Why A Toner Is a Can’t-Miss Step In Your Skincare Routine

If you don’t use a toner - or don’t understand exactly what it’s for - you’re missing out! With clarifying, anti-inflammatory, and hydrating ingredients, the right toner can work to effectively balance and heal your complexion.

Translation? This is a powerhouse skincare product that you shouldn’t skip out on.

Here’s everything you should know.

What Is a Toner? The Basics

Generally speaking, a modern toner is a gentle, alcohol-free, water-based formula that works to balance the skin’s pH and remove excess dirt and debris from the skin’s surface.

This is more important than you might think. To maintain healthy skin, the skin’s pH needs to remain within a very narrow range (at around 5.5) if it’s to function optimally and actually defend against pollutants and environmental aggressors.

This is tougher to accomplish than you might think: something as seemingly insignificant as hard water or a pH-imbalanced cleanser can throw that pH off - and the time it takes for your skin to normalize itself is time that it’s left vulnerable to bacteria, free radicals, and other issues (you can read more about how this works here).

Toner’s primary function is to instantly restore that pH so your skin can focus on more productive tasks than trying to get back to normal.

Additionally, toners can function to remove any oil, makeup, or debris that was missed during cleansing and to add moisture back into the skin. A great toner will also contain anti-inflammatory ingredients and lots of healing minerals like magnesium, calcium, zinc, and potassium.

Key Ingredients to Look Out For

It’s important to note that there are good toners and there are bad toners. In the old days (and still a little bit now,) many toners contained bad-for-your-skin ingredients like alcohol. You’ll want to avoid these products and look for botanical, great-for-your skin toners like Coast Is Clear.

The right toner will include ingredients like:

Toner Ingredients to Include

• Witch hazel, a powerful botanical extract known to control excess oil production, reduce inflammation, fight puffiness, and treat acne without over-drying the skin.
• Vitamin B5, which works to soothe skin, stabilize skin barrier function, and increase the amount of water and hydration in the skin.
• Minerals-like magnesium, calcium, zinc, and potassium - derived from ingredients like kelp and seawater, which will help absorb toxins and promote skin healing.
• Rose flower water,which can soothe redness, hydrate, and decrease inflammation for sensitive skin (more on the power of rose in skincare here).
• Organic aloe vera extract,which can protect the skin’s natural barrier, calm inflammation, soothe sunburns, and more.

Where Toner Fits In Your Routine 

Generally speaking, toner should be the second step of your skincare routine, directly following your cleanser. A comprehensive skincare routine can include: 

• Step 1: Cleanser
• Step 2: Toner
• Step 3: Serum 
• Step 4: Moisturizer
• Step 5: Face oil 

You can learn more about the best routine for your particular skincare concerns here. 

Find it in:Coast is Clear seaweed toner.