14 Feb 2017
Toner may sound like something that goes in your printer, but it’s actually a key component of any skin care regime! Although crucial, toners are largely misunderstood and are often a step that people might see as pointless and subsequently skip. Even those ladies who do diligently use toner because we’ve been told to, often don’t know why, or how much of a difference it is making to our skin’s health, quality and appearance.
From our Hereford spa and skin care experts, here’s a quick guideline to toners and why you should be using one:
A toner's function is to complete the cleansing of your skin, by removing impurities, dust and pollution that can still be lingering after initial cleansing. As the second step in the skin care regime, using a toner helps eliminate excess oil, tighten pores and prepares the skin to absorb the active ingredients in your moisturiser and serums.
Most toners are water-based and are formulated with specific active ingredients tailored to address a variety of skin types. Alcohol-free toners contain natural astringents, such as tea tree oil and witch hazel, to tighten the skin, whereas alcohol-based toners use isopropyl alcohol as their primary astringent ingredient.
Two more common toner ingredients are antioxidants and vitamins. Antioxidants work to rehydrate the skin and can also aid in cell regeneration. Vitamins such as A, B, C and E also help with skin quality and can help to slow down the aging process, just like our Collagen Infusion facial, which has been proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles!
Many toners also include essential oils for fragrance purposes or therapeutic benefits, such as lavender for relaxation or lemon balm to revitalise.
There are many different types of toners out there, all claiming to work miracles: hydrating toners, calming and soothing toners and astringent toners.
The right toner will make a big difference to your skin, but to maximise the benefits of the product it’s useful to know which skin type you have and the appropriate ingredients to look for. You can find this out with Holmer Park’s Prescriptive Discovery session; through an in-depth analysis of your skin, our trained therapists will not only identify your skin type but also help you learn which methods of skin care are best for you.
Normal/Dry Skin – Look for a toner containing rosewater for its hydrating, clarifying, and energizing properties.
Sensitive Skin – Go for a toner containing chamomile, which is wonderful for calming and soothing the skin.
Oily/Problem Skin – Alcohol is usually found in astringent toners for oily skin. Their function is to dry out the skin and have an anti-bacterial effect. Care should be taken to not overuse these, because they will over-dry the skin and can have the reverse effect by increasing oily sebum production.
In the skin care regime, toner comes after cleansing and before moisturising.
After cleansing with your chosen product, splash your face with cold water. Then, saturating two cotton wool pads with the toner, sweep over your face, neck and décolleté.
This should be done at night to complete the cleansing of the skin, and in the morning to remove sebum produced during the night and to balance your skin's pH.
Finish by applying your treatment products or cream!
So, a facial toner lowers the skins pH level, calms the skin and helps prepare it for any of the night creams or serums that will follow. It also helps to balance the skin after cleansing and before applying a moisturising cream.
Now you know about the difference toner can make to your skin, if you aren’t currently using one, try adding it to your routine. We promise you’ll soon see and feel the benefits!
In these winter months it is more important than ever to look after our skin with good daily skin care regimes and with the occasional pampering treat! If you would like to book one of our facial treatments, including our Prescriptive Discovery treatment, please fill out the enquiry form below or call us on 01432 370222.
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