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A facial toner is the most misunderstood step in your skin care regimen and also the most neglected.

If you ask: “Do I need to use a facial toner?” you’ve asked one of the most debated questions in skin care.

Personally, I try to never skip a toner in my daily skin care regime. I love the way my skin feels after a toner, and I really can see the difference on the cotton pad after I apply it. But is it necessary? I stand on the side that says yes, you should use a toner to encourage healthy skin.

There are many professionals who disagree with me however; stating it really is an unnecessary step in your skin care regime unless you have oily skin. In one article published in “In Style” magazine it says: “Today most dermatologists agree toner isn’t necessary. Its main purpose is to remove traces of makeup and residual cleanser, but a high-quality cleanser, even a creamy one, should rinse off easily with water alone…” Yes, it should. But is it? Some of them probably do, but a lot of them don’t. Besides that you rinse your facial cleanser with tap water. What about clearing the skin of impurities found in tap water? Analyze tap water and you’ll discover fluoride, chlorine and sodium which clog the pores and are very dehydrating.

Toner is easy to use to re-hydrate your skin during a day. Just imagine: you followed your skin care steps in the morning, you applied a makeup (girls) and went to work (school, shopping, out…). Sometime in the middle of the day your skin feels “dusty”, or dry, or oily. Would you consider carrying with you your facial wash, makeup remover, make up, and moisturizer? Would you find the time and place to repeat your morning procedure?  So you can refresh your face, or wipe off excess oil from your skin, or add some moisture. I never met anyone who would be willing to do it. I know, I won’t. On the other side carrying just one travel size bottle of toner is pretty easy. And using it when you need it not that complicated.

A toner is not just a skin conditioner. It is much more than that. A toner performs at least 4 very essential functions:

• A Toner DEEP CLEANSES and purifies your pores, making sure that all pores are totally clear of leftover makeup, cleanser residue, dirt, dead skin cells, waste by-products, toxins and other hazardous elements. If this debris is not removed, you are only forcing it deeper into your pores as your apply moisturizer on top, TRAPPING the debris that can cause bumps, blackheads, enlarged pores, improper absorption of the moisturizer, rough texture and even acne.
• A Toner Re-BALANCES the pH level or the natural acid mantel that protects your skin from the environment. It can take your skin up to 30 minutes to rebalance itself after cleansing without using a toner because the sebaceous or oil glands are confused: oily skins keep pumping out oil and dry skins stop producing oil.
• A Toner HYDRATES the skin. Skin can be oil dry and/or moisture dry and the moisture content is more crucial to skin health.
• A Toner assists PENETRATION of treatments and moisturizers which means complete absorption of the potent nutrients, those nutrients absorbing deeper, more effectively and evenly into your skin. So if you truly are interested in seeing results from your serums and moisturizer, tone before using them.

How to use a toner: make sure the toner is acetone, alcohol and benzoyl peroxide free, even if you have oily skin. In fact, alcohol on oily skin will increase the oil because it’s a STIMULANT. Make sure to tone your skin thoroughly at least twice a day, morning and evening, before applying your serum or moisturizer. Lightly wet a cotton with toner and begin cleaning your skin gently, one small section at a time. Never try using the same cotton all over the skin in one single try.

Start with your forehead, especially at the hairline where it is most neglected during cleansing. After cleaning the forehead, look at the cotton, if you see makeup or any other discoloration on the cotton, get new cotton and tone the same section again. Repeat  this step until the cotton comes away perfectly clean, free of any residue and pore debris. Then start with the next section. Perform this procedure from the hairline all the way to the décolleté. The reason you should not stop at the face is because throughout the day when you are busy running around, your body temperature rises and this causes your makeup to run. In fact, on warm days if you tone the upper part of your chest, you will find some of your morning makeup there as well. So if this thin skinned area has little bumps, then your décolleté needs the same deep cleansing.

A Toner also sets mineral makeup, misting after application makes a very soft and set makeup. Especially with some of the mineral makeup that can look almost dry, the hydrosols finish off the application with a hydrating setting action that allows the makeup to feel moist without any shine.

A toner cannot “close” the pores as pores do not have muscles controlling their opening. Pores can only appear smaller, if deep cleansed and there’s good collagen and elastin support.

Now your skin is clean!