As you stand in front of your mirror, a facial toner can work wonders beyond what the eye can see, fine-tuning your skin's surface and prepping it for your day ahead, night’s rest or other steps in your skincare routine. A facial toner comes after cleansing in a skincare routine.
Facial toners hydrate, exfoliate, and restore your skin's delicate pH balance, all while enhancing its overall texture and appearance. So before you purchase your toner and grab that bottle and cotton pad, uncover the transformative effects of incorporating a facial toner into your daily routine with our ultimate guide to facial toners.
Key Aspects
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Skin toners remove impurities and prepare skin for further hydration or treatment.
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A facial toner can cleanse the skin, balance its pH, remove excess oil from pores to help achieve a matte appearance, and promote a healthy complexion.
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The benefits of using a facial toner include balancing the skin, hydrating and refreshing it, soothing irritation, and effectively removing oil and makeup.
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When choosing a facial toner, consider your skin type and concerns, read product labels, seek recommendations, and find the one that works best for you.
What is a facial toner?
A facial toner is a liquid-based skincare product designed to rebalance your skin's pH after cleansing. It helps to strip away remaining impurities and prep the skin for further hydration or treatment.
Traditionally, a facial toner's role was to provide a deep clean, targeting the removal of excess oils and stubborn residues. Today, the modern facial toner isn't just about cleansing, it's formulated to deliver specific benefits such as soothing, moisturising, and enhancing your skin's natural appearance.
What does a facial toner do?
A facial toner acts as a preparatory agent that not only cleanses your skin by removing remaining impurities but also balances its pH level and clears pores. Depending on the specific formulation, facial toners can hydrate, soothe, and provide essential nutrients to promote a healthy, vibrant complexion.
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Benefits of Facial Toners
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How It Helps
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Cleanses Pores
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Removes trapped dirt and oil, helping to prevent acne
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Balances pH
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Restores skin's natural acidity, reducing irritation
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Enhances Absorption
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Preps skin to better absorb serums and moisturisers
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Tones Skin
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Tightens and firms, reducing the appearance of pores
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Evens Skin Texture
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Promotes a smoother, more radiant complexion
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1. Balances your skin after cleansing
Using a facial toner after cleansing refreshes your complexion. It also plays a vital role in re-establishing your skin's natural pH balance, which can be disrupted during cleansing. Restoring this balance is vital for maintaining skin health and barrier function.
The right toner will gently restore equilibrium. A facial toner primes your skin to absorb the rest of your skincare routine’s products more effectively, ensuring each component works in harmony to balance the skin.
2. Hydrates your skin
Facial toners do more than cleanse your skin. Toners can provide hydration to boost your skin's moisture levels, ensuring it remains supple and radiant throughout the day. Formulations enriched with humectants like glycerin or hyaluronic acid are best to hydrate your skin.
Toners can also soothe your skin, relieving temporary redness or discomfort and leaving your skin feeling refreshed. Incorporating toner into your skincare routine functions as a moisturiser that can refresh your skin without the heaviness of typical creams.
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Benefit |
Toner Type
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How it Hydrates
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Balances pH
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Hydrating toner
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Retains moisture
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Prepares your skin
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Mist Toner
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Refreshes on the go
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Enhances your existing skincare products’ benefits
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Exfoliating Toner
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Removes dead cells
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Soothes your skin
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Soothing Toner
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Calms irritation
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3. Refreshes your skin
A facial toner can revitalise your complexion as it hydrates your skin, restores balance, and imparts a refreshing sensation that combats dryness and dullness.
Here's how a facial toner can help your skin:
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Leaves it feeling refreshed and radiant by removing impurities
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Removes excess oils without stripping moisture
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Removes dead skin cells, promoting cell turnover
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Prepares it to absorb subsequent skincare products more effectively
4. Soothes your skin
A facial toner helps to calm irritation and reduce inflammation for a more comfortable and soothed complexion. Facial toners that are specifically formulated for sensitive skin can alleviate redness and discomfort, leaving your skin feeling cool and refreshed. A toner is essential in balancing pH levels, which is crucial for those with skin that feels easily irritated.
5. Helps remove oil and makeup
Facial toners are particularly adept at removing residual oil and makeup, ensuring your skin is thoroughly cleansed and primed for the next steps in your skincare routine. Here's what you should know:
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A facial toner effectively eliminates leftover makeup
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It assists in cleansing away excess oil
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It prepares pores for deeper cleansing
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Some toners offer gentle exfoliation to remove dead skin cells
Why Use a Face Toner?
An effective facial toner is vital to optimising your skincare routine, as this favourite skincare product offers benefits for various skin types and concerns.
Whether you're grappling with oily skin, trying to combat dry patches or looking for a product for combination skin, using facial toner can be a game-changer.
Facial toners are ideal for:
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Individuals with oily skin: Managing excess sebum, reducing shine and preventing breakouts.
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People with dry skin: Hydrating formulations can soothe and prevent flakiness.
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For those with combination skin: A balancing toner can appropriately address oily and dry areas.
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Anyone seeking anti-ageing benefits: Certain toners can help to firm and smooth skin.
Choosing the right toner for you and your skin
Reaping the full benefits of a facial toner has a lot to do with choosing one based on your skin type. Selecting the most appropriate facial toner, therefore, hinges on assessing your skin type and specific needs to ensure maximum efficacy and compatibility.
If you have dry skin, for example, use a toner rich in hydrating ingredients to replenish moisture and prevent tightness. If your skin is oily or prone to acne, you'll benefit from an antibacterial and exfoliating toner to regulate sebum production and keep pores clear. Selecting a toner with calming properties is crucial for sensitive skin to reduce irritation and redness.
Face toners for combination skin
While choosing the right toner is crucial for any skin type, those with combination skin need to look for products that offer a harmonious balance of hydration and oil control to effectively address dry and oily areas. Your facial toner should be a multitasking hero that hydrates and purifies your skin without stripping it of essential moisture.
To ensure you're selecting the best possible toner for combination skin, consider these key characteristics:
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Hydration without heaviness: Toners contain humectants like glycerin or hyaluronic acid that draw moisture into the skin and supply the dry areas without adding excess oil to the T-zone.
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Gentle exfoliation: Some toners offer mild exfoliation to help manage the oily parts of your face, using ingredients like salicylic acid that target pores without irritating drier cheeks.
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Balancing act: Look for formulations that restore your skin's natural pH levels, which can be disrupted after cleansing, to maintain a healthy barrier function across all areas of your face.
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Oil regulation: Ingredients such as niacinamide can help regulate sebum production, reducing shine and preventing clogged pores in oil-prone zones.
Face toners for sensitive skin
For those with sensitive skin, choosing a facial toner that is gentle and formulated to soothe redness and irritation is essential for maintaining skin health and comfort.
A well-chosen facial toner helps to balance your skin's pH after cleansing, which is crucial since the wrong product can irritate your skin and lead to discomfort. It's not just about avoiding irritation as the right toner can also provide hydration, which is often needed for drier skin types.
When selecting a toner for sensitive skin, it's essential to look for products that hydrate and replenish your skin without irritating it. A facial toner for sensitive skin needs to enhance your skincare routine, leaving your skin feeling refreshed and prepared for the next steps in your routine.
Always patch-test new products to ensure they don't trigger a reaction, and consult with a dermatologist or cosmetic scientist if you need clarification on what products are best for your sensitive skin.
Face toners for oily skin
Oily skin can significantly benefit from a facial toner, as it helps manage sebum production and minimise enlarged pores' appearance. Facial toners specifically formulated for oily skin are designed to provide several key advantages:
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Control oil production: Toners can help regulate oil glands’ activity, ensuring your skin maintains a healthy balance without becoming overly greasy.
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Remove excess oil: A facial toner can effectively remove oil that may have been left behind after cleansing, which is crucial for preventing acne flare-ups.
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Pore minimisation: Regular facial toner use can remove debris and refine the look of pores, giving your skin a smoother appearance.
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Astringent properties: Many toners for oily skin contain astringent ingredients that tighten the skin and reduce shine, offering a more matte finish.
A newbie's guide to using toner
Understanding how to use a facial toner effectively can enhance the benefits of this skincare product as part of your daily routine.
Here's how to use a facial toner for optimal skin results:
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Cleanse your face. Always start with a clean canvas. Gently wash your face to remove impurities and pat it dry to prepare your skin for your facial toner.
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Apply the toner: Soak a cotton pad with toner, or spritz it evenly across your face if it's in spray form. If using a pad, swipe it across your skin, starting from the chin and moving upward towards the forehead. Avoid harsh rubbing, let the product absorb naturally.
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Allow it to soak: Give the toner a few minutes to penetrate your skin. The purpose of facial toner is to balance and prep your skin for your next skincare steps.
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Follow-up: After absorbing your facial toner, continue with your usual skincare routine. Apply any treatments or moisturisers. Consistency is key – use toner both in the morning and at night for comprehensive benefits.
Using your facial toner: Day and night
Incorporating a facial toner into both your morning and evening skincare routines can enhance the effectiveness of subsequent products by thoroughly cleansing and preparing your skin.
Using a facial toner ensures that any lingering impurities are removed and your skin's pH is balanced, setting the stage for the rest of your skincare products to perform to their best potential.
When you add a facial toner to your routine, use it twice daily—once in the morning and once at night. This consistency helps maintain a clear and balanced complexion.
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Step
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Morning Routine
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Evening Routine
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1 |
Cleanse |
Remove makeup
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2 |
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Cleanse
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3 |
Moisturise
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Apply toner
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4 |
Sun protection
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Treat/Exfoliate
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5 |
Makeup (if used)
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Moisturise |
Ready to try a facial toner?
Tailored to your skin type, toners can hydrate, balance, and brighten your skin while optimising the absorption of subsequent products. Embrace this ritual for a truly harmonious skincare routine.
A facial toner completes the cleansing process by removing the last traces of impurities a cleanser leaves. Our
Purifying Witch Hazel Toner is no exception. Witch Hazel continues to “reign supreme” as a popular skincare ingredient in facial toners,
Harper's Bazaar reports. At Skinfood Naturally, we’ve formulated our toner with witch hazel and camphor, which both naturally soothe skin to leave it calm, smooth and clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Toner Do for Your Face?
Toner cleanses your skin, clears pores, and balances pH. It'll prep your face for moisturisers, removing impurities and offering a refreshed feel. Pick one that suits your skin type for the best results.
What Happens if I Use Face Toner Everyday?
If you use face toner daily, you'll likely see clearer, more balanced skin, as it removes impurities and helps your other skincare products penetrate deeper, promoting a smoother, more radiant complexion.
How Does Toner Make Your Skin Feel?
With regular use tailored to your skin type, facial toners can make your skin feel refreshed by refining your pores and removing residual dirt and oils, promoting a clear complexion.
