Anti Aging Skin Care » Skin Toners

Skin Toners

The daily skin care routine involves cleansing, toning and moisturizing. However, few women have a doubt on whether they really need to use a toner for skin. Most women simply skip applying a skin toner because they do not understand the use of toner. Therefore, it is essential to understand the need of skin toners.

The first and most important role of a skin toner is to restore the skin's natural pH balance. The skin has a pH balance of 5.5, while water can have a pH balance as high as 9.5. After you wash your face, your skin's pH balance is completely distorted and your skin starts working overtime to restore pH levels. This process may take up to half an hour. On the contrast, by using a skin toner, it is possible to restore the pH levels in an instant. Your skin is now prepared for the moisturizer.

There are various types of skin toners available in the market. Certain toners clear up and exfoliate the skin, making it completely oil and dirt free and eliminating all dead skin cells. Such types of toners are strong and contain alcohols. A strong alcohol based dry skin toner is good for oily skin, which helps to reduce the oiliness, but there is a possibility that it could also cause more breakouts. The excessive drying action of stronger toners causes skin to react by producing excessive oil to fight the dryness, leading to more breakouts. Therefore, it is safer to use an alcohol-free toner. Different skin types react differently though, thus it is essential that you continue with a regime for a couple of weeks before you can conclude which particular product suits your skin.

A gentle toner is suitable for normal skin type, as it does not exfoliate the skin but moisturizes it.

Homemade skin toner can be prepared, which is safe and easy to prepare. One of the mildest natural skin toner is natural rosewater. Splash it over your face in order to keep the face moisturized, fresh and to balance pH levels. This may not be perfect if you have oily skin, but since it is so gentle, it may provide you with just the right amount of moisturizing level you need.

Applying the skin toner directly on your face without using cotton, will make your bottle last longer. Moisturizing toners can be just splashed on your face while exfoliating toners need to be applied with cotton wool. Apply toner to a cotton ball and wipe it gently across your face. The cotton wool should come out clean when toning. If it does not, then you need to change your cleanser, as it is not doing its job.

Avoid scrubbing your face clean with skin toner every time it gets dirty. Due to this reason, toners should be used only after cleansing, when your skin is already clean so your toner functions as a toner and not as a cleanser.