My skin is oily, and all toners I have ever used made it worst, although they are claimed to be suitable for oily skin.
Most toners work with ingredients that have a drying effect on the skin. For oily skin, making your skin too dry worsens the oily condition, because dryness surface would boost your skin to produce even more lipids (natural oils) to make up for the lost of natural oil and to retain moisture on the facial surface.
People with dry skin should also avoid using toners, as they need all the lipids they can possible get.
Tap water is a good option for people who suffer from acne with oily skin. However, not many people know that tap water can contribute to aging skin.
Well, tap water carries a lot of heavy metals such as magnesium, lead, zinc, iron, and copper. These act as free radicals, similar to UV from the sun that damages and pollutes the skin, causing the breakdown of collagen and elastin cells in the skin. More importantly, tap water also contains chlorine that is a good place to grow algae and other organisms.
Then, why don’t we just stop using toner?
We do need toner to return our skin’s pH back to normal every time after washing with facial wash. So, it’s very important.
I have been using ‘thermal water’ for the past years as toner, and it has proved its good result.
Water from thermal springs is the purest natural waters, and doesn’t contain chemicals like chlorine in tap water. Thermal water as facial water is great for all skin-types, not just oily. It works perfectly especially for those with dry or sensitive skin. I use it as my everyday skincare regime after cleansing. What I have noticed is my skin complexion has improved, and my oily condition reduced.
Thermal water is pure, bacteriological tested, and has a low content of mineral salts. It is rich in silica, and these components are making it perfectly fits for people with allergic and hypersensitive skin.
There are many ways to use thermal waters on daily basis, not just as toner. We can use it for rashes, sunburns, for setting make-up, or refreshing skin. It may also be the treatment for eczema, psoriasis, oral lichen, scars, eyelid irritation, postoperative, post-treatment skin.
But, which brands to choose from and what are the difference?
There are several brands of thermal water for face we can choose from, in which each of them contains and delivers different benefits.
For me to use as facial toner, I use La Roche-Posay, and Avene.
La Roche-Posay contains Selenium which is a natural antioxidant, anti-free radicals, and anti-aging.
Avene is good for sensitive skin due to its anti-irritating benefit. It’s especially good to use after you have a facial treatment, facial scrub, or allergy.
Both La Roche-Posay and Avene are equally good as toner.
The other brand that I also have is Evian. Evian contains less minerals compared to the other two. So as toner, it’s more suitable for very sensitive skin. However, I use Evian for other purpose, I carries Evian around in my bag to help refresh and hydrate my skin during the day.
There are more benefits of thermal water than just to use as toner, and there are many other brands that are also good. Read their core benefits and instructions carefully, and choose the most suitable one for your facial type.