How to use a toner in your Everyday Skin Care

Throughout the years toners have been pushed ahead as a necessary skincare product. In western society, we adopted the use of toners in the skin care routine with brands claiming pH balancing and hydrating abilities and other questionable claims. 

 

Let's Bust the Myth

Myths: let's look at some of the marketing messages circulating in the industry about toners are the following:

 

1. Toners are Hydrating – False.

They don’t automatically hydrate your skin. Unless they contain hydrating actives included in their formulation. Majority of toners in the market mainly contain water or flower waters and some essential oils. Water isn’t hydrating. It can be refreshing, helps oils to penetrate the skin, or support actives to be mixed into the formulation to be applied to the skin. However, if you take one thing away from this, it is  that water itself isn’t hydrating for your skin.

2. Toners are pH-Balancing – False.

Skincare that impacts your pH-levels are not carefully balanced and formulated. Toners simply cannot balance the pH of your skin as they mainly contain water and perfume. Then the water from the tap would be pH-balancing. But that is not accurate. If at all, they are even negatively impacting your skin microbiome which ultimately impacts your skin barrier. As every time your skin gets in contact with water it needs to rebalance itself. Research has shown that mild disruptions in skin’s pH are temporary. The skin naturally equalizes to its normal pH. However, if you continuously spritz it with a toner or use it throughout the day, the skin might not be able to equalise itself again. 

 

3. Toners clean your face – False.

If the cleanser you are using is not cleansing your face. Then you should buy another cleanser and not a toner. Use the Everyday Cleansing Oil with our Reusable Cotton Pads for a thorough clean in the evening. And read more, why we think one cleanse a day is sufficient and you don't necessarily need to clean first think in the morning. A splash of water is perfectly fine to kick of your skincare routine. 

 

So what does actually a toner do in the everyday skincare routine? 

Really not that much.

A toner can be refreshing and cooling. For make-up, you want to use a fixing spray to fix your make-up and make it look glossier. But that has little to do with skincare. Rather than enhancing colours, contours and making the make-up last so it doesn't get cakey.

In some instance, a toner can be the layer to help hyaluronic acid penetrate into the skin. As hyaluronic acid ideally has a thin layer of water as well to penetrate into the skin. If you don't want to use water. For that, you can buy inexpensive Thermal Water. Thermal Water is nothing else then water taken from natural springs. The water come from deep in the ground, where it’s heated by geothermal activity.

 

What's in Thermal Water? 

It’s mostly water, of course, but it isn’t just water. As the thermal water rises from the grounds to reach the spring, it passes through rocks and soil which adds minerals to the water. The mineral content of a particular thermal water depends on where it comes from. The minerals include the ones found in your skin’s natural moisturising factor. For example: chlorides, sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

 

What does Thermal Water do for your skin?

There are a handful of peer-reviewed studies conducted by leading companies. These peer-reviewed studies outline that thermal waters have beneficial effects. As these studies have been conducted by big leading companies, they should be taken with a grain of salt. No scientist will invest into water studies, when there are more pressing matters to be solved. So these type of studies are typically funding by larger corporation to push their products. The two best-studied thermal waters are Avène and La Roche-Posay. 

You could also explore to you use mineral water or filtered water. And you can read more on this year. And guess what? Aura is enriched with Glaisher Water which is rich in electrolytes which are minerals. 

 

 Should I now use a toner? 

Qualitative and luxuriously formulated products can be a very helpful and necessary product for those who have congested, blemish-prone, or excessively oily skin. When formulated correctly they are never dehydrating or drying the skin. Unfortunately, there are many products in the market which are basically only water and have little to no benefit for the skin. And overall, those liquid products cannot help to balance pH or hydrate the skin. And there is no proof of the claim, many brands make. Unless you are a big corporation and conduct a peer-review study which most brands won't do.