I’m really excited to write this blog post on toners! As an esthetician, I often have clients come to my skincare studio who are bypassing the toning step in their at-home skincare routine. A few reasons I’ve found why people are skipping a toner at home is that they think it is an unnecessary step, they are not sure when or what kind to use, or they’ve had a bad experience with a toner product. When used correctly, using a daily toner is really beneficial to your skin’s health and also your skincare routine.

scrub me secret: I’m obsessed with toners! I have multiple different toners I use in my skincare routine. I use a hydrating facial toning mist in the AM and a few times throughout the day if my skin I feeling dry or dull. I also use a mildly astringent CBD toner in the PM or if I’m doing some sort of mask or mini facial at home. I’ll list these products later in the post!

What is a toner? Why do we need one?

A toner is a liquid skincare product that is applied to skin generally after cleansing, exfoliating, or a mask. A toner helps re-set skin and bring balance back to the skin’s barrier after using a cleansing, detoxifying, or exfoliating product. A toner will also help any serums or moisturizers work with your skin better and have a greater effect. When we skip the toning step, our skin is off balance and won’t be able to absorb and utilize the ingredients introduced by aftercare products.

scrub me secret: The pH of our skin gets thrown off by cleansers, masks, and exfoliants. When our skin’s pH is disturbed is doesn’t look as radiant and may even feel a bit sensitive. Also, products like serums and moisturizers cannot work their best when the skin’s pH is off balance. This is where a toner can make a small but also a drastic difference in the way your skin is functioning.

I’ll use my own skincare routine as an example. In the morning I have multiple day time serums that are important for anti-aging and maintaining radiance. Before I apply these vitamin C, E and peptide serums I spritz my face with my hydrating rose toner so my skin can best absorb and utilize the antioxidants and nutrients. Without the hydrating toner, my skin can sometimes feel a little sensitive or have some redness.

How to choose the best toner for your skin.

Before I became an esthetician I didn’t have a ton of skincare knowledge; I thought toner was strictly an astringent based product for clearing excess oil. Oh was I wrong! There is a wide range of toners and skin refreshing mists (which I still consider to be a “toner”) out there on the market. Adding a new toner to your routine can take some trial and error. The upside is that toners are generally less expensive than cleansers, serums, and moisturizers so you can purchase a couple and try them out. Usually, within the first few uses, you should know if your skin isn’t responding well.

Astringent toners like products with witch hazel, salicylic acid, tea tree, willow bark, or apple cider vinegar are best for oily or congested skin types. There are different ingredient formulations and blends that affect how astringent and oil clearing the toner is. When using a daily toner at home I always like to suggest a slightly more mild feeling astringent toner unless your skin is producing a lot of oils. If a toner is too astringent for skin it can end up having an opposite effect and end up sensitizing or drying out the skin. I like Thayers witch hazel with cucumber or the mild astringent CBD toner I mentioned earlier. Both of these I’ll list below in my recommendations.

Skin refreshing tonics and mists or as I like to call them, hydrating toners, are great for a lot of skin types. I personally like products like these best for an at-home routine because its the best way to calm and reset skin after cleansing or exfoliation. Hydrating toners infuse water and nutrients back into unbalanced skin, helping to keep it healthy and prepare it for aftercare like serums and hydrators. Even acneic skin types that do have some excess oil can really benefit from this type of toner. Acne cleansers, serums, and spot treatments can harsh on the skin; a refreshing nutrient-enriched toner can really help with redness and inflammation. My general guideline is to look at your at-home products and if you see a lot of oil clearing, deep cleansing, or exfoliating products it’s best to use a hydrating toner like a rose water-based product.

scrub me secret: In the past 5 or so years I have seen a lot more people with a great, at-home skincare routine. I think social media and media, in general, have gotten a wider range of people wanting to have a daily skin maintenance routine at home. This is a great thing! With this influx of more people using skincare, I have seen more toning options on the market than ever before.

Toning tips, tricks, and recommendations.

Now that I covered all the general info about toners I can give some insider tips, tricks, and recommendations! I’ll link all my toner recommendations in this section so you can just click on the product I’m talking about for more information.

My skin type is normal/dry so cleansing my skin 2 times a day with my foamy cleansing bar always leaves it lacking a little moisture. In the mornings I don’t cleanse and start out with a toner like heritage rose water. I spritz it all over my face and then remove it with a cotton pad or soft cloth. This is a great way to prep my skin for my AM products without having to cleanse. This can also be a great routine for oily skin types, just switch the toner to an astringent product like Thayer’s witch hazel or Kiehls. If you have a pretty in-depth PM skincare routine I would definitely try skipping the AM cleanse step.

Even though I don’t have excess oils or acne I like to keep a mild astringent toner in my routine to use in the PM after my makeup removal and cleansing. I remove makeup with a facial oil, then follow that with my ‘toning’ cleansing bar and I feel following this up with a slightly astringent toner removes any leftover impurities before I apply my moisturizer. I like the CBD ‘blot’ toner I’ve been using because it helps with inflammation a lot.

scrub me secret: I formulated my “toning” face and body cleansing bar to mimic the results of a skin-balancing toner. while this cleanser is amazing and balancing for the skin, I like using a different toner after to get some extra skin-loving ingredients onto my face.

One of my favorite tips for toner is to keep it in the fridge! This has a couple of benefits. One, your product will last and keep its effectiveness longer. Two, when the cool mist or fluid is applied topically it helps relieve redness, take away heat from your face, and awaken your skin. I refrigerate my heritage rosewater and spritz it onto my face throughout the day or after a sweaty workout.

A little 1-2 ounce bottle of toner on a flight can make a big difference! Air on airplanes is not the purest and lack of fresh oxygen can leave our skin feeling dull. It’s great to bring a travel-sized spray bottle of your favorite toner for your carry on bag, I prefer CBD toner for mature skin. You can spritz your face every couple of hours to refresh your skin, the spray will be lightweight enough to apply over makeup if you have any on.

scrub me secret: if you have an astringent toner in your product lineup that feels like it’s overly drying you can save it for your back or other parts of your body like butt or legs when you’re experiencing congestion or breakouts in those areas.

There’s no skincare rule that says you only have to use one toner at a time. Sometimes I like to layer multiple toners onto my face so I can get all the benefits from various toners with different ingredients. For example, you can use a toner with lots of nutrients as well as an anti-inflammatory toner like the CBD blot so you can work on evening overall skin tone while keeping inflammation at bay.

It’s safe to say I am a little toner obsessed; but I love it and my skin does too! Look for a fun quiz on toners coming to the blog next week.