The once essential toner, has taken a back seat over the past 20 years but interestingly, Aestheticians left, right and centre are now recommending adding a toner back into the skincare routine as a well-formulated toner can provide truly amazing balancing benefits for your skin.
Once we understand how toners work and are aware of ingredients to be avoided and embraced, we are one step closer to achieving that balance for a healthy, energised and radiant complexion.
So, how did the Toner come about?
Skin toners or ‘tonics’ have in fact been around for hundreds of years. Early last century, it was commonplace to wash your face with the basic and harsh soaps of the day. The water, drawn directly from the earth, unrefined was also severe on the skin. Residue of both soap and water would dry out the skin, leaving many a face still feeling dirty and tight, overproducing oils to help combat this dryness.
Hence, the TONER was born…initially to absorb and remove the excess oils and tight feeling to leave skin feeling cooled, refreshed and well…clean. These days, soaps are much more refined and less oily, water is treated and less harsh, but a toner can still play a very important part of your skin care regimen for a number of reasons.
Are modern Toners different?
Thank goodness….yes! Whilst, toners can still treat excess oil and skin tightness, many are now multi-use for us, in this time-poor age, to address a myriad of skin concerns from oiliness to dehydration, from teenage acne to anti-ageing and from pigmentation to sensitivity.
The modern toner also hydrates, soothes and even treats skin with their richly active formulations. Ingredients such as glycerin and lactic acid are often used to lock in moisture and encourage cellular turnover. Clarifying oils and extracts are often also used to balance the skin, leaving a fresh, clean, soothed and hydrated complexion. Use of a toner helps prepare the skin to receive the optimal benefits of your other skin care products, cementing its place in the skin routine between cleansing and serum or moisturiser application.
What to you look for in a toner
- Look for non-drying extracts that help soothe, calm, and clear whilst hydrating and nourishing the complexion. Of course, natural ingredients are best, gentle yet effective actives that are free from nasty preservatives and toxins.
- Water-based toners are safer for you and generally better in delivery than alcohol or glycol-based options.
- Ease of application – a spray-mister is perfect for applying enough where needed, whether you apply to cotton pads or a refreshing spritz directly over the face. A simple, yet convenient way to have your toner ready to use.
Other uses for your toner
- Your travel buddy – dry air environs of aircraft travel or overly air-conditioned places, can unbalance your skin so quickly. Take your toner with you on your travels, pop in the gym bag or in your picnic esky to refresh and soothe to skin instantly.
- Pop in the fridge in warmer weather for an extra cooling, refreshing spritz.
- Use post- cleanse and before derma-rolling to ensure skin is clear of cell build-up, so that your derma roller is most effective.
- Spray on over your make-up to help it ‘set’.
- And your toner isn’t just for hot, summer weather. Did you know that the ambient air in winter is actually very dry and a hydrating spray toner can help in replenishing the lost moisture? Your year-round essential.
NEW from AWE Cosmeceuticals – zaakti Purifying Tonic!
Zaakti – the essence of energy
Refresh and energise your skin and mind with this purifying natural tonic of peppermint oil, green tea, olive leaf and witch hazel.
This water-based formulation boasts skin-loving ingredients such as plant extracts, oils, antioxidants, and actives, encouraging cellular turnover, re-energising the complexion for a bright, youthful feel.
AWE’s new Purifying Tonic features glycerin to lock away the skin’s much needed moisture, gently hydrating and helping to reduce fine lines. Lactic acid is effective as a mild skin brightening exfoliant, promoting healthy cellular turnover and moisture retention, leaving the skin feeling revitalised, bright and youthful.
Gently clarifying extracts of olive leaf and witch hazel together with peppermint oil help to clear, soothe and calm skin whilst green tea, rich in polyphenols, helps to protect the skin against environmental stressors and premature ageing.
How to use:
Apply with a cotton pad after cleansing or spritz at any time to refresh skin. Ideal for use pre-derma rolling. Simply spray tonic onto cotton pad and wipe face in an outward direction to remove any excess oil and residual make-up.
And the best news?
AWE Cosmeceuticals new zaakti Purifying Tonic is only RRP $29.00 (125ml) Buy yours now here!
Recommendations:
For oily skin – try this tonic in conjuction with oil-absorbing serums using salicylic acid, such as the AWE Cosmeceuticals amala Clearing Serum.
For dry/ageing skin – this tonic works beautifully with the AWE Cosmeceuticals indiraa Recharge Serum with hyaluronic acid and apple stem cell extract to help hydrate the skin texture, improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.