c powder, can I use acerola powder? I think they are the same thing but just wanting to double check.

  8. Lynne Avatar

    Hi
    I just found your site. Very interesting. I am a senior with somewhat sensitive skin. I would appreciate recipe and thoughts as to a recipe. As a toner I currently use organic rose water but would like something with vitamin C and/or A. Would you suggest a recipe. Thank you.

    Regards
    Lynne

  9. Tina Avatar

    The witch hazel you linked in the recipe has aloe vera in it according to the website? I would like to use one I found online…… it says it’s organic, alcohol free and astringent? Will this be as effective? Thanks 🙂

  10. charisma Avatar

    thanks wellness mama,pls where and how ll I buy all this recipes in Nigeria.

  11. Catrina Avatar

    How much water do you add to the witch hazel and the Vitamin C? It does not say it in the recipe.

  12. Jen Avatar

    What kind/type of glycerin do you recommend? I have seen vegetable, vitamin E and aloe vera glycerin.

  13. Kristin Avatar

    Do you need to use the powder for this or do the capsules work the same if you open them up and use what’s inside them!
    I may use the capsules if I ordered them, but I’m afraid most of the powder would go to waste.

  14. Andrea Avatar

    Any thoughts on an all natural face wash gentle enough for my 7 year old daughter?

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar

      I’d just use raw honey personally on my daughter that age. It makes an excellent face wash anyway, but is very gentle and shouldn’t be harsh at all on more sensitive skin.

  15. Vicki Burns Avatar
    Vicki Burns

    Wow was this timely. I’ve been only using oil cleansing but would get the occasional blemish. I’m about to run out of my first batch of this toner. I use it day and night except not on days I may spend time outside. I love how it closes up my pores and smoothes out my skin. I always look forward to how refreshing it feels.

    Thank you so much, Wellness Mama for all your dedication! I have really appreciated the research and all that goes into it to help us make informed decisions on food, beauty and home health!

  16. Kristin Avatar

    I noticed you linked to the Mountain Rose Herbs witch hazel, which is 86% witch hazel and 14% alcohol. I have a cheap witch hazel on hand that lists the same concentrations so would the one I have be just as good or is the MRH one better in some way? Also I’ve noticed some people prefer alcohol free ones like Thayer’s. What do you think is best? TIA!

  17. christina Avatar
    christina

    I really want an answer! Please!!
    Sorry for my poor english and I just find the oil cleansing method.
    May I know is method suitable for every night? Also for combination skin, it said after oil cleansing, doesn’t need apply anything instead you feel dry (then apply some oil or DIY lotion), but I saw many DIY beauty method on this site, such as how to DIY toner, mask, etc. I very confuse that my skin care routine, what should I do? Do I need apply anything after OCM? thanks so much for your help!!!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar

      Oil cleansing can be used every day, and you may not need anything else at all. Some people like to add toner or something to reduce wrinkles, but for most, this is not necessary.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating