I get asked the question ”should I tone?”, and the answer is, to be totally honest, not really. There are many other products that should be prioritised before a toner, such as your cleansers, serums and moisturisers. If you think about what a toner does, they could actually hinder your results. Generally toners are designed to tighten your pores and restore your skins p.h levels. The problem here is 1. Tightening your skin prevents adequate absorption of active serums to penetrate into your skin, and 2. Your skin’s p.h should never have been altered in the first place.
There are special cases however. A salicylic based toner would be great for lets say, an acne client that plays a lot of sports. A quick wipe with a cotton wool pad a couple of times during the day can help to keep acne suppressed, but that’s down to the anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, nothing at all to do with ‘toning’ the skin.
I do like the Botanical Infused Moisturising Toner from Environ for a number of reasons. It’s more of treatment product or ‘penetrant enhancer’. In fact I don’t think it should be called a toner at all. It contains lactic acid which softens your skin, allowing for more of your active ingredients to penetrate deeper, the exact opposite effect of a traditional toner.
If you are unsure whether you should be toning or not, book in with a skin consultant at Mediskin to review your routine and make professional recommendations.