Do You Really Need Toner?
Friday February 23, 2007
I recently received a letter from an irate reader who couldn't believe I was telling readers toner was unnecessary. She worked in the beauty industry and had been taught that toner is an important part of a daily skincare regimen. I felt for her because she probably had been selling toner to dozens of clients over the years and here I was not only questioning her practice, but throwing it out the window.
Yep, it's true. Let it be known far and wide that I, and many, many beauty experts, firmly believe you don't need toner. Where do I get my facts? From the beauty experts out there who seem to be in firm agreement toner is unnecessary. Of the dozens of beauty books I have, very few give toner a thumbs up and many experts actually suggest toner is useless, with one expert announcing, 'the only things that need toner are copy machines.'
Now we all have our firm beliefs, many of which aren't based on anything except how good or 'eh' something makes us feel. So if you swear by your toner and you can't imagine your beauty routine without it, if you insist cleanser alone could never remove your makeup in full, then by all means, don't throw out your toner. It's likely not going to hurt your skin and what matters most is not what the experts resoundingly say. It's not how a product is rated by the masses. What's most important is how it makes you feel.
Have a firm opinion about toner? Weigh in below.
Yep, it's true. Let it be known far and wide that I, and many, many beauty experts, firmly believe you don't need toner. Where do I get my facts? From the beauty experts out there who seem to be in firm agreement toner is unnecessary. Of the dozens of beauty books I have, very few give toner a thumbs up and many experts actually suggest toner is useless, with one expert announcing, 'the only things that need toner are copy machines.'
Now we all have our firm beliefs, many of which aren't based on anything except how good or 'eh' something makes us feel. So if you swear by your toner and you can't imagine your beauty routine without it, if you insist cleanser alone could never remove your makeup in full, then by all means, don't throw out your toner. It's likely not going to hurt your skin and what matters most is not what the experts resoundingly say. It's not how a product is rated by the masses. What's most important is how it makes you feel.
Have a firm opinion about toner? Weigh in below.
Comments
I use my toner about 3 times a week, only when I have a pimple. I’ve always had a problem with acne, and after using Kiehl’s Oil-Free Calendula Toner, my acne has been clearing up a lot.
Oops. I said oil-free, I meant alchohol-free.
First, I do work for a cosmetics counter in a department store and I recommend using toner. There are 2 great reasons for toner. Reason one it gets any little traces of your make up you may have left after you wash your face at night. The second reason is you will use less moisturizer. How is that you ask, if you apply your moisturizer after using your toner and your face is still damp your moisturizer will go on much easier and spread farther. If you do not believe me, try it. I could not believe it until I tried it myself. You will get your moisturizer to last much longer and save money in the long run.
What about cleansers with toners? I recently vought one and it is really quite refreshing and tingly as I use it.
I would like to use a toner because I hate any residue that is left after cleansing. Unfortunately I’ve yet to find one that isn’t too drying for my particular skin.
But Kimberly, you can get the same action if you just leave a tiny bit of water on your face after washing. The moisturizer spreads better over a damp face, whether damp with toner or plain water.
I keep a tiny spray bottle filled with distilled water in my medicine cabinet, and after I wash, I spritz it over my face, dab off any drippy excess, then use my day or night cream.
In summertime, I keep a little bottle of plain witch hazel in the ‘fridge, and use that on my face during the day if I get too hot and icky, then again at night, before the plain water, to help remove any lingering oil or sludge. It’s about $5.00 for a quart of witch hazel, and it’s very easy on the skin.
I am a lisenced skin care professional and have been in the business for 20 years. I have never heard anyone say toners are useless. Their main function is to return the skin to it’s natural ph level. Cleansers are lower in ph than the skin. You can get some moistureizers and cleansers with toner in them. Water will remove excess debris from the skin BUT what is in the polluted water?! Use a toner and you will be removing the garbage from your skin that is in the water before applying a moisturizer. If you are using a moisturizer that is penetrating active ingredients into the skin then you are pushing the pollutants in the water into your face also. I highly recomend a toner for that reason alone.
I’ve had oily skin ever since my teen years and have found that using toner only made my skin overly dry. I use all natural soaps like the Tomato facial soap by Burt’s Bees and if I use a toner, it’s witch hazel. Anything else just makes a bad situation worse (for me, anyway). While I respect the opinions/comments that are pro-toner, I have to strongly disagree. Also, Odette, you can use purified water to cleanse your face so that you’re not washing with pollutant-filled tap water.
I think toner may help my scarring from pimples. Does anyone know anything about toner helping remove/fade pimple scars?
As Odette says, toner is used to restore the natural acidic PH of the skin (acid mantel) that an alkaline soap or cleanser destroys, leaving toner out of your routine means the skin is left unprotected from the elements and pollution and moisturiser can not cope alone.
I recently stop by Shisheido counter and the sale girl told me that using toner will close your pores and your moisturizer will just sit on top of your skin, which is a waist. She said their line carry softener instead of toner and the softener will help your moisturizer penetrate your skin. Is this true? Shisheido softener is not cheap.
Ann, if you’re looking for a cheaper toner that claims to “soften”, try Boots. You can find it at Target. It’s the #1 beauty seller in the U.K. Visit their web site at boots.com. I tested their products at a target store and I was impressed!
I believe I read in Allure magazine that none of the editors use toner, they say it’s just a waste of money. I just believed them ever since.
I’ve actually never used toners and really see no reason to. I agree they are useless and they actually dry out my skin so maybe it’s just me.
Hmmm, in this article, you claim no one needs facial toner, yet no one actually NEEDS any of these face medicating treatments. Additionally, you claim toner is useless then provide no reasonable source for your claim, just “experts.” As a critic, this article is nothing more than an editorial and you are nothing more than one out of billions of individuals with an opinion. You even state that you “believe” toner is useless, and you cannot firmly say that toner “is” useless because you seem to lack data to support such a claim. For every “expert” who claims it is useless, there is one who can claim it is “useful.” Your voice has been lost in the crowd of billions who make claims without sufficient evidence to support them.
I’m not an expert on anything except for my own skin. I only feel the need to use a toner after a facial mask (witch hazel works then too). But for the record when I use a toner after exfoliating and cleansing there is residue on the cotton swab and for that reason alone I think there is a need for toners/witch hazel/rubbing alcohol whatever your skin can handle.
For my foundation I use a finishing creme only. I simply add a few dabs of water to my make up sponge add the crème and apply that makes my make up last longer and go on smoother. Toner tends to dry my already dry skin – could be great for oily skin I guess.
That’s my two cent.
before this, i used toner for like 10years since i was a teenager. what i notice is using toner doesn’t improve the skin condition. in addition, my skin got oily faster than when not using toner. it’s true that when u apply toner to your face, the dirt from the face or the towel or the polluted water do come out and stick to the cottonball. but still the face get oily easily and when u wash your face, it does feel like removing your moisturizer. now, when not using toner, i feel like the moisturizer could be absorbed more easily and my face get less oilier
You only need toner if your cleanser has a high ph. If the cleanser is ph balanced (around ph 4.5-6) then you don’t need toner as well.
For the record,
People get toners and astringents mixed up. They are not the same thing, but everyone refers to them as such.
Toners remove some residue but it’s main function is to hydrate the skin, decongest it, and prepare it for future treatments. These are primarily water based and not acidic.
Astringents are alcohol based, and used mainly to strip away excess oils, and can be drying for even the oiliest of skin. While I suppose they can bring people’s skin back to pH balance more quickly most are too acid for people’s skin. The the pH is too high, and settles around 5.5 (acidic).
Skin generally is between 5.5-6.5 in pH. As you can see, you’d have to have to fall at more acidic 5.5 range for the astringent to not be too harsh. Most of us don’t lay on that end of the spectrum, no matter how ’shiny’ you think you are.
If you use a makeup remover and then a cleanser you should be okay for the most part.
Your “Soap” (cleanser) should not leave too much of a residue on the skin. If so, the pH is too basic ( above 7.0 or 8.0) and/or the water used is too hard. Another possibility is your are losing too much moisture in your skin, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
if you need a toner to remove it lots of glaring residue, then you need to change your makeup remover or cleanser. You might even have to chuck them both. It doesn’t mean you need a ’stronger’ or acidic toner (astringent).
If oil is still present, your cleanser didn’t do a good job, go stronger. If you get a stronger cleanser and it’ leaves residue, go with a gentler cleanser or use purified water. If you find you can’t get the right balance between the two you may legitimately need an astringent. Dilute it with water first so you don’t irritate the skin and work towards a combination that won’t dry you out yet removes the oil.
*A note on purified water (hate to burst your bubble):
Even most tap filtered and bottled waters are still contaminated.
Distillation will remove just about everything but remove any beneficial minerals in the water (therefore not great for drinking).
Additionally, if distilled water is left in a plastic bottle, contaminants/hormone disruptors still leech into the water via the plastic.
Most water plants do not filter for man made chemicals in the water such as pharmaceuticals. And most tap filters cannot filter these out, it’s a highly expensive process. People who live in urban settings are at more risk of exposure due to other additives used in the water because chlorine levels cannot be increased for safety reasons. Again, most filters do not filter these out. A lot of filters will claim to be tested for filtering out certain compounds, but that doesn’t mean they are approved. Also, when water gets hot or moves quickly (such as through a shower), it becomes extremely hard to filter.
Next best thing: Rain water put in a ceramic or glass container using a filter not made with plastic or dangerous metals coming in contact with the water.
More on Acidic toners (astringents):
It makes no sense to immediately bring the skin back into ‘balance’ right after using a cleanser with an acidic product (astringent). You just used something basic, give your skin some time to breathe first and flush it out with water or hydrate.
An extreme example would be to pour acid on a fresh ‘base’ burn. In the lab we do not put an ‘acid’ on a ‘base’ burn to neutralize it on the skin.
We put the base burn under a stream of running water to dilute it until it’s gone (the same goes for acid burns). Sometimes we must sit there for several minutes to ensure the reaction will not continue with a extremely concentrated base.
While you are not burning your skin with soap (or at least lets hope not), adding something acidic will mostly likely cause a reaction on your face. Your face is not the same as a tub with soap scum that needs to be removed with vinegar. The tub will be spotless, your face will be irritated.
Just because there’s an acid base reaction doesn’t mean the chemicals go away either, they form new ones that now sit on your face and need to be rinsed away.
This contradicts everyone’s recommendation to be ‘gentle’ to your skin.
Luckily the chemistry in the body and skin is buffered, meaning you can add a little base or acid, and it will adjust the pH to what’s appropriate to conduct life. It doesn’t mean there won’t be irritation however.
You’d think that this means we need no moisturizer after we wash either, but that is incorrect in most cases.
When you add a soap to the skin, it can dry it out. It strips at least some oils from the skin and allows moisture trapped under the oil to escape the surface of the skin. If allowed to air dry after washing, your skin will dehydrate in the process or trying to rebuild the oily protective layer that seals moisture in. To compensate it will actually produce more oil to prevent any moisture left from escaping. Lack of hydration does not mean lack of oil.
To help stop this, use a hydrating toner/softener (not astringent).
While still wet apply your other treatments.
A moisturizer will stick to a wet face and absorb better than a dry face as moisturizer has a lot of water in it as well. Water likes to stick to water. A dampened sponge will soak up more water than a dry one due to this property.
After the moisturizer is well absorbed, you may apply any sunscreen, and/or primers to prevent pollutants/makeup from getting into your pores.