Facial Toners In Your Skin Care

 A few years ago, toners were meant to serve as a second step cleanser ie to remove leftover dirt whilst hydrating th skin. 

Now, they go beyond to treat the skin as they are infused with acids like glycolic, salicylic and even for brightening, anti aging and more! Whether you intend to use toners as treatments or just to add extra moisture in your skin, do know that cleansers aren’t toners 😬

Let’s see some toners:

Witch Hazel toner from Dickinson or Thayers 

The Ordinary Glycolic toning solution 

Here’s the catch: if you use any toner that has the potential to treat acne, you must ensure that you wear sunscreen daily because these toners can make your skin sensitive to sunlight! Some of these toners are limited to night time use but you still need to apply your sunscreen. Driving doesn’t exempt you!

The usual routine will be: cleanse-toner/treatment eg if you use 100% rose water toner ( no acids in it), you can follow up with your treatment like Niacinamide, retinol among others. 

We will delve into layering products later. Do note that you may combine some toners targeted at treating certain skin conditions with serums in the same routine whilst at other times, you have to separate them. 

The category of Acids that you may find on the market are Alpha Hydroxy Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids -BHA of which the most wildest known is Salicylic Acid.  These  are meant to exfoliate the skin or remove dead skin cells from the skin that tend to clog your pores and lead to acne or pimples! Such exfoliating also helps with dark spots too. 

 AHA includes Glycolic acid, Lactic acid, Mandelic acid, Citric Acid. Some products like The Ordinary AHA/BHA peeling solution has a combination of these exfoliating ingredients.

Now, these acids can be found as stand alone serums eg The Ordinary Salicylic Acid serum. They may be in masque form like The Ordinary Salicylic masque and even in some cleansers like Cerave SA cleanser! 

 Personally, my skin loves lactic acid and Salicylic acid and tolerated the rest. Mandelic is the most gentle on the list and it’s a great starting point if you are new to facial acids. 

It’s advisable not to overuse them ie daily use isn’t recommended. For example, The Ordinary AHA/BHA peeling solution is used once or twice a week at most. You don’t need to use two of these acids at the same time; you may cause damage to your skin due to how potent they are, especially as stand alone serums and in toners. For rinse off products like cleansers, they are usually quite mild. 

It’s good to note that exfoliating is usually done with either chemical scrubs like these acids or physical scrubs like your regular St. Ives scrubs or Neutrogena scrubs. You don’t need physical scrubs if you use chemical ones. 

Physical scrubs derive their names from the fact that you use your fingers to manipulate them and also they work just on the surface of your skin whereas the chemical ones do penetrate deeper. This is one of the reasons why pregnant and breastfeeding women can’t use chemical scrubs or if any, very limited use. 

Have you tried any AHA or BHA?