I keep my daily skin care regimen fairly simple. I do use masks and exfoliators once a week but my normal routine consists of washing, toning and moisturizing my skin. Recently I posted a blog on Skin Care While Traveling. One of the key things I mentioned for caring for your skin while traveling was to tone your skin to reset your skins pH. One of my favorite bloggers and fellow Queen of a Feather Style Junkie asked a good question: What does toner do?
That’s an awesome question because I didn’t realize how many people don’t use to toner and are unsure of what it does. So… I’ve got the answers for you!
Toner does many things from cleansing the skin to preventing ingrown hairs
It resets the pH balance of the skin.
When we cleanse our skin, it disrupts the natural acidity of our skin. This causes the skin to go into protection mode so that the balance of acidity can be restored, many times people suffer from oily skin because of this. Using toner allows the acidity to be restored quickly
It adds a barrier of protection
Toners assist with closing pores. Closed pores prevents impurities like dirt and oil from entering the skin. Toner can even assist in removing certain minerals that are present in tap water (I’ve been thinking about ceasing washing my skin with tap water… we’ll see about that)
It shrinks pores
My pores are HUGE I mean they are just ridiculously noticeable. I can tell when I do not use toner, because toner removes oil from the skin and gives the appearance that the pores are smaller.
It’s an excellent moisturizer
Many toners on the the market are humectants, this means they assist with keeping the skin moisturized
It prevents ingrown hairs
One of the benefits of using toners that contain glycolic or alpha hydroxy acids is that they help with preventing ingrown hairs
It’s an excellent skin refresher
Toner can be used to cleanse the skin when its oily or dirty while on the go. When I’m out on a hot sunny day I like to keep a small bottle in my purse to help remove some of the icky feeling you get from being sweaty all day.
My favorite toners are:
Rare Earth Pore Refining Toner by Kiehls
Cucumber Lotion by Mario Badescu
Diluted Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
For those that are already using toner, which one is your favorite? I’d love to hear back from you!
Until next time…
