MYTHBUST: A WORD ABOUT TONERS

Toners are so ’80s! The old cleanse/tone/moisturise routine should be archived as one of the great beauty routine myths. Apart from the fact that the majority of toners contain high doses of alcohol, which can disrupt our surface acid mantle, toners provide zero skin benefit.

I’m guilty of using a toner when I was in my early 20s because I mistakenly thought it would close my pores, and it was great at removing those last traces of pesky makeup. Wrong! Pores will look smaller if there’s less oil in them and if the skin around the pore is young and full of collagen and elastin to make it tight and spring back.

There are some great new cosmeceuticals in serums that will do an excellent job at reducing the size of large pores. And as far as removing the last traces of makeup goes… I think I should have either done a better job of cleansing in the first place or chosen a better quality cleanser that actually worked. It’s not rocket science! If you want a true skin ‘balancer’ to use before your serums, I suggest a prebiotic/probiotic pre-serum, which will do a great job of balancing the skin before adding your serums and moisturisers.

My advice? Ditch the toner and focus on a serum with active ingredients that are suited to your specific skin concerns.