Facial Toners: 8 Benefits & Why To Use Them
When we talk about taking good care of our skin, facial toners are playing a significant role in our daily personal care routine. And I will discuss how…
First, let us learn more about toners…
What Is A Facial Toner?
As simple as it sounds, facial toners tone our skin. This means, it clears impurities out of the pores and makes their appearance smaller. At the same time, it provides our skin with a better glow, keeping the pH level in balance.
Types Of Facial Toners:
Toners are available both in natural and synthetic forms. Here we are focusing to know more about synthetic form. So, synthetically, It is available in two types:
1- Water-Based Facial Toners:
One type of facial toner is water-based. Meaning that the main ingredient is water. In general, water-based toners are a better choice with almost 0% side effects.
2- Alcohol-Based Facial Toners:
The second type of facial toner is alcohol-based. Meaning the base ingredient is alcohol. These are the types of toners you should stay far from. They can dehydrate your skin, making it produce more sebum. And your skin will become oily as a result.
3- Natural Facial Toners:
Natural toners are simply natural and organic ingredients that are safe to put directly onto your skin. Some natural toners are green tea, rose water, witch hazel, aloe-vera, rice water and many more.
Benefits Of Using A Facial Toner:
Facial toners have a lot of benefits for our skin. It is ideal to use a toner according to your skin concern. as every toner is designed to tackle a different skin type and skin problem.
1- Deep Cleanses Pores:
Our skin has lots and lots of microscopic pores. Pores are mostly exposed and are often blocked by environmental pollution or minerals deposited in them during sweating or dead skin cells.
Toner cleanses the remaining impurities of the pores that are often left unclean by our regular cleansing. Like dirt, oil, and makeup that your cleanser may have missed. This is especially important for those who wear makeup or have oily skin.
2- Anti-Aging Effect:
Due to the presence of skin-protecting ingredients in most toners, they provide an invisible protective layer on the skin. Which acts as a shield against any type of external effects like free radical damage. This provides nourishment to the skin and slows down the aging process.
Both natural and synthetic toners have anti-aging effects because of the ingredients that slow down skin deterioration. And, the skin shines and glows for a longer period of time.
3- Balances Skin pH Levels:
Different body organs have different standards of pH levels to be in existence, grow, and maintain their functions harmonically and more effectively. Our skin also has its own standard pH level for its growth and sustainability definitely resulting in glowing and shining for a longer period.
Toners play a vital role here, by maintaining pH level balance in the skin which is generally affected by our cleansing products which are more alkaline. pH levels are also disturbed internally by bad dieting habits and sleep disorders. Improper pH can lead to skin problems like acne, blackheads and whiteheads.
4- Reduces Sebum(Oil) Production:
Pure medical benefits are also a part of a toner function as it co-works with sebaceous glands disorder due to bad dieting habits, restlessness and sleeping irregularities.
Irregular pH can lead to oily skin and excess sebum production. Applying toners on a regular basis will help to keep skin pH levels in balance. Which will result in controlled sebum production.
5- Provides Skin Hydration:
Moisturizing your skin is an essential and unskippable part of any skincare routine. Some toners contain hydrating ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid, which can help to keep your skin moisturized.
They help to keep and retain the moisture balance in our skin, which ultimately helps in keeping the skin’s elasticity and softness, and the face looks more young and fresh for a longer period of time.
6- Prevents Pimples & Acne:
Facial Toners provide a deep cleaning action. This is great for acne-prone skin as it gets rid of acne-causing bacteria and prevents further breakouts. A toner provides you relief from pimples and acne by keeping it clean for a longer period of time. It also creates a protective layer on the skin.
A toner with soothing ingredients will also reduce any redness and irritation on the skin caused by acne.
7- Preps The Skin:
Toners can help to prepare your skin for other products, such as serums and moisturizers. Toners for our skin perform multi-dimensional functions, besides their miraculous anti-aging, skin glowing and prolonged freshness effects.
By removing any remaining dirt and oil and balancing the pH level of your skin, toner can help to improve the effectiveness of other skincare products.
Some toners are designed to work as a primer or pre-primer. That will make your foundation glide on smoothly.
8- Reduce The Appearance Of Pores:
Facial Toner can help you in reducing the appearance of large pores. This is because toners typically contain astringent ingredients, such as witch hazel, that help to tighten the skin. Regular use of toners will prevent any buildup inside your pores. The cleaner your pores, the less visible they are.
If you are facing the problem of large visible pores then give this a read: Large Pores? Here Are 5 Best Solutions You Need To Know
How Do I Choose My Facial Toners?
Select your toner wisely “Always choose your toner according to your skin type” whether it is dry, oily or normal. It is better to consult your skin specialist or dermatologist in choosing a proper toner for your type of skin.
Aside from choosing a water-based toner, choose your ingredients wisely. They exist in both Natural and synthetically blended forms. Here are some points you should keep in mind while choosing a toner for your skin type.
Choosing Your Facial Toner:
Choose your toner according to your skin problem. Know your skin and use the ingredients that best suit your needs. I can suggest a few ingredients for you, to look for when buying a toner:
For oily skin:
Choose the ones with AHAs or BHAs (salicylic acid, glycolic acid). Witch hazel, tea tree oil and green tea are also great ingredients to look for.
For acne-prone skin:
Choose toners with soothing ingredients like niacinamide, tea tree oil, green tea and rose water.
For dry skin:
Choose hydrating ingredients like aloevera, rosewater, hyaluraunic acid and niacinamide.
How Often Should I Apply A Facial Toner?
Although the application of a toner depends greatly upon the seasonal and environmental conditions and working style of every individual yet it has been established that it may be used at least twice a day. After getting up in the morning and before going to bed at night.
Korean people averagely use face toner 5 – 7 times a day and that is why they have everlasting face shine and charming glow, anyhow, a minimum of two times is suggested generally.
When Should A Toner Be Applied?
One important query is, “ in which step of the skincare should we use the toner?” and, the answer is, right after cleansing the skin and before using your moisturizer. It is the best time for applying a toner for its miraculous performance and getting its optimum benefits.
How To Apply A Toner Properly?
Now focusing on the most suitable ways of its application on our skin we find two, with which we can apply a toner on our skin to get the required results.
One is to spray it directly on the face and pat it on the skin. The other way is to swipe a cotton pad drenched in toner gently on the face. Avoid rubbing the skin, and remember! Don’t wash the face after applying toner. Just moisturize it…
Spraying on toner will save you a lot more product and this way more toner goes onto your skin.
Now with a charming glow on our face, its time to impress the world with confidence, courage, curiosity and care and above all, with cuteness…!
To Conclude:
- With the help of sensibly selected facial toners, we can tackle many skin problems effectively.
- Toner improves the overall health of the skin and provides an extra layer of protection to our skin.
- Choose ingredients specific to your skin concerns to get the most out of them.
It is said in general that face is the index of mind and body, and the skin of the face is the most exposed portion of the body to all environmental and seasonal changes. So it must be taken care of on top priority in daily personal care routine.
