Facial toners are not used by women with beautiful skin in Hawaii, so why in the west do we use them? Most are filled with chemicals and alcohol. If you stick to natural skincare, the skin’s PH should not go out of whack. anyway. Natural beauty expert Adina Grigore has lovely skin: she eats well, and does little else to her skin other than wash with water and occasionally use a toner or skin cream.
Avoid essential oils for pregnancy/nursing & affected medical conditions (epilepsy, asthma, heart – no rosemary, citrus or sage oil for high blood pressure). Keep essential oils away from pets.
If you use a toner, use with reusable make-up rounds. Witch hazel (from a native American herb) is too harsh used alone with most skin, and won’t help acne (you can’t ‘dry up your skin’ for a condition caused by excess sebum from hormones or diet. See how to help acne, naturally.
- Organic Bulgarian Rose Water is made with organically-grown Damask roses, handpicked early morning in Bulgaria’s Rose Valley, by pickers who wear vibrant traditional dress and sing songs, while plucking the rose heads. Bursting with floral aroma, this is soothing and cooling, ideal for sensitive skin. Soothing Lavender Water is made with steam-distilled flowering tops, ideal for skin that has seen too much sun. You can also use it as a cleanser, a body tonic or hair rinse.
- Haoma Organic Purify and Rejuvenate Toner is a deeply nourishing blend of witch hazel and hemp oil, with essential oils of geranium, frankincense, cypress and clary sage. It can also be used to remove make-up.
Make Your Own Skin Toner
Hello Glow has good simple recipes. You can make a toner for oily skin using green tea and apple cider vinegar, one for sensitive skin using rose buds and hot water, and one for dry skin using rosewater and geranium essential oil. Learn more about homemade skin toners (avoid hibiscus for pregnancy).
Bristol Made organic rose geranium micellar water is the ideal zero waste alternative, if you use micellar water to cleanse skin or remove makeup. Sold in a glass bottle, it can cleanse, tone and hydrate your skin, with no need to rinse. It’s even sold with an organic washable cotton pad, to further reduce the waste of disposable plastic-wrapped cotton pads or cotton wool balls.
Avoid essential oils for pregnancy/nursing and medical conditions (asthma, epilepsy, blood pressure). Keep essential oils away from children and pets.
Micellar water is so popular these days that the main brand apparently sells one bottle every five seconds. The name is from ‘micelles’, which are tiny molecules suspended in water, which ‘draw out dirt’ without drying the skin. But in truth, most are made with harsh chemicals and perfumes (which don’t biodegrade when they wash down the skin) and can irritate the eyes or poison if accidentally swallowed. The main brand also contains ingredients that are known irritants (source: Environmental Working Group).
