Toner recs?

[HLaur]

Hi! I am in my early 20s with combination skin that is acne prone. I’m looking to incorporate a toner into my routine, any recommendations? 

[AnimalBrain]

Hi @HLaur - I'm a little bit older (36) but I always had issues with acne due to hormonal problems. One of the toners that helped me (maybe not a toner exactly, but I use it that way) is hypochlorous acid spray. Tower 28 has a good one that people love, but I buy mine off Amazon (cheaper, but would love to be able to buy the Tower 28 one). 

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Tower 28 Beauty SOS Daily Hypochlorous Acid Spray for Breakouts & Redness 4 oz/ 120 mL 

[RissGirl]

Hii! I am in my early 20’s too! I have very dry skin, I am extremely acne prone, and have very sensitive skin. I follow Ashley mixon on TikTok and I started to incorporate her mixon method. My skin has never looked or felt better. I’m at 4 toners now. I use Anua heartleaf toner, eltamd skin recovery, I’m from mugwort toner, and I’m from rice toner. I started with the eltamd toner, and built my way up from there. It helped with a lot of my redness. As I’ve incorporated more toners my redness has gone down so much it’s insane! One of my life savers is the ordinary salicylic acid. If you’re looking for an eye cream by chance I recommend the caudalie vinoperfect! I use their serum and eye cream and I have zero irritation

[CLAlREBEAR]

May e try the freckle cactus water toner you can get it with 100 pts.for free and I've heard lots of good things!

[WinglessOne]

Hi @HLaur ! That depends: what do you want a toner to do for your skin? 

Back in my day, toners were nearly all astringents meant to rebalance skin’s pH after washing with alkaline cleansers. Today’s facial cleansers are no longer alkaline, so there’s really no need for a pH-balancing toner after washing unless your dermatologist (or other doctor) has specifically said you need one. Most of today’s toners do one or more of these things: 

• Hydrate - contain humectant/hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, trehalose, carrageenan, honey, peptides, etc. 
• Exfoliate - either AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) toners that contain glycolic acid, lactic acid, etc., or PHA (poly hydroxy acid) toners. Use these just 1-3 times a week so you don’t over-exfoliate your skin and damage your moisture barrier. Eh, some folks can use PHA more frequently, but be careful about that. 
• Treat acne - these are mostly BHA (beta hydroxy acid, namely salicylic acid) toners. 
• Soothe skin - usually contain anti-inflammatory ingredients like centella asiatica, licorice root, colloidal oats, etc. 
• Adjust pH - a few of these still exist if you truly need one. Some folks just use witch hazel as a toner for this purpose. 

Which type of toner are you looking for? 

[Chris38]

@WinglessOne This is such a great answer! 😀 I’m still very wary of anything calling itself a toner, as I too remember when they were all just pure alcohol with a little fragrance.  I want a t-shirt that says I’m a survivor from the S.S. SeaBreeze.

[WinglessOne]

@Chris38  😂 Ahoy, fellow SS SeaBreeze survivor! That toner was a painful rite of passage for so many of us. Thankfully, skincare has come a very long way since then: some toners that contain alcohol aren’t astringent, as the alcohol’s playing a preservative role; and many toners are alcohol-free. There are lots of good toners out there nowadays. 

The old school toners are partly why I wish brands would stop advising folks to use their AHA toners daily. It’s easy to replicate the SeaBreeze experience with overuse of something like The Ordinary’s glycolic acid toner. It’s not a bad exfoliating toner when used just 1-3 times a week, though.