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What Is Skin Toner and Why Use It?

If you’ve never used a skin toner before, you might be wondering why you should add it to your facial cleansing regime. Just what exactly even is it? What are the benefits?

Well, toner is actually a very versatile product and the formulation can vary a lot. There are a few different types of toners and they all perform differently. While each kind of toner is mainly used for a different purpose, there is a common effect to all skin toners.

Toner is applied to washed and dried skin as a foundation before moisturizer or any other cosmetics. The different kinds include:

  • Hydrating toner
  • Anti-aging toner
  • Exfoliating toner
  • Astringent toner
Moisturizer
Hydrating toners act like mild, gentle moisturizers for sensitive skin.

Hydrating Toner

A hydrating toner is the mildest kind of toner you can use. These products contain a moisturizer and often also contain small amounts of other gentle ingredients that can improve the appearance of your skin. They’re not irritating so they can be used on delicate skin like that under your eyes.

You can think of a hydrating toner as being very similar to a makeup primer in that it prepares your skin for other cosmetics like foundation. It can also be used alone as a simple, light moisturizer after cleansing your face too though.

Anti-Aging Toner

These kinds of toners are generally meant to be applied at the end of the day before you go to bed. They moisturize your skin after cleansing but they also contain ingredients like hyaluronic acid that are known to improve collagen synthesis and help keep your skin youthful.

Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance that’s found in your skin and involved in its renewal and maintenance. As you get older, your hyaluronic acid levels drop and this is thought to contribute to skin aging. The use of an anti-aging toner can help to reduce aging by maintaining higher levels of hyaluronic acid.

Lemon and cucumber are natural skincare
Lemons and cucumbers have a natural astringent and exfoliating effect that makes them work like natural toners.

Exfoliating Toner

Exfoliating toners are usually acid toners. Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) like glycolic acid or lactic acid are the most common active ingredients and this is for good reason. AHAs are well known for their skin benefits and used for many different purposes already.

Not only do AHAs help to exfoliate the skin in the lower dosages of cleansers and toners but they also act as mild chemical peels in higher concentrations. Glycolic acid directly increases collagen synthesis and also helps to smooth out your complexion.

This effect still exists even in the gentler form of a toner, although you will need to use it consistently over a period of time to start to notice a difference at this concentration. If you have acne, consider a beta-hydroxy acid (BHA), such as salicylic acid, instead, as BHAs are more effective for treating clogged pores.

Skin product
Astringent toners can be harsh and drying but they are incredibly effective at minimizing pores.

Astringent Toners

The traditional facial toner is an astringent toner. These toners contain a lot of alcohol and may also contain other ingredients like witch hazel. While they can be drying to your skin, they do exactly what they’re intended to. Astringent toners shrink pores.

Many of the milder kinds of toners on this list will also have some pore-shrinking ability as most toners contain at least a little alcohol. Astringent toners are much more powerful for this purpose though.

This makes them effective for anyone who has overly large pores but they’re also pretty useful for blotting oily skin too. Just don’t use them too often for this purpose because they can be harsh on your skin if used too frequently.

Why Use a Skin Toner?

You definitely don’t need to include a toner in your skincare regime. However, they have a lot of benefits. Anti-aging and exfoliating toners are particularly beneficial for most people as these products can help to keep your skin youthful and radiant.

The other toners on both ends of the scale from the mild hydrating toners to the extreme astringent toners are best used on a situational basis because they don’t do anything you necessarily can’t already do with a better or gentler product. For example, using a moisturizer for dry skin or a change in cleanser for oily skin.

Wondering whether you should try a toner? If you’ve never used one before, you should start by determining whether your skin has any problems you’d like to improve. If it suffers from dullness, for example, an exfoliating toner might be just the right product to improve your complexion. Don’t feel like you need a toner though as getting your cleanser and moisturizer right is the most important part of your skincare routine.

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