Witch hazel has deep roots in Connecticut
The dense-growing common witch hazel shrub only gets to about 30 feet tall and some growers like to keep it small so that its essential oils are richer. In Connecticut, this plant (Hamamelis virginiana) that produces yellow blossoms in late fall has long been a key part of the state’s economy and farming history.
Native Americans discovered the medicinal properties of witch hazel and passed their knowledge of how to use the plant to European settlers. Today, witch hazel is a staple in most medicine cabinets in America. Its astringent properties make it well suited from skin care, especially facial toners, to first aid for wounds and rashes.
Connecticut has been dubbed the witch hazel capital of the world and while that night be a bit of an exaggeration, witch hazel is big business here. Not only is a large supply of witch hazel grown here but several notable companies are based here or have strong Connecticut ties.
Dickinson’s
After making his fortunes in the Civil War, Thomas Newtown Dickinson founded a consortium in Essex in the early 1800s, uniting small companies that made witch hazel. He brought these companies together under one brand, T.N. Dickinson’s. Later, his sons, who inherited the firm after his death, split the company into two brands: E.E. Dickinson’s, focusing on skin care and known for its yellow label, and T.N. Dickinson’s, whose blue label products are related to first aid. “We were organic before organic was a thing,” said Bryan Jackowitz, President of Dickinson’s Brands, noting that witch hazel is “good from your nose to your toes.”
Founded in 1847 in Massachusetts by Henry Thayer, Thayer’s today makes a variety of products using witch hazel from toner to pain relieving pads. The company works with Gilbertie’s in Easton, which has a field of just over an acre where it organically grows witch hazel exclusively for Thayer’s. A sister company to Dickinson’s is American Distilling in East Hampton, which distills witch hazel materials that go into products made by renowned pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies.
Interest in witch hazel has always been there but in recent years has surged as customers increasingly look for organic products without adulterants and chemicals. “People are looking for tried and true, back to basic, honest to goodness natural products that just simply work to take care of their skin and their families,” Jackowitz said.
Dickinson’s witch hazel grows in state forests and protected properties. Its foresters also harvest witch hazel by hand but in winter, waiting until the ground freezes to minimize the environmental impact on the land from heavy equipment necessary to haul away the timber. Using sustainable methods, they harvest the branches to get at the pulpy material inside — the cambium — which is then extracted and distilled. Virtually all the plant gets used and leftover material becomes landscaping mulch.
“The other thing that is important about our harvest is it actually promotes the health of the forest,” Jackowitz said. “Because witch hazel grows underneath the canopy and is a low-growing shrub ... it drowns out the light that is able to get to the forest floor so when we come in and thin it out that enables other hardwoods to grow up.”
Thayer’s
Third generation grower Sal Gilbertie today heads his family farm, Gilbertie’s, which began in the 1920s as a cut flower farm but soon earned a reputation for excellence in herbs and vegetables. About seven years ago, Thayer’s embarked on a partnership with Gilbertie’s. The bottles note that the witch hazel is grown in Fairfield County; the farm is in Easton.
Gilbertie said they hand-cut the witch hazel shrubs in a field by hand, cutting them down almost to the base each fall. Their product is certified organic.
“This is when the essential oil is the strongest when the bushes are like this,” he says pointing to a compact but dense witch hazel bush growing in a field. Showing an old cut near the base, he says, “They come back nicely.”