I am the worst when it comes to applying toner. I used to never do it like EVER. I never feel like it makes a whole hell of a lot of difference, so like why add an extra step to my nighttime routine, ya know? It’s bad enough that I spend fifteen minutes mummifying myself every night to begin with, so I feel like I need to cut out any fluff.
Lately though my personal schedule has been in a bit of an upheaval. Unrelated I have been working out a lot more and sweating like a beast because summer got a little out of hand and I need to get myself back in check. To top it all off the weather is changing, so basically my skin is not a happy camper and long story short: I have been getting some breakouts.
Now, I don’t have great luck with acne medications. For my skin salicylic acid works moderately well for breakouts but not amazing or anything (although I think it’s really good for regular upkeep and clear pores etc.) and I’m SUPER allergic to Benzoyl Peroxide. I had heard good things about using apple cider vinegar for the skin but I wasn’t sure how to go about using it.
As I always say I am not a skin expert so I can’t tell you if any of the extraordinary claims on the internet are true. And I really hate when people run around saying things are miraculous and better than over the counter treatments and “scientifically proven” and blah blah blah. I’ve got an open mind and I don’t mind trying new things, but I don’t like selling (or being sold) a line of BS either so I’ll just tell you what I tried and how it worked for me, deal? So here we go.
I read a little on a few different sites and blogs and saw that people basically use it as a toner. Some people dilute it, others seem to use it straight out of the bottle on a cotton pad, and some even get fancy and mix in other ingredients like green tea and lavender.
I’m not that fancy, so I started off by trying it straight from the bottle on a cotton pad. It cleared up my breakout really quickly and I was really impressed, but two or three days later my face was waaaaaay too dry. So I decided to experiment with different dilutions and see what worked for my skin.
Here is the recipe that worked for me:
1 Part Apple Cider Vinegar ( I used Bragg’s Organic)
2 Parts Filtered Water
Mix together and use as a toner.
I decided to put it in a spray bottle and mist it onto my face instead of using a cotton pad, partially because I don’t like wasting cotton pads, but mostly because it feels nice. Who doesn’t like a good spritz?
I used an empty bottle of eyeglass cleaning spray that I washed out VERY thoroughly because I don’t think Windex-ing your face sounds like a good idea. You could also use one of those little spray bottles they sell in the travel section at CVS or Wallgreens or whatever your local drugstore is.
My routine goes like this:
Wash Face with Clarisonic
Spray on toner mixture
Apply Night time moisturizer
Some people seem to apply their toner and then rinse it off, but with such a weak solution it doesn’t seem necessary. But if you were going to use a stronger solution you might want to give it a rinse to avoid a dry patchy face situation.
For me this mixture and routine seems to be pretty good. I don’t feel like it’s drying me out, or making me smell like a salad before bed, and my skin has been looking nice and clear so I’m gonna stick with this for a while and see how it goes.
You may need a stronger solution if your skin is less sensitive or your acne is worse, or you may need less . . .or it may not work at all. But it is pretty inexpensive so it seems worth a shot to me. Maybe you’ll even get fancy and add some lavender or mint or whatever it is people add to handmade bath products.
Maybe you have been using this stuff as a toner for ages and you can tell me more about it, I would love to hear about it so leave me a comment!
Tags: acv apple cider vinegar diy skincare tips toner tricks
6 Comments
I really enjoy the blog.Much thanks again. Great.
Thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoy it!
I’ve been using this for over a year almost very night in my night routine and it has improved my skin complexion a lot! I use 1 part ACV 1 part distilled water (found it somewhere on a blog). I also use rose water afterwards to moisturize my skin along with say yes to tomatoes moisturizer. My skin complexion has improved tremendously. It’s a drag doing the whole routine but it is sooooo worth it!
Hmmm I haven’t tried rose water, but it sounds like something I might like! I’ve been doing the ACV toner for a while now, and my skin has been really good, especially the texture so I’m sticking with it. I agree that night routines are a drag though. I always say I want one of those machines that George Jetson had that does everything for you, lol. But until they invent that, it’s worth it to stick to a routine. Hahaha
Thanks for the idea…always looking to save a few $ since I’m always trying new things with my sensitive skin!
Glad I could help!