The beauty industry use different names for the same product; toners, clarifiers, fresheners, refiners, tonics and astringents. No matter what it is called, it is a must-have in your daily beauty routine. All these names refer to the product that you use after you have cleansed your skin.
A well formulated toner is extremely beneficial for your skin and will improve your skin condition with regular use.
There are so many beneficial products that can be added into a toner, that it will be easier to list those that should NOT be there:
• SD alcohols, especially denatured alcohols, as it dries the skin out and cause white patches on the skin
• Volatile plant extracts- it can cause allergic reactions
• Ammonia-is a CORROSIVE CHEMICAL and can irritate and burn the skin and eyes, leading to permanent damage.
• Camphor- Large amounts of camphor, even applied only to the skin or inhaled, can be toxic. Do not consume camphor or use it on cuts or broken skin. It may produce allergic reactions in some people, advises Drugs.com.
• Petrochemical like mineral oil, since they tend to cause superficial hydration with long term use and occlude the pores
• Chemical colours and fragrances. Some perfumes contains synthetic estrogen that interferes with your normal hormones.
• Harsh preservatives like diazolidinyl urea and imidazolidinyl urea. Both are antimicrobial preservatives and act as formaldehyde releasers.
• Skin drying sulphates- Sulphates are a salt of sulphuric acid they create a lather and help strip away oil.
A good toner should:
Help to remove the last traces of make-up:
Just in case you missed some during the cleansing, the toning step will remove the last traces of make –up.
Help to refine pores:
Ingredients like mastic resin extract and witch hazel help to reduce pore size!
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| Witch Hazel Flowers |
Help to reduce inflammation and irritation:
In the case of compromised skin it should soothe and heal. Ingredients such as cotton seed extract, Green tea extract, Chamomile and Aloe vera are ideal for this.
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| Chamomile flowers |
WESSON Therapeutics has an excellent product range specially formulated for sensitive/compromised/reactive skin!
Restore the pH balance of the skin.
Our skin pH is about 5.5. This is the optimum level as it means that the skin is neither too dry or oily and can better absorb any treatment products that are used afterwards.
Helps with hydration:
Some toners contain ingredients such as avocado, palmarosa and rose geranium extract which helps to restore hydration to the skin as this product is not washed off after application.
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| Rose Geranium |
Control the oil/water balance:
It is very important, even for oily skin, to have the correct oil/water balance in the skin.
Many toners for oily and combination skin will do just that with ingredients such as Ylang-ylang and Juniper berry extract.
Many clients are very sceptical about the use of toners, but I would rather skip the morning cleanser and only tone if I am in a hurry. I use bottles and bottles of the stuff in comparison to my cleanser usage.
Once you have found the correct one for your soothe any irritations, increase the efficiency of the moisturisers, and improve your skin condition, you will probably never go without it again.
As with the cleansers you should use toners that are skin-type specific and preferable one that compliments your cleanser. In other words, if you use a cleanser from a range of products for dry skin types, the toner that is in this range will 9 out of 10 times be the one that is right for you.
However, do not hesitate to use a sensitive range toner with a dry skin or a combination range toner with a normal skin.
I found that if you use a cleanser for your skin type and a toner for your skin condition, you will be happy with the result.
Salon products that I can recommend:
Normal Skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner
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| Vitaderm Conditioning Toner |
Dry skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: HydraVine Toner
Oily /Acne Skin:
Vitaderm: Antiseptic Toner, Regulating Toner
Theravine: Balancing Toner
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| TheraVine™ Balancing Toner |
Combination skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner or HydraVine Toner
Sensitive/ allergic skin:
Wesson Calming Facial Mist
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| Wesson Therapeutics for Sensitive Skn |
Mature skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner or HydraVine Toner
Phytomer: Ogenage Toning Cleansing Emulsion
Essel: DNA Epinew Rejuvenating Spritzer
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| Phytomer Ogenage Toning Cleansing Emulsion |
Please read our articles “The importance of cleansing your skin” and “What is in a good cleanser?” to further help you to correctly cleanse your skin.
If you need any further information on how to choose your home care products, please contact us at 082 398 9817 for an appointment or if you want to know more about the products that we stock in the salon, please visit our website @ http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/
