Toning 101 – The Skincare Step You Shouldn’t Skip

For years I have gone back and forth on whether or not I needed a toner in my skincare routine. Some months I would go without and others I would include it. Because I have acne-prone skin, all those months I would get pimples regardless of if I toned it or not. Little did I know I was going about toning my skin all wrong for over five years.

Over the last month, I’ve done quite a bit of research on skincare routines and how (at least in America) far our routines have come. Just a few years ago, a person with acne-prone skin would never dream of oil cleansing because we were told that oil clogged pores. A moisturizer that wasn’t oil free was unheard of and for some, still is. Now we know that we probably experienced a good portion of our breakouts because of the lack of moisture we applied to our skin. After coming to the realization that maybe oil isn’t so bad after all our skin looks pretty damn good these days right?

Although, toning is that one elusive step that has me just a little confused, up until recently.

For most, toning is that step after cleansing where you remove any leftover residue or dirt on your skin with an astrigent based toner. However, if you’re double cleansing (oil-cleanse + cleanser)  isn’t it counterintuitive to “cleanse” your skin for a third time? That leftover residue comes off just fine with warm water and if you still have dirt on your skin then your double cleansing step may not be that effective. I say all this because here in the U.S. we tend to use cleansing and exfoliating toners but in other countries (like South Korea) that toning step is all about adding in hydration. Personally, I think hydrating after cleansing makes more sense than further stripping your skin.

After perusing YouTube and other skincare blogs about this toning phenomenon, I began hydrating my skin after my cleansing step with just a facial mist just to see what would happen. The first few days my skin just looked more plump but after I invested in an actual hydrating toner (really just a toner) I noticed that the rest of my products started to go on my skin differently and probably more effectively.

My routine looked like this:

Oil Cleanse

Cleanse

Tone (with hydrating toner)

Serums (Vitamin C or Dark Spot Treatment)

Face Mist or Ampoule

Moisturizer

My skin is so hydrated and I feel like my products are actually sinking into my skin for once. I have been playing around with toning after every step and I LOVE how that makes my skin feel too. Also, twice a week, after the first tone I will add in my exfoliating step whether it be with my exfoliating pads, Kombucha “toner”, or Dermalogica Microfoliant.

I’m definitely experimenting with this still but I find my skin is a lot less irritated these days. My texture is improving and I’m only experiencing hormonal acne. I’ll keep playing around with this “new” toning step to see how well it works for me. I would definitely give more hydration a try if you’re still experiencing random breakouts and/or problems with your texture. This method may not work for everyone, but it couldn’t hurt to try!

Check out Glow Recipe’s Blog post about toners.

Watch some Hyram videos on YouTube about properly cleansing your skin.

See how The GoldenRx gets dewy skin with her hydration skincare routine.

Thanks for reading,

ChelsiKay