Beauty Tip: Skincare and Toners

From stimulating circulation to removing excess traces of dead skin and grease, toners are bursting with an array of benefits guaranteed to cool and refresh even the most congested of skin.

Known for their astringent effect, these grease busting products may be renowned for successfully reducing pore size and helping to restore our skin's natural pH balance, but their high alcohol content can often prove to be lethal for the majority of skin types creating a combination of irritation, and dehydration.

A great tip to determine the appropriate product for your skin type is to take into consideration that skin tonics contain 20-60% alcohol and skin bracers and fresheners contain 0-20% therefore, a skin tonic is more effective at dissolving grease in comparison to a skin bracer, or freshener, which contains a lower concentration of alcohol and will only remove a light film of grease or water-soluble substances. 

Confused? Don't be! If the technical aspect of skincare isn't your thing, simply following the recommended percentage of alcohol a product should contain in order to be compatible with your individual skin type will be more than sufficient. If your skin is:

• Greasy: opt for products containing 25-50% alcohol
• Balanced/normal: opt for products containing  10-25% alcohol
• Dry: opt for products containing 0-20% alcohol
• Sensitive: opt for products containing 0-10% alcohol.

Remember that although skin tonics containing more than 25% alcohol are only suitable for skin of a greasy nature, extreme dehydration will occur once a product containing more than 50% is used.
Alternatively, nothing beats a splash of cold water. Not only is this basic action compatible with all skin types, but the application of water will close pores and improves skin texture with minimal irritation and dehydration.