Healthy Skin Care: Toner

 

Toners are one of the most misunderstood components of a healthy skin care routine.  Some people think that they don’t do anything, and some think that only people with acne need it to “dry” out their pimples.  It is confusing, but I am going to try to separate the fact from the fiction on this, and show you why toner should be in everyone’s skin care kit.

Toners are often lumped into the same category as astringents, even though they function completely differently.  Traditionally, an astringent is made up of alcohols, and other such ingredients to “shrink “the pores and dry up acne.  Perhaps some of you remember Bonnie Bell, or Seabreeze—these astringents felt bracing and stung when they went on, so we assumed they were doing what we were told.  Fortunately, cosmetic science has come a long way, and we now know that it is (currently) physiologically impossible to shrink the size of a pore by using an astringent, or toner.  We also know that alcohols strip the skin’s surface of it’s natural lipids (or barrier layer), and causes photosensitivity.  This paves the way to premature aging of the skin, and an increased susceptibility to sun damage.  As a skin care professional, I cannot, and do not recommend astringents for facial care, for anyone; I see no up side.

Toners are a different story.  There are all different types of toners, some terrific, some are just astringents being called “toner.”  As always, really look at the ingredients in your product.  If an alcohol is listed as one of the first few ingredients, you are probably looking at an astringent.  If it is near, or at the end of the list, it is probably a component of the preservative, and fraction of a percent of active ingredient. 

Typically, an effective toner will contain highly concentrated ingredients that will benefit, hydrate and nourish the skin.  Most toners have the consistency of a thin liquid, which makes it possible to penetrate the skin’s surface more easily than a cream, thereby delivering the ingredients more efficiently.  And this is the root reason for my love-affair with toner—if used effectively, toners make it possible for the performance ingredients in your serums, moisturizes, masques, and spot treatments to work more successfully.

Here is how to make your toner work for you. 

1.     Make sure you choose a toner that has ingredients appropriate for your skin type.

2.     Look to see if the toner is in a spray bottle, or if you need to put it on cotton first (see note below).

3.     Close eyes, and apply a fine mist over entire face and neck.

4.     Important: while toner is still damp, apply the next step of your skin care routine.

5.     Re-apply during the day, whenever your skin needs a boost in hydration.

Note:  If a toner is in a spray bottle, you can be reasonably assured that there is little or no alcohol in the product.  If the toner has no spray bottle, it does not necessarily mean that it has alcohol in it, it just means you need to check the label carefully.  If you do need to apply with cotton, place a thin coat all over face a neck, then proceed as directed above.

You can expect to read more about toners in future posts, but as a component of your baseline skin care routine, please understand that toner is the workhorse—it makes all your other product work more effectively.