Skin/ Toners

A toner is usually applied after cleansing, to pick up residues left behind from cleansing.

There are lots of toners in the market that promises to do alot of things and at the end you will just end up regretting why you bought them.

I have tried so hard to study my skin, so as understand what my skin needs. I have had a lot of breakouts during my uni days and the worst came up during my service year.

A lot of factors can aggravate acne. Stress, diet, hormones, lotions etc. So you have to be careful of what you use and of course sleep for at least 8 hours for the stressful days.

In controlling the acne on my face, I've used various kinds of cleansers,  toners, face mask, scrubs, lotions contains benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid just to find a solution to the problem. But today, I'll be focusing more on toners.

Toners are used for various reasons. And you have to know what your skin problem is to enable you know how to solve them so you wouldn't end up saying "I which I had known". There are toners that helps reduce large pores. So if your skin is suffering from such, you should go for toners containing ingredients such as glycolic acid at least 2%. But if you are having skin problems such as acne, you should look out for toners containing ingredient such as salicylic acid at least 0.5%. I have not tried any toner containing benzoyl perioxide. I don't know if there is any. But I am sure you can get lotions containing benzoyl peroxide such as panoxyl 10, clearex 10, Oxy 10. If you have an acne skin, go for lotions and makeups that are non-comedogenic.

Toners come in different forms, some toners are astringents containing alcohols, some are for sensitive skins, oily skins, dry skin. Astringents are harsh on sensitive skins. They are mostly used on acne prone skin that are less sensitive. I have used some astringents from Neutrogena. Most people will advice avoiding harsh toners on the face. But this toner worked so well for me. Firstly it started with drying the acne on my face and then my face began to peel. On peeling it, It unveiled a smoother skin. But because it was harsh on my skin, I discontinued. 

Price/ N1250

I also used another neutrogena toner. This toner promised to reduce appearance of pores. And though I was quick to give it a try, I was also quick to stop using it. It didn't work for me. But it may possibly work for other skin so if you don't mind giving it a try, I will advice you use at night or if you want to use during the day, protect your skin form sun by using a SPF cream to avoid burns.

price/ N1350

I also tried another toner also from Neutrogena and it promised to visibly eliminate the blackhead on my face. I wasn't pleased with it at all. I was patient enough to use up a bottle but it wasn't a keeper.

price/ 900 to 1000 naira. I am not certain. 

After my long use of neutrogena, I decided to try clean and clear. Clean and clear also produces nice toners for oily skin. I went for the blackhead clearing cleanser.

price/ N950

The toner promises to gently remove impurities like oil, dirts, and dead cells trapped deep in the pores and help prevent blackhead. It contains salicylic acid but the percentage is not indicated. I didn't want a harsh toner like the previous two I tried and this was nice. I like the feeling I get after applying the toner. This might be a staple. But it's not up to two weeks I started applying this toner so I cannot really tell for sure if it clears blackhead.

Toners are necessary for everyone especially for ladies who wear makeup. Most makeups tends to clog your pores and this can lead to skin problems. So your skin should be cleansed before bedtime to remove excess dirts from the skin.

If you have not invested in one, you should definitely do so. You are never going to regret.

Love always, Martyna.