As I finished up my bottle of toner, I looked at the bottom and saw the $22.50 price tag. 🙁 But what’s the purpose of toner?
Most people skip this step in their skincare mainly because they think it’s just an extraneous, unnecessary step that just ends up costing more money! And they’re sorta right…especially if your toner is $10+!
From my understanding, toner is supposed to do the following:
– remove residue leftover from the cleansing step;
– restore the pH balance of your skin, and;
– remove dead skin cells
Of course I’m not a scientist, so I cannot prove the above theories. The only thing I can vouch for is that toner does remove stuff that my cleanser can’t get rid of like heavy makeup and my homemade coffee/oatmeal scrub! <– Cotton pad is the colour of dirt after I wipe.
Since I’m trying to go more natural with my skincare, I thought that I’d share with you a diy recipe that I discovered for an Apple Cider Vinegar Toner that’s totally on the cheap!
You’ll need the following ingredients:
– Apple Cider Vinegar* (with the ‘Mother’, don’t skimp on this! Less than $5/bottle!)
– distilled water (I used green tea which was cooled down)
In a clean bottle, preferably made out of glass with a spout to control pour, mix a 1:1 ratio of the ACV and distilled water.
Apply toner to cotton ball and wipe across face, after cleansing. Don’t worry, vinegar smell will eventually fade. I’ve been using it for 2 weeks with great results, less breakouts, smoother texture. 🙂
Now if only I can find a replacement for those darn cotton pads/balls…
* Can be purchased at a health food store, Bulk Barn, or organic section of a large grocery store
Crochet pattern for Makeup Remover Pads
http://allicrafts.blogspot.ca/2011/03/makeup-remover-pads.html
where can this be found for under 5 bucks a bottle? i have gotten it from well.ca for between 7 and 8 and for 7 at a local convenience store. this bragg acv seems to be the best.
OH and….
I use this Bragg apple cider vinegar as conditioner, and it is the best conditioner i have ever used! in fact, I dilute it about 50/50 and put it in a spray bottle from the dollar store and I keep it in the tub. After I wash my hair, Ispray on the diluted apple cider vinegar and let it sit for a minute or two. then, rinse. Any vinegar smell is gone once my hair dries, and I have had more compliments on my hair since using apple cider vinegar than ever before. I even had people telling me I looked like I was straight off the set of a hair commercial! It makes my hair extremely easy to brush and it gives it so much body and bounce!
I just love vinegar though. I think it’s one of the best all-purpose things to keep around the home. I use it for cleaning, beauty, cooking…laundering…..the uses are endless.
Thank you for posting this! I’ve been wondering where to get apple cider vinegar to make this toner 🙂
@Xena – I bought my bottle, same size as pictured (I think) at Bulk Barn for $4.39 or $4.69. Also used my $3 off $10 purchase coupon for that! 😉
Id love to try this 😀
thanks for posting <3
Right now I’m using Filsinger’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 500 mL for $3.69
It’s very good – got great reviews on well.ca. It comes in a glass bottle.
I also have a bottle of the Eden Organic Apple Cider Vinegar to try when i finish the other one. It comes in an amber glass bottle. Also good reviews.
I bought both from well.ca – I have only used for cooking and to help with sinus headaches. (BTW, if you’re a new customer to well.ca, there are coupon codes for $10 off your first order of $40.)
have used the one in the glass bottle too. great for your scalp and hair.
Awesome will def try this out!
If you’re more of a Knitter than a crochet person, like me, you can make these:
Use cotton yarn:
Cast on 8 stitches
Knit 8-10 rows or until square
bind off
I make 14 so they last me a week before I need to wash them. You can easily get 14 out of a small ball of cotton yarn (1.88 @ walmart), and they are reusable!
You can get Braggs Cider vinegar in Bulk Barn, the Big Bottle, which is like 1l or something is around $6.
You can also use Witch Hazel as an astrigent. They sell bottles of it on well.ca for like $3.
Wow so many great ideas here. I’m definitely gonna try making the reusable cotton pads 🙂
So you wrote to use water, but u also wrote green tea? Which did you mix it with?
Apple Cidar Vinegar can also be used to get rid of warts
And White Vinegar can be used in your wash in place of fabric softener and bleach!
Yay! Get rid of more chemicals!
@Stephanie – I did try using witch hazel as toner, but it completely dried out my skin!!! A sales rep at Kiehl’s said that that would happen, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
I make a fine scrub to wash my face, baking soda and organic honey, stir together to make a paste, I put mine in a sqeeze bottle:)
I am glad to find this astringent post…thanks!
You can even get the no name brand at the PC stores of the Apple cider vinegar, it is just with the rest of teh vinegars 😉
And you can skip the shampoo if you. The “no poo” approach, you can use baking soda and water as a bit of a scalp scrub on days your hair starts looking a bit oily. Then the apple cider vinegar and wanter to rinse and condition your hair 😀
They have Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar on Well.ca – 473mL for $4.49 & 946mL for $7.49
@ChemFree
“Yay! Get rid of more chemicals!”
What does the word acetic acid mean to you? Would you avoid it at all costs? Vinegar (a.k.a. approx 10% acetic acid in water) is also a chemical. So maybe you shouldn’t use vinegar if you’re so scared of chemicals.
Remember every substance encountered in the universe is a chemical.
This is a GREAT tip! I have used this on occasion when Im out of rosewater & witch hazel toner. It works very well. I have also used ACV as a hair rinse and it makes my hair very soft (I have the thickest hair ever). Hurray to banishing harmful chemicals! 🙂
http://lesstoxicguide.ca