Facial Toner: Do I really need one?!?

Tonight as I was washing my face and doing my whole nighttime routine, I removed my makeup, washed my face, then I reached for my toner. Hmm, I know that toner "tones" your face, right? But what exact does that mean. Honestly, I never really thought about what I needed a toner for, I just always used one. So off to research I went.

It turns out that a toner does a whole heck of a lot for your skin, why don't you hear about toners more when they are a miracle product for skin!!!

So from everything I could find these are the reasons to use a toner night and day.
• Toner restores your pH balance to your face.
Your want your pH to be around 5.5.  Okay but what exactly is my pH balance?  Basically pH simply means the level of acidity.  pH is measured from 1 to 14; 7 is neutral, 1-6.9 is acidic and 7.1-14 is alkaline.   You want your skin to be able to resist harmful bacteria.  Between 4 and 6.5 is where you want to stay.
• Toner shrinks your pores so that makeup and dirt don't get into them!!!
Seriously!!! I you can find so many products claiming to do to this, yet all you have to do is put toner on after you wash your face!
• Toner helps your moisturizer get soaked into your skin.
Isn't that why we moisturize our face, to actually make it moisturized!!
• Toner removes any excess cleanser or residue left on the skin after cleansing.
If you have a lot of excess dirt that comes off with you toner, you need to change your face cleanser because it's not doing its job!

I use my makeup remover, wash my face then use my toner.  I also moisturize every night after the toner dries.

There are 3 different types of toners:

Skin bracers or fresheners - These contain almost no alcohol (0-10%).  These are the gentlest on the skin, and are most suitable for use on dry, dehydrated, sensitive and normal skins.
Skin tonics - These contain a small amount of alcohol (up to 20%).  These are suitable for use on normal, combination and oily skin.
Astringents - These contain a high amount of alcohol (20-60%).  These are recommended for oily skins, they are very drying.  Remember, the removal of oil from the skin can lead to excess oil production as the skin tries to make up for the moisture loss.

I use a skin bracer and love it.  So come on girls, put those toners to work!!