Toner for the Face

You sound like me. After not using a toner for years I bought the Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Toner recently and love it. This is what her review says about the Neutrogena one.

Pore Refining Toner lists alcohol as the second ingredient, and also contains witch hazel. It is even more irritating than usual because it also contains peppermint and eucalyptus. The alcohol will stimulate oil production at the base of your pores, which isn’t the least bit refining.

I have been using, based on recommendations here, Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel Toner. No irritation and I like how it makes my face feel.

Since any I tried in the past irritated my skin, I have done without. The derm said it wasn't necessary to use one on my particular face!

Interesting Paula comment about the alcohol stimulating oil production...

I hadn't used a toner since I was about 30 - and that's a long time! Sad to say!

And I used Clinique's and they were fine.

I recently decided I wanted to try one again but wasn't sure what to try as my skin is so very thin and sensitive. I found one by Boots which I am quite pleased with. It has hibiscus in it and says it brightens. After using it for a couple months now, I feel it has clarified and smoothed my skin somewhat. It's not a miracle worker, but I like the way it feels on my skin and it has not irritated me at all.

Once in a while I reach for a toner. It's always feels like that why don't I do this more often step -- particularly after I've masked or exfoliated before going on to moisturizer. I'm of mind that a toner is not something we should buy according to our skin type, but rather they are fine if you use a very mild one. The ones I like are H2O+ Marine Calm Toner and Clinique's Mild Clarifying Lotion.

I've used toner for years and when I ran out a couple of months ago, I thought I would skip it and just splash with cold water. I found that I really missed using toner and feel that my skin liked it. I had a free s/h coupon for HSN (spin game) and I was set to order my usual Wei East toner, then saw something from Asam called skin "tonic". Thought I'd give that a whirl. More product and less money. I believe what I like about the toner/tonic is that it closes the poors and feels refreshing.

Moon River - I have never used the one you purchased, but a toner should not dry you out the way an astringent could. A toner should bring your skin back to the correct pH after cleansing. I've been using Thayer's Witch Hazel and Aloe Vera Toner for probably a year or more. It doesn't dry me out at all. In fact, Thayer's toners help with moisturizing the skin.