Are you aware of the pros and cons of using a skin toner in your everyday skincare regime? Many times a toner’s harmful chemical ingredients are not at all suitable for our skin type and this may cause more harm than good. This may be the basic reason behind your pimples popping out frequently time and again and for other acne-related problems on your face skin. Ask your skin expert to recommend you a suitable skin toner depending on your skin type, texture and sensitivity to surrounding factors. So, how do I choose an appropriate toner for my face?
Many of us simply wash our faces and then apply moisturizer or sunscreen. This can be okay for people of normal skin type. To people with oily, acne-prone skin and those who usually apply makeup need some extra cleansing i.e. deep cleansing. So for them cleaning their faces with skin toner is a must to avoid clogging of pores, shrinking them removing extra oil, and to tighten the skin effortlessly. For dry skin type individuals to alleviate their faces from flaking and cracking, tonners have soothing agents that hydrate skin without ripping it off the natural oils.
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The next question here lies in is, what is a skin toner?
What is a Skin Toner?
Skin toner or toner is simply a liquid that is used after washing your face with any face wash or soap and before applying moisturizer or serum. Toner removes any left-over residues or impurities present in the pores of your skin. It also prepares the skin to get replenished by moisturizer or for further skin treatments. Skin toner is usually applied in the following ways:
- by using a cotton pad, it is frequently used this way
- simply by spraying on the whole face
- or simply by applying a tonic gauze facial mask
One of the most frequently used ways of applying toner is using a cotton ball. So how do we do it?
Firstly, wash your face properly and then take a cotton pad or a cotton ball. Pour some drops of toner onto it and gently wipe the cotton pad on the face and neck area. Stay careful and make sure to avoid eyes. Wipe with care around areas that are difficult to reach. After you complete wiping your face and neck areas wait for a minute to let the toner seep in. After it dries completely, apply some moisturizer or serum to your face.
Types of Skin Toners
There are various types of toners available in the market, some of them are:
1. Skin bracers or fresheners
These are mild types of toners that contain a very minimum amount of alcohol. They are mainly composed of water, humectant like glycerin and as mentioned before, a slight amount of alcohol.
These types of toners are suitable for all skin types. This skin toner is very gentle, soothing and exfoliating. An example of this type of skin toner is rosewater.
2. Skin tonics
These are composed of water, humectant, and alcohol ( about 20%). As alcohol percentage has increased so it could only be used by combination, oily and normal skin typed people. Orange flower water is an example of this type.
3. Acid toners
These are a strong form of toner which contains alpha-hydroxy acid and or beta hydroxy acid. some of the alpha hydroxy acids are Glycolic, Lactic, and Mandelic acids. and Salicylic acid is commonly used beta-hydroxy acid.
Many of you might have heard of physical exfoliation which is done by using grains or sponges, etc. this type of toner is a chemical exfoliant.
4. Astringents
These are the strongest form of toner which contains alcohol (20-60%), antiseptic ingredients, humectant, and water. sometimes it is not considered as a toner because of its high alcohol content but its functions are the same as a toner.
It is most likely to benefit people with acne and oily. it removes makeup, dirt, and oil from your face.
Apart from toners, available at the market, one can also make toners at their homes by natural ingredients. If we take one of the examples of home mad toner that can be used by all skin types then we need ingredients like one green tea pouch and half a teaspoon of honey. Take a cup of hot water and add green tea sachet and honey then let it cool and add 2-3 drops of jasmine essential oil. and store it in a jar too use it regularly. green tea help in boosting skin rejuvenation.
As per dermatologists, a toner is used to balance pH levels of your skin after washing your face with alkaline soap. but apart from that, there are quite a lot of benefits.
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Pros And Cons Of Skin Toner
Here are the pros of using a skin toner:
- Tighten your skin pores: When you use toner regularly it helps in tightening your skin. It makes your pores look smaller. Thereby making you look younger, cleaner, and flawless.
- Maintains pH: As already said toner balances the pH of your skin. actually, your skin has a natural pH level of about 5.5 on a scale of 0-14, and 5.5 represents your skin as acidic, which gets lost when using an alkaline soap. So, to restore pH, a toner is used as the best solution.
- Acts as a protector: Apart from closing pores it also tightens skin cells which give protection from external impurities like environmental pollution and dirt. Not only external impurities it also helps in removal and in protection from chlorine and other minerals that are present in tap water.
- Prevents ingrown hair: Acid toners that contain acids like glycolic acid or any other alpha hydroxy acid can help in the prevention of ingrown hair. Ingrown hair can sometimes be very bothering so to give us some relief, toner comes to help in preventing ingrown hair.
- Provides hydration and nourishment: To look young hydration acts as an essential criterion. and toner provides hydration thereby improving elasticity, maintaining moisture, and smoothness. to have healthy skin, skin also needs other nutrients which are also provided by toner
Even though skin toner has many benefits (pros) it also has some side effects or cons.
- Some people when they use toner they may have a burning sensation or irritation feeling. They are required either to change the type of toner or consult a doctor.
- The most important thing to be noted about toners is their alcohol content. Toners like acid toner or astringent may cause dry and damaged skin to dry-skinned people. So it is recommended to use toner which has low or no alcohol content by dry-skinned people.
- some of the toners dry out your skin which eventually leads to obstructing natural oils production which eventually can make your skin break out and sensitive.
The usage of toner is not always mandatory. if your skin is dry or sensitive you may try avoiding skin toner. but as seen a skin toner has a lot of benefits so try a skin toner that best suits your skin tone or just consult a doctor for recommendations. we live in an age where pollution is everywhere and toner is the best solution in deep cleansing. Try using a toner for radiant, youthful, and smoother skin.
STAY HEALTHY AND STAY BEAUTIFUL!!
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