Are toners necessary in your routine?

Hello everyone. I hope you all are doing well and staying safe. Today we are going to try and decide for ourselves if toners are a necessity in one's routine. I know people have different opinions on this topic but this post is going to be based off of my experience with toners and MY OPINION. Yes you are allowed to disagree on things because skincare is very subjective and what might work for me may not work for you and vice versa. So without much boring talks from me lets get straight into this post.

Disclaimer: This post is not meant for treating anyone with any skincare problems. This post is merely for educational and review purposes only. I am not a dermatologist or a skincare expert. 

Lets start with the History of Toners.

    Toners are basically water based products which go in after your cleanser. They can be applied using a cotton pad or directly on your face by using your palm. Toners in todays time is very different from what they used to be. A few years or decades ago skincare is not what it used to be today. There were no ph balanced products and the soaps or facewashes used to wash one's face were very strong and to balance that toners would contain astringents. But today most cleansers and almost all skincare products are ph balanced so we do not need harsh astringent based toners anymore. There was also a myth going around that toners are supposed to remove the excess makeup which the cleanser wasn't able to remove and besties if your toner is removing the excess makeup from your skin then let me tell you.... YOUR CLEANSER ISN'T DOING ITS JOB!! This myth always gets to me because many influencers a few years ago really used this line to sell all those alcohol based toners which has damaged so many people's skin. 

Now that we have finished with the history of toners lets move forward with where toners are now and then answer the age old question on the necessity of toners in one's routine.

    

    Toners now are mostly according to me are of two types- hydrating and exfoliating. Under hydrating toners I would also include the titles like soothing, hydrating, calming, etc. based products are included and under exfoliating toners they are basically products which contains exfoliators which will exfoliate your skin. Personally, if you are on a budget then you do not need to include a hydrating toner because your Niacinamide serums, moisturizers do the same for you. If you have the money to splurge on hydrating toners then go for it but it's a no for me personally.

    Now, exfoliating toners on the other hand are something which I would recommend if you are a beginner to exfoliation and if you are on a budget and want to complete your routine in 4 steps i.e., cleanser, toner, moisturizer and sunscreen. 

There are another type of product from k-beauty called essence and though these are similar to toners they do have a thicker feel to them and they go on your skin after your toner. They do work similarly in my opinion but with toners they are more water based and essences are a bit towards creamy or thick gel based texture. 

    To conclude, toners are not a necessity but if you have a good amount to splurge on then go get it but if you are on a budget then I would skip it. If you are beginner to exfoliation then go for an exfoliating toner as they are beginner friendly.

Well this was a small post but I hope you guys found this helpful. Do let me know what you would like to read in the future. Bye~