Homemade Facial Toners

Using homemade Facial toners or even over the counter tones can help tone the skin giving it a more vibrant, smooth and clear look. A good facial toner will close up your pores helping to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Plus they help fight acne.

For example, even an over the counter toner like Bliss Daily Detoxifying Facial Toner, which effectively detoxifies, can add addtional protection to your skin from smoke, smog and other environmental toxins (which are known to wreak wrinkle related havoc on your skin).

For those preferring homemade facial toners, thees are excellent choices for giving your skin a healthy, pure glow, but first let's go over some helpful tips for using facial toners:

- Using a cotton ball, apply the skin toner sweeping it gently across your face. The cotton ball should be clean when toning. If it is not clean, then your cleansing has not been done correctly.

- Don't tone your skin if it is dirty. Skin toning should be done only after the skin has been completely cleansed.

- Always use toners before or after applying skin masks. 

Recipes for Homemade Facial Toners

Rosewater Skin Toner

Rosewater skin toner is a natural toner that freshens and tones your skin and prepare it nicely for the application of your make-up. Rosewater also helps keep your face moisturized, fresh and balances the pH levels and is perfect for dry to sensitive skin.

Gather fresh rose blossoms.
Be careful to gather fresh rose pedals and never use pedals that have been sprayed with pesticides.

Place the petals in a pan covering them with fresh distilled water and place a heat resistant dish directly over the pedals to make them lay on the bottom of the pan.

Put the pan over a low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour, DO NOT BOIL. As the water heats up you will begin to see drops of rose oil forming on the surface of the water.

Soon the water will begin to have a rosy color to it and feel thick and oily, this means it is ready.

When the pedals have cooled use a tea strainer to strain the liquid and use your fingers to squeeze as much liquid from the pedals as possible.  Store in the refrigerator.

Watermelon toner

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of fresh watermelon juice
2 tablespoons of distilled water
1 tablespoon of Vodka

Preparation:

Mash a section of the watermelon to extract the juice.

Add to the watermelon juice the water and vodka.
Dip a cotton ball into the mix and apply on the face.
Rinse off with warm water

Save the remainder of the toner for later use. Place it in a container and keep refrigerated. It can be used up to 10 days after it was made.

Cucumber Toner

Ingredients:

One half cucumber cut up
One half of a tomato cut up
1/4 cup of vodka

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until it becomes smooth. Dab onto your face and neck , do not rub in simply pat it on gently. Leave on for 5 minutes and follow with a warm water rinse. This mixture will remove the dirt and impurities in your skin while toning your skin.

Save the remainder of the toner for later use. Place it in a container and keep it refrigerated. It can be used up to 10 days after it was made.

Simple Green Tea Facial Toner

This is a homemade facial toner that is recommended to use every day:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of powdered green tea
1/2 of boiling water

Preparation:
Simply steep green tea in boiling water for 10 minutes
Let it cool and apply it on the face with cotton balls (gauze)

I especially like this one in the morning.  I steam my face while enjoying my morning coffee. It's a great start to my day and my face feels refreshed and oh so clean.
 

Lemony mint facial toner

Ingredients:
1 peppermint tea bag
1/4 cup witch hazel

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 cup of boiling water

Preparation:
Steep tea in water for 10 minutes
Remove the tea bag and let cool
Mix in the lemon juice and witch hazel and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator
This mixture is also save and recommended for use every day.

Apple facial toner
Courtesy of spaindex.com

This homemade facial toner is an excellent choice for oily skin, and is a great substitute for rubbing alcohol.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup witch hazel
1/3 cup apple vinegar
several drops of lavender essential oil (or oil of your choice)

Preparation:
Mix, and add to clean bottle.
Shake bottle well before using, and then dampen a cotton ball or pad saturated with your toner, and swab over face. Witch hazel is a gentle astringent, apple cider vinegar will help restore your skin's natural ph balance, and lavender soothes sensitive skin.

Remedy for oily, irritated, or broken-out skin

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oatmeal
4 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp olive oil

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients to form a paste. Massage into the skin and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

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