Your Guide To Facial Toners: Why And How To Use A Face Toner

Toners have gone through some major changes since they entered the skincare world. This has left a lot of questions and uncertainty about what they do for your skin or why you’d want them in your skincare routine.

To help make sense of toners and show the amazing benefits they add to your skincare routine, we’ve put together this facial toner guide.

What is a facial toner?

Admittedly toners have been given a bad rep in the past, but they’ve come a long way from what they used to be. It used to be that toners were made to be astringent meaning they were working to remove excess oil. The problem though was that the formulas were drying and contained harsh ingredients like alcohol – causing more harm than good to your skin.

Nowadays toners are a great way to deeply cleanse pores and hydrate your skin. They have a lightweight, water-like consistency that delivers essential hydration. These qualities make it the perfect base for applying serums and moisturizers.

Toners penetrate deeply into your skin to remove excess dirt and make your other skincare products more effective. 

What are the benefits of using a facial toner?

There are many benefits to adding a toner to your skincare routine. The benefits of toners that stand out to us are that:

• They remove dirt, oil and makeup
• They deeply clarify your pores
• They hydrate your skin
• They balance your skin
• They soothe dry skin
• They reduce the look of large pores

How do you use facial toners?

Toners are recognized for their ability to help prepare your skin to be moisturized. It does this by removing the last of dirt, grime or sweat that may have been missed while cleansing and allows moisturizers to sink deeper into your skin to give you lasting results. 

Because of this, the best time to use your skin toner is right after cleansing your skin and before applying your face serum.

There are two types of face toners: liquid and facial mists.

• For liquid toners, you’ll want to apply them to a cotton pad and gently wipe it over your face and neck. Then, use a serum.
• For facial mist toners, lightly mist the toner over your face and neck. Allow it to dry slightly and then follow with a serum.

How do I know which face toner is right for me?

It depends on what your skin type and skin needs are. As a general rule of thumb, if you have oily, combo or acne-prone skin, you’ll want to look for a toner that’s balancing and clarifying. Look for gentle astringent ingredients like witch hazel or tea tree essential oil.

Our toner recommendations for oily, combo and acne-prone skin are our: Tea Tree Facial Toner and Lemongrass Balancing Mist.

If you have sensitive skin, look for a gentle, non-irritating face toner. Keep an eye out for natural ingredients like rose water and aloe vera.

Our toner recommendation for sensitive skin is our Rose Water Face Mist.

If you have dry or mature skin, look for a gentle and intensely-hydrating face toner. Look for gentle ingredients like floral waters and hydrating ingredients like aloe vera or skin oils.

Our toner recommendation for dry and mature skin types is our Chamomile Hydration Mist.

Toners bring your daily skincare routine up a level and help you achieve radiant, glowing skin. 
Still, have questions about skin toners or about your skincare routine? Take a look at our other blog posts filled with skincare tips.