The Truth About Skin Toners

July

Glitterati gushes: My facialist told me that toners are important because they re-balance the pH of the skin after cleansing. I could see that cleansers might be slightly basic, but will the toner really re-balance that? I like toners anyway for the astringent properties you mention, so I’d continue using them regardless of the pH factor. Oh, and the facialist used a toner from Dermalogica. Would there be a “pH difference” between the pricey stuff and the drugstore brands? Also, what effect, if any, would my residential well water that has a pH of 5.5 have on my skin?

The Right Brain Responds:

You have a facialist? I’m lucky if I can get someone to cut my hair! But that’s enough commentary on our personal grooming practices; let’s get right to your questions:

Toner tips

Will a toner really rebalance your skin pH? Well, a skin toner is kind of like your appendix: you have one but your body doesn’t really need to use it. Your skin pH is a result of the skin’s acid mantle, a mixture of sebum (skin oils) and sweat that form on the surface of your skin. This acid mantle keeps the pH of your skin at about 4 to 4.5 (Remember, low pH like 1 to 5 is acidic, high pH 8 or above is basic, and the middle, around 7, is neutral.) Anyway, this slightly acidic pH is a good thing on your skin because it helps ward off harmful bacteria.

When you wash your skin, you strip away this acid mantle. That’s because the detergents in cleansers are very good at dissolving oils. But don’t worry, because over the next few hours, your skin will regenerate the mantle by itself.

So what about the toner? What does it do? Not much apparently.

Check out what Smartskincare.com has to say on the subject:

“Toning is often touted as an essential step in a skin care routine. It is not. At least not always. The only exception is very oily skin. If you have oily skin and after cleansing it remains sticky or oily, you might benefit from applying toner after cleansing. Otherwise toning may do more harm than good.

Most toners contain alcohol and/or witch hazel. Both are drying and irritating, especially if you have dry or sensitive skin. If you still feel you need a toner, use a soothing toner free of alcohol or witch hazel, such as alcohol-free toner with chamomile.

You do not want to strip every last molecule of oil from your skin. Only grime, makeup and excess oil on the surface needs to be removed. The underlying thin coat of fresh sebum is best left undisturbed. Toners, especially alcohol-based ones, tend to strip everything off, leaving the skin dry and/or irritated.

Some experts argue that toners help close pores and tighten cell gaps after cleansing, thus reducing the penetration of impurities and environmental contaminants into the skin. Whether this is true is debatable. Even assuming it is, most people finish their skin care routine by applying skin care products with active ingredients, in which case you actually want as much penetration as possible. Preceding an active treatment with a toner that closes pores and tightens cell gaps may be counterproductive. After the active product has absorbed into your skin, you can close pores simply by cooling your face. The cold constricts blood vessels and closes pores, producing a toning effect. You can simply step outside if it is a cold time of the year or gently pat your skin with a cold pack (refrigerated but not frozen) for a few seconds. If you are not using any active products, you can tone after cleansing by wiping your face with a chip of frozen green tea. The cold from the ice helps close your pores; the caffeine and tannins in the tea help tighten skin and reduce puffiness; and green tea polyphenols may provide antioxidant benefits. But don’t overuse the cold – frequent excessive cooling may increase the risk of developing rosacea (stubborn skin redness).”

Interesting, eh?

Acid mantle

You also asked about a pH difference between pricey brands and drugstore brands. Here’s the scoop on that: First of all, the price of the product has no bearing on the pH. There are pH balanced products at all price points. But secondly, and most importantly, pH of the product doesn’t matter all that much. Since your skin regenerates its natural acid mantle after you cleanse, the pH of the product you apply has very little effect. But don’t take our word for it. Check out what Argonne National Laboratory’s “Ask A Scientist” program had to say when asked about the effect of putting different pH solutions on skin:

Importance of pH

Finally, you asked about the effect of pH in well water. It would have no more effect than tomato juice (fairly acidic at about pH 4) or black coffee ( about pH 5) or urine (about pH 5 to 7). Unpolluted rain has pH of about 6.2.

(If the folks over at Neutrogena are reading this, feel free to use this idea for a new line of skin toners: “Now with Tomato Juice, Urine, and Coffee! Coming soon to a drug store near you!”

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Unless you have very oily skin that needs to be degreased, don’t worry too much about using a pH balanced toner.

What do YOU think? Do you have a favorite toner you’d like to share with the rest of the Beauty Brains community? Leave a comment!

14 Responses to “The Truth About Skin Toners”

veronica Says:

thank you
very good information.
sook yee Says:

Agree, its good info. I thought one should use a cleanser and toner of around pH 5 since the pH of skin is also 5?

Co-author of “www.antiagingskincaremag.com”
Kristen Says:

Interesting that it only really removes excess oil. I have dry skin and I’ve found it irritating to use toners- but it makes me wonder why the dry skin formulated product lines I use have a toner formulated for dry skin. It’s like an oxymoron.

Also, toners make my nose really shiny- not oily- but always puts a weird shine to my nose skin. Anybody else have that??
Jen Says:

This is a very interesting article. I generally use a toner to remove excess makeup, and to take away that “tight feeling” I sometimes get after cleansing. And yes, I have noticed a weird shine on my nose and forehead after using some toners Kristen. Is that caused by something in the toner itself or just a result from the way it cleans the skin?

I have often wondered if using a toner is really necessary, and many skincare lines justify its use by using the pH/ acid mantle argument. Toners must be a fairly inexpensive product to make, because it main ingredient is water, and the profit margin must be very high. I would think you could formulate a homemade toner fairly easily. Any ideas? Thanks for the information Beauty Brains!
Toners: Why you should use them, or not? « Mythbuster Beauty Says:

[...] purports that using toners are beneficial in your skincare regimen. In a recent article by the Beauty Brains, they discuss the use of toners, and quote the Smartskincare.com on the subject: “Toning is [...]
laura Says:

I just want to know who the darling dog with the “Toner” sign around his neck is !
Keira Says:

Interesting information. I generally use toner to remove excess oil and make up from my skin. I didn’t have any idea of PH present in the toner.
Loren Says:

I would just like to mention from a professional opinion, that while your acid mantle will rebuild itself over a few hours this is definitly not ideal, particularly for those that do suffer from breakouts as you are leaving your skin unguarded giving bacteria a perfect opportunity to get into pores and cause acne.
K Says:

Thanks for doing this, I’ve felt toners are unnecessary for a while, but the skin care lines push them so hard, it’s easy to believe the hype. I have dry skin so toners are not good for me. I do use them sometimes in the summer when things icky and sticky.
Misunderstood Marshmallow Says:

Do toners have an expiration date?
Toners: Why you should use them, or not? - Mythbuster Beauty Says:

[...] that purports that using toners are beneficial in your skincare regimen. In a recent article by the Beauty Brains, they discuss the use of toners, and quote the Smartskincare.com on the subject: “Toning is [...]
vickie Says:

I do not use toners. They always make my face dry, red and created blemishes. I have tried numerous ones from Estee Lauder, to Mary Kay (and many in between) to drugstore purchases. Everyone says our product won’t make your face dry or red. Well guess what they do. Anything with alcohol or witch hazel is going to dry your face. Who wants a dry face? That creates wrinkles! I read an article from a beauty expert and he said all you need to do after you cleanse your face is splash your face with very cold water it will tighten your pores(same as a toner) before putting on your moisturizers. I have done that for several years and so has all my friends and family and my skin is absolutely wonderful.
Julie Longyear Says:

IMHO anyone unhappy with the effects of toner has simply been using the wrong toner and improper application. This article completely ignores toner products from natural cosmetic companies like Juice Beauty, Mychelle’s Apple Brightening Mist, Pangea Organics, Terressentials, Grateful Body and others. Some of these are alcohol-free and others have only organic alcohol which is not irritating, contrary to the commercially available chemically denatured alcohol (the chemical denaturant is the real irritant). And with a wholistic toner product the (organic) alcohol is not the featured ingredient, but a minor extractive aid and offers some preservative effect. Some active components from herbs are not fully soluble in water and need the alcohol to provide their full spectrum of benefit.

I would highly recommend misting a toner onto the face – NOT WIPING. If you just finished washing your face is clean anyway. With a toner like the ones from the above mentioned companies the big benefit is the water based, highly absorbable nutrients. You want your skin to soak it up, not seal it or wipe it off again! And with a nutrient based toner you can reuse it during the day if you live in a dry climate and or your skin just gets thirsty.

I agree with Loren that it is not a great idea to leave your skin to correct itself over the course of hours. It is vulnerable during that time then. If you use an non soap based cleanser though you won’t be damaging your skin’s PH.

I personally notice a huge difference in the comfort of my skin when I use a toner VS not using one, even when I’ve used an gentle cream cleanser. That extra moisture is a huge plus. Notice I say moisture – not astringency! A toner does not have to be astringent!!!! With the right ingredients it can be highly moisturizing and calming.

I use my own formulas. And it has been a lot harder to get the consistency right than one might think. Sure if a company is just using some witch hazel that is pretty easy. But to get it so it isn’t sticky, smells decent, and really works isn’t as easy as folks might think. I’m releasing some in about 2 months that will have cucumber and cantaloupe juice infusions in them. Yum.

As usual it is a matter of the right ingredients combined in the right way. Am I suprised that drugstore, Mary Kay, and Estee Lauder products are irritating people’s skin? All I can say to that is DUH.
brooke Says:

I tried everything on my combination skin. I had gross flaky areas along with super oily areas. I had some alcohol free neutrogena toner in my medicine cabinet. I hadn’t used it because I had always heard toners were unnecessary. I was at my wits end so I tried. After about a week, my skin is noticeably different. I don’t look so tired and dull (or oily). My skin doesn’t scare me when I look in the mirror. The key for me is staying away form SLS’s and alcohol. I’ve noticed that alcohol free toners with witch hazel are harsh on my skin as well. I wash with Tom’s of Maine body wash (on my face) and immediately follow up with the toner. I want to start using Paula’s Choice, but until I can afford to, I’m using what I already have.