skin toner

A skin toner is a liquid or light lotion that is used in several different applications of skin care. Of these, the most common is to use a toner, usually with witch hazel or alcohol to clean the skin and perhaps reduce oil on the skin and prevent acne breakouts. These are often called astringents.

Another type of skin toner used is called a tonic. They typically contain a smaller amount of alcohol than do astringents, but they may still have that somewhat prickly or stingy feel you note when you place alcohol on the face. They also often feel cooler than plain water. They do help clean the skin, and women or men who have combination type skin, with dry skin on the cheeks and more oily skin on the forehead and nose (called the T-zone) may prefer a tonic to an astringent.

Some skin toners contain little to no alcohol. Instead, such a toner might use citric acid, rosewater, or a variety of other ingredients to simply freshen the skin. This explains the names used for this type, fresheners or bracers. Using a small amount of acid can help give a freshening feel to the skin when fresheners or bracers are used.

Often people buy a skin toner as part of a cosmetics line. Companies like Clinique®, typically sell lines of cleaning and treatment products for the skin. Clinique three-step process, which includes washing the face with specially formulated soap, using a toner, and then applying a light moisturizer is very popular. Of course, you don’t have to buy every product in a skin cleaning line, and some people prefer to use regular soap and a toner, or just a skin toner and water to cleanse the skin.

Women and men may use skin toner available in local drug stores and even many grocery stores. In fact, aftershave, with its high alcohol content is a toner of sorts. Common brands in stores like Neutrogena® and SeaBreeze® come in simple bottles and are not feminized, which means that teens of either gender are likely to use them, though they’re still used more often by women.