Let’s talk about micellar water & whether it’s a toner or not.
This past week I’ve come across three different clients who are using micellar water as a toner after they wash their face. Can it be used as a toner.
I’ll go over what a toner is, what micellar water is & if it should be used as a toner
What’s a toner & why do we use it?
Let’s go back to the history of skincare products to understand what a toner is & why it was created
Back in the day they understood that soap was stripping & drying the skin, so they made face washes. Even though the face washes were soap free, they were still stripping & drying to the skin because their PH was alkaline.
Our skin’s barrier has an acidic PH so the face washes were dehydrating our skin. To fix this they created toners which would try & get the PH back to being acidic and remove anything that the cleanser failed to remove.
Unfortunately you still find alkaline face washes in the market today so you would need a toner if you use one like that
A lot of skincare brands formulate face washes that aren’t stripping to the skin & have an acidic PH or don’t disturb your skin’s PH. If you use a great cleanser, there is no need for a toner as your skin hasn’t been stripped
The only reason skincare brands still make toners is because we, s the consumers, are so used to the 3 step routine of Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise we buy the toner out of habit.
Secondly the skincare brands make extra money out of us buying a toner…
So because consumers are so used to having a toner, some brands have given their toners a function, they could be hydrating , for example, or exfoliating or brightening….
I use an exfoliaitng toner, Here You Glow, with 10% alpha hydroxy acids, it also has bioadaptive ingredients meaning it gives my skin more hydration when I need it & less hydration when I don’t need it. I don’t need to buy a separate exfoliator as my toner does all that
Ultimately it’s up to you if if you want to use a toner or not especially if your cleanser isn’t stripping to your skin.
Micellar Water
Micellar water is purified water with mild surfactants (cleansing ingredients) and hydrating ingredients. The surfactant are hydrophilic & form spheres in the water called micelles.
Micellar water is a cleanser, not an exfoliator as it can dissolve light makeup, sunscreen & oil from the skin. It’s referred to as a cleanser & toner because it’s gentle on the skin & doesn’t strip the skin. as I mentioned earlier, if your cleanser is not stripping to the skin, you don’t need a toner…. hence they say it’s a cleanser & a toner.
Can you use micellar water as a toner?…..
I wouldn’t really recommend it be used that way. I’d say use it as the first part of your double cleanse.
The micellar water will break down makeup, oil & sunscreen but because you don’t rinse it off, the surfactants & residue is left over on your skin. This can be irritating to very sensitive skin type.
Then I’d follow with a my regular face wash afterwards for a nice double cleanse. Check the ingredients of your micellar water & make sure that there’s no harmful ingredients
I use the Day Away Micellar beauty water but I use it on its own in the morning, it also has the bioadaptive ingredients. So I do my double cleanse in the evening, moisturise & go to bed. Then in the morning, I use my micellar water as a gentle cleanse, then apply my day moisturiser.
Micellar water is not a toner, it’s a cleanser. I would use it as the first part of a double cleansing routine.
You can use the micellar water on its own but just be aware that you’re leaving surfactants on your skin & depending on how sensitive your skin is, can be irritating
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