Is Toner Really Important?

by Emily Linehan on March 12, 2022

Many people overlook toner for a variety of reasons... it looks like water and feels similar to water. This can make many suspicious that it's not really worth their time and effort. What if I told you that toner was an instrumental step in your skincare routine?

There are a few reasons that it's important to use a toner (like the Calm Down Toner) each time you wash your face. Let's talk about what purpose toner serves in your skincare routine!

1. Toner Restores the pH Balance of the Skin

The vast majority of us wash our face using tap water from the sink. Tap water is typically more alkaline than our bodies. When we wash the skin with tap water, it throws off the pH balance. Toner restores this!

2. Toner Removes Trace Impurities

Tap water is notorious for containing impurities and can vary greatly depending where you're at in the country. Toner helps to remove these trace impurities, giving you the most out of your cleanser.

3. Toner Helps Protect the Skin

Our skin is incredibly smart. It creates its own frontline of defense (comprised of our own natural oil and sweat) to protect itself against bacteria and infections. However, every time we wash our skin, this natural, protective measure is stripped away. Our Calm Down Toner supports the skin in replenishing this protective layer for healthy, hydrated skin.

4. Toner Allows us to get Maximum Benefit from Active Products

When you skip toning after cleansing, the skin is stripped of its natural frontline of defense and its pH balance is thrown off. When this happens, the skin is more apt to reject the precious nutrients or active ingredients in the skincare products we put on next. By toning after cleansing, the skin is able to get the maximum benefit of active products you're using.

5. Toner Prevents Dryness

Toner gives the skin an added boost of hydration. When followed with a powerful humectant (like Skin Quencher Gel) and locked in with a high quality moisturizer (like Hydraluxe Cream), your skin will be even more moisturized than it would have been if you had skipped the toner.

6. Toner Helps to Prevent Acne Around the Ears

When applied correctly (by wiping, not spraying), toner helps to prevent acne on the skin near the ears. Why is this? Acne right along the ear is typically due to not washing your cleanser off thoroughly enough. When you wipe toner on your face after cleansing (especially upward toward the ears), you're making sure any trace residue from your cleanser is removed!

#EmmeTip: Wipe your toner pad outward (towards your ears). Many times, the skin next to your ears isn’t rinsed well. This can lead to deep breakouts.

It may look like water, and feel similarly to water...but toner is very different. It's a small step of your routine that should not be overlooked!

xoxo, Emme