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| Photo included because toner is watery? And this fountain at Caserta (near Naples) is cool. |
From what I understand, toner was originally used to counteract the basic pH level of soap. You applied toner with an acidic pH after washing your face to restore the face's natural balance. But since most cleansers today are pH balanced, it seems unnecessary for that purpose. I do use similarly watery or thin products like liquid exfoliants and serums, and there are other things out there such as essences that I haven't yet explored. But toner? I know some of them have beneficial ingredients, but I would just as soon use a serum or moisturizer with those ingredients in it as add an addition step and expense. I suppose if you have oily, not dehydrated skin, you might substitute a lighter toner for a heavier moisturizer.
What about you? Do you use toner? If so, what role does it play in your skincare routine? If not, why not? I'm curious how popular these things actually are, since I see them around but don't hear people talking about them a lot.
I only use acid toners to exfoliate, so they're more treatment than toner by category. I don't believe in the "balancing" claims.
ReplyDeleteI guess that's what I use too. The Paula's Choice BHA liquid used to have the word "toner" in the name, come to think of it, but not anymore. (I think they put it in a separate category so that it doesn't go on sale when other toners go on sale. :P)
DeleteIn the distant past I tried 2 very, very harsh acne toners, things that were barely better than putting rubbing alcohol on my face, and subsequently avoided all others for about a decade. More recently I tried a sample of a toner by Laneige but never felt like it served any noticeable purpose. It wasn't really even moisturizing, I'm still totally at a loss as to what it was supposed to do. I would really like to try one of Clinique's Clarifying Lotions, because my skin stubbornly refuses to quit with acne, but that's definitely more treatment than toner (even though they describe it as one). I use rosehip oil, does that count?
ReplyDeleteI love rosehip oil, but I don't think I would call it a toner. It seems like I also exclude things from the "toner" category when they are more like treatments!
DeleteHuh, I never knew about the pH balancing thing! I do use toners, but clearly not for that purpose. I actually use two toners in my routine; first an acid toner (FAB's facial radiance pads in the am and Paula's Choice BHA liquid for pm) and then a spray toner for moisture since some of my serums aren't all that hydrating and I don't always use moisturizer. Have you ever checked out Caroline Hiron's blog? She has a really good cheat sheet on toners and their purpose and is just an all around good skincare resource
ReplyDeleteI do use that BHA liquid, so I suppose I actually do use a toner, depending on your definition! Maybe part of the thing is that not everyone has the same idea of what a toner actually is.
DeleteI'm not a huge fan of Hirons personally, but I know that a lot of people have had luck following her routines.
I've been a die-hard Clinique clarifying user for years... I recently tried the Guerlain toner which you splash on vs use a cotton wipe and my mind was blown. I want to try every single non-alcohol toner available now!
ReplyDeleteI've been slowly working my way through my paulas choice pore refining toner. Im unsure if ill repurchase but I quite like it. It's oddly refreshing but not in a tingly alcohol (a la Clinique clarifying toner 2- hello teenager me) or Menthol way- I have no idea why. It removes the last bits of my makeup before I put on my BHA treatment. It according to SCA has a good amount of niancinimide which I like for reducing my acne red spots... But I also have cerave pm which also has it so...
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, I remember using that Clinique toner in high school too! I assume all of our mothers bought the Clinique system for us (and then kept the GWP bag full of goodies for themselves). I think my mom still uses that bar of yellow soap on her face, when she actually washes it. She and my sister have always miraculously had perfect skin without cleansing at all. I did not inherit that. Sorry, sour grapes digression!
DeleteStory of my life! My mom does not wash her face and has always been breakout free. Ugh
DeleteI always use toner from PC since it's well formulated. Toner can also be used to pick up any left over makeup, dirt, etc left behind from washing. However if you have a good cleanser, that might not happen. I don't however use a cotton pad. Since toner is meant to be left on your face, I splash it in my hands, apply it and let it dry before moving on to my serums and shit.
ReplyDeleteI guess that's how I've thoough of a toner too--i.e. something that you use on a cotton ball as an extra cleansing step. But I do think my cleanser works well enough, and I use a extra oil cleanser when I wear heavier makeup.
DeleteI too think of toner as for removing extra crap that your cleanser didn't take off (which happens to me sometimes, which is weird because it's not like I'm trying to budge makeup or anything). I'm not sure I get the splashing thing though - for me, half the point is the wiping action, to pull the crap off, and it seems like splashing would just moisten the crap but not move it?
DeleteI always use toner from PC since it's well formulated. Toner can also be used to pick up any left over makeup, dirt, etc left behind from washing. However if you have a good cleanser, that might not happen. I don't however use a cotton pad. Since toner is meant to be left on your face, I splash it in my hands, apply it and let it dry before moving on to my serums and shit.
ReplyDeleteI do have oily, dehydrated skin, and I use Paula's Choice Skin Balancing toner because I feel like it adds a little extra moisture before my actual moisturizer. Might be all in my head though!
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense! It sounds like it has good ingredients, anyway.
DeleteI usually dislike washing my face in the morning and do that only at night before going to bed. So I use toner in the morning before makeup to wipe off moisturizer and oil left from the previous night. It's a quick fix for me.
ReplyDeleteFiend for toner here. I grew up with an 'Asian skincare routine' (which to me was merely the correct order of business so it's odd to see such fuss over it in Western media), and toner is an crucial step.
ReplyDeleteI consider it to bridge the cleansing and moisturising routines by removing traces of cleanser and prepping the skin for thicker moisturisers. Some purists will argue that it is separate from cleansing altogether since washing one's face in the proper way should leave you with no residue whatsoever.
In fact pH balance is, as you say, the primary reason for toning. A pH balanced cleanser would eradicate the need to tone only insofar as all factors including tap water etc. align properly. But there is meant to be a host of additional purposes. Generally the toner categorisation goes: hydrating, astringent, pore-tightening, and skin-softening. The first three are common in Western brands so I shan't elaborate; as to skin-softening, that generally includes exfoliating acids. There's supposed to be a way of deciding whether any given toner should be applied with cotton pads or hands, but that rather goes beyond my degree of interest in the matter. I usually use cotton pads if I think my cleansing has been less than perfectly thorough (think drunken makeup removal), and hands if otherwise.
Other uses: I prefer my toners with spray nozzles (or decant into spray bottles) to double up as a face mist throughout the day. The Japanese will use cotton pads soaked in toner as hydrating masks on the go.
tl;dr i like toner
Never used toner, but I use liquid-y BHA (used to be Paula's Choice, now CosRX which rules!) after cleansing and before moisturizer or sunscreen.
ReplyDelete