Men’s SS13 Colour Trend: Orange
Men’s Guide To Business-Casual – The Summer Edition
Paying Attention To The Details
Introduction
I think we can all agree that one of great features of FashionBeans – as a fashion and grooming mecca – is the interaction via the comments section of each article. It’s refreshing to see so many like minded guys sharing (and often debating) the rights, the wrongs, the do use and the definitely don’t buy after each writer has had their say.
For me it’s also a great way for me to hear your feedback on the grooming products you’ve been using, plus it’s a chance for some of you to get some advice from someone who’s used more products than he’s had hot dinners! Chatting to many of you via my Men’s Grooming Resolutions 2012 article inspired me to pen the article that you’re reading right now, and share some information on one of men’s groomings unsung heroes – Toner.
What Is A Toner?
Some of you may have read that last sentence and responded with “Toner. What the hell is toner?” Well gentlemen, a toner could be the missing link that you’re skincare regime has been crying out for. Of all the products out there (and there does seem to be an increasing number of serums, masks, creams, lotions and potions nowadays) a toner is often the product guys neglect from their routine. I think one of the main reasons for this is that many guys don’t understand what a toner could be doing for their complexion.
Masquerading as a light (often clear) lotion, toners can also come in the form of a spritz, or on toning ‘pads’. In whatever form, a toner is designed to aid your skin in one or a handful of the following ways:
- Remove the excess oil that causes ‘shine’.
- Prevent pores from becoming clogged with dirt and grime (causing blackheads).
- Help to eliminate or control breakouts.
- Refresh your complexion.
- Refine skin tone and reduce pore size.
- Sooth after shaving and prevent irritation.
When Should I Use A Toner?
A toner is primarily designed for use as part of a three step Cleanse, Tone & Moisturise routine. Once you’ve cleansed your skin with your chosen face wash, pat the skin dry with a towel and apply your toner (depending on the type of toner you use this may require a cotton ball or pad). Once your toner has dried, apply your moisturiser or mattifying product to complete your regime.
But that’s not all a toner can be used for. If you experience excess shine or grease throughout the day, then a toner can be used to control and eliminate this often embarrassing problem, and help prevent breakouts. Likewise, a refreshing toning spritz can breath new life into lackluster skin that’s under constant attack from dryness or external aggressors. For these type of grooming dilemmas the spray or toner pads are fantastic for an on the go touch up (see some of my recommendations below).
The final string to the toner bow is it’s post shaving benefits – helping to calm irritation, reduce redness and close pores after your razor has done its best work. Now do you see why using a toner might benefit your complexion?
Should I Be Using A Toner?
After all that, this is the big question isn’t it? In short, the answer is probably yes. But I don’t just say that on a whim, here are some of the reasons you need to add a toner to your routine – whatever your skin type*.
*If you’re not sure what skin type you have, check out my Know Your Skin Type article.
What Can A Toner Do For Combination Skin?
One of the main complaints from those struggling with combination skin is that they struggle to balance the dry areas of their complexion, with treating breakouts normally found on the T-zone (forehead, nose, chin).
You could try using a combination of normal moisturiser and a mattifying moisturiser, but this is more costly and less effective than bringing a toner into the equation.
Applying a small amount of toner to your problem areas (blemishes, not dry patches) will help limit the amount of breakouts you experience, while leaving your moisturiser to go to work on any dryness. You may have heard the term ‘restoring balance’ to your skin before – and a toner helps to do just that, restoring your combination skin’s natural balance so the irregularities disappear and ‘normal’ skin service is resumed.
- Men-u Matt Skin Refresh Gel 100ml
- Ole Henriksen Pick Me Up Face Mist 207ml
- Anthony Logistics For Men – Alcohol Free Toner 237ml
What Can A Toner Do For Oily Skin?
If you suffer from oily skin then your main complaint is going to be a ‘greasy’ appearance and regular acne-like breakouts. However, the solution to treating your overloaded complexion is closer than you think. I mentioned that using a toner on combination skin is about restoring a natural balance to your skin – and it’s very much the target for those with oily skin conditions too.
‘Oily’ skin produces excess sebum, which causes your skin to become shiny throughout the day. This sebum also clogs (your enlarged) pores, which then leads to regular breakouts. Adding a toner into your routine will help to control excess sebum production, which keeps skin oil free and purified, while visibly reducing pore size and your chances of blemishes appearing.
Rather than removing the natural moisture in your skin, quality toners (like those shown below) work with your skin to limit sebum production instead of stripping your skin like cheaper alternatives. I would definitely recommend opting for quality if you want to see results.
FashionBeans Tip: If you find that your skin becomes shiny throughout the day, try taking toning pads – like the Anthony Logistic Astringent Oil Control Toner Pads – on the go to handle embarrassing greasiness.
- Anthony Logistics For Men Astringent Toner Pads
- Ole Henriksen Grease Relief Face Tonic Oily/acne Prone 207ml
- Murad Blemish Control Clarifying Toner 180ml
What Can A Toner Do For Dry/Sensitive Skin?
A toner isn’t the most obvious product choice for aiding dry skin, but a high quality toner (steer clear of cheaper imitations) can play an important role in skin hydration. If you’ve ever suffered from dry skin you’ll know that it can become very sore and irritated, especially during the winter months.
Used sparingly as part of your ‘Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise’ routine, toners can have a calming and brightening effect on your skin helping to aid cell renewal so that your skin recovers from dryness quicker, and is more receptive to the hydrating qualities of your moisturiser.
- Balancing Cucumber Face Mist Tonic
- Aesop Immediate Moisture Facial Hydrosol 50ml
- Murad Hydrating Toner 180ml
What Can A Toner Do After Shaving?
Shaving irritation is one of the biggest problems associated with men’s grooming. As an alternative or partnered with an aftershave balm, using a toner post shave will help refresh your skin, leaving it feeling soft and soothed. In addition, applying a toner like the Clinique Scruffing Lotion before shaving will help to tighten your skin and makes facial hair stand up, enabling your razor to slice through your stubble much more easily.
But be warned, not all toners are suitable for this kind of use, so check out the ones featured below that are designed specifically for improving your daily shave routine.
- Clinique Skin Supplies For Men Scruffing Lotion 4.5 Very Oily 200ml
- Weleda Mens Smooth Shave Toner 100ml
- Peter Thomas Roth Conditioning Multi-tasking After Shave Tonic 250ml
Conclusion
So there we have it, the (expansive) pros and (seemingly limited) cons of using a toner. As always, if you have any questions or need any product tips please do leave your comments below. Who knows, your question could inspire my next article!
Thanks for your support and continued feedback.
Duncan
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Toner’s are not always recommended if you already use a good cleanser, a decent moisturiser to match your skin type can also forfeit the need of a toner.
Great article and loving that you’ve broken down the advantages for each skin type.
I personally have relatively oily skin and generally large pores (if there is such a thing and it’s not just my paranoia!)
I have always combated this with refreshing face washes particularly those with Tea Tree extract etc, particularly the Men-U Healthy Face Wash is now an essential for me every morning and before a night out, but come that awkward time in the office mi to late afternoon I’ve been settling for supermarket bought facial cleansing wipes just to get the surface oil off and keep fresh.
Would you suggest that as well as adding a toner to the morning/evening regimes, that I also replace the cleansing wipes with toner pads? Or would you even suggest using both?
Firstly, apologies for the averse tone (pun intended) of my post but hopefully it’s useful to get some conflicting perspectives.
I started using a toner for about six months from early last year in an effort to improve my skin-care. It did nothing beneficial for me at all; in fact, I noticed that my skin became significantly shinier and looked greasier in many areas. I haven’t used a toner for around four or five months now and have actually found a decent skin-care routine just using consistent face wash and moisturising products.
It may be helpful for some people but, for my skin, the only effects were detrimental.
Same for me – I find using a toner made my skin far more greasy than before.
Less is more for me :D
This is a question which i asked my self a few months ago. As someone who needs little excuse to try out new products i did abit of research then dug around in my wallet for the old boots card…
After a few months of trial and error i discovered that really toner had little to no effect on my skin… it didn’t exactly have a negative effect but i’m a firm believer in only applying products which are absolute necessary as unnecessary steps will ultimately only lead to irritation and poor skin condition.
I think it’s mainly a product for women as it helps remove any last traces of residue or make-up which if left behind could cause blemishes. It may work for some men but as a rule of thumb i would only recommend it for men who have very oily skin or use a cleanser which is hard to remove and leaves behind any residue (but this can be combated by simply spending an extra 10seconds cleansing properly!)
I know you like the comments section so here’s mine – What the HELL? Seriously £21 for some goo that grows in swamps? Ridiculous, I spend £5 on moisturiser and another 5 on an exfoliant, and I have sensitive and difficult skin. All a real man needs is Moisturiser every morning and night and cleanse with exfoliant every 3 or 4 days. Doing more than this is what is aggravating your skin, you’re dumping chemicals on it like crazy and switching to different chemicals every time you get an imperfection.
The only difference with these products is that they are basically organic, not just chemicals but algae and plant extracts – this can be substituted by using nothing but luke warm water and washing your face properly and regularly.
IMO
I’m no expert, but i wholeheartedly agree.
I too have sensitive/oily (very difficult!) skin and from my experiance of trying products from each end of the price spectrum the more expensive ones rarely prove to be superior.
At the moment i am using a 2pound nivea face wash (refreshing facial wash gel) and alternating between my 2pound moisturiser (simple hydrating light) & my 5-6pound nivea sensitive one. Coupled with a exfoliant maybe once a week (depending on skin condition) i have found this routine to be far the best solution for my skin.
if you have oily skin or prefer a matte tone, i’d suggest using oil free moisturisers over toners. the anthony logistics oil free one is really good. use their facemask once a week too. a good daily facewash is a must aswell. i tend to stick to anthony logistics or kyoku brands. i didnt have particularly oily skin but i have noticed that i haven’t had a single spot on my face/forehead since i started this routine a year ago.
Following some of the comments I have to come out in support of the toner and in favour of the article which I really liked. Just to clarify, I am not a man who takes easily to products and my usual attitude to these things is – “if I wanted to use a bunch poncy lotions then I would wear a dress and pretend I’m a girl.”
However, after reading one of the previous grooming articles on this site then I tried out the Anthony Logistics Astringent pads and six months later I am now using the AL astringent twice daily (except when I cannot be @rsed of course). I have noticed a distinct difference, particularly where I have combo skin and a shiny forehead the oil is much more controlled and it gives things a kick.
As with all things different have different results and opinions (you will never see me in guyliner or concealer unless I am lying in a coffin with no option – and even then I will be frowning) but the toner works very well for me. If anyone wants to give it a go then would recommend the astringent pads, use them twice daily for a month and if you don’t like then ditch them.
great article and thanks for writing… I may have been one of the readers here who kinda hinted about the need to learn more about toners, so thanks.
I have used Clinique’s 3.5 and 2.5 toners and both have dried my skin too much, and I thought I had oily skin. That was years ago and I am back at trying it with the 1.5. I love the results. But note, like Duncan mentioned, not all toners are meant to be applied everywhere. I do not use it over anywhere that gets shaved, as it says on the bottle. Only on the nose, under eyes, and forehead. I like the look and feel I am getting. Perhaps that is where I went wrong before, since I used to apply it everywhere.
I use it after my hot shower, when pores will have opened due to the heat/steam.
Great article! i have oily skin and large-ish pores. I use Kheils rare earth pore refining tonic, and it really does the job. team it up with Kheils facial fuel and Anthony Logistics pore cleansing clay (once/twice a week) and your definitely onto a winner!
This is a great article but am cautious to try using toners… i have dry/oily skin and over the years tried a variety of products even various skin/laser therapies, i have found the best skin care regime to wash with warm water and then use a good moisturiser morning and night…
i do think you have to experiement to find the right regime for you and i always ask those with flawless skin what their skin regime is and 9/10 the reply is ….nothing…
god dam good genes!
you are asking the wrong people! :D
People with perfect skin don’t need to know how to take care of it. Odds are, people with bad skin will know a lot more because they have to. ;)
After reading this article (and also the “Know Your Skin Type” article), I’m a little unsure of what to do. I think I have skin that’s somewhere in the range of normal – oily (more on the oily side), but occasionally I’ll experience dryness (never really flakiness) if I cleanse too much and don’t moisturize.
Would it be better to start by trying a toner aimed at covering a broad spectrum of ‘skin symptoms’, or ought I just try a toner for oily skin first? I also gather that there’s room to tinker with products to get just the right combination, but I’m even more unsure how to go about that.
A good read. About a year back I bought a toner by mistake and never used it. I’ve always had enlarged pores on my cheeks and got some pretty bad break outs there. I decided to give it a go and within 2 days I noticed my skin was tightening. about a month on and I don’t remember when I last had to deal with a spot. The best part is the toner I used was by Simple, so none of these mentioned ones that are pretty expensive. Can’t say I’ll look back. Always wanted clear skin and now I’m on my way to getting truely clear skin. In time the blemishes will fade and I’ll be good. If you don’t use a toner, try Simple then consider moving on to these ones. That’s my two pence…
i have may be a combination skin type,
not that so much oily on the t-zone and the checks.
But i have dry areas on the chin(lower lip)
and also dry are on the side of my nose.
can i ask what type/brand of moisturizer, anti ageing and toner can i use.
Am living in the philippines, where we have only dry and rainy weather.
thanks