Is Thayers Toner Bad For Skin

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Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner has taken the internet by storm — racking up more than 5,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, with many users calling it their "Holy Grail" product.
Why do people like information technology? It'due south non-drying, gentle but effective, and gratis from harmful ingredients similar parabens and propylene glycol. Plus, information technology's under $10.
I tried the cult-favorite toner and can run across why people love it so much — information technology'southward gentle and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight or stripped.
Right at present information technology'southward cheapest at Amazon ($ten.95), just yous can also observe it at Target, Thrive Market, and Ulta.

In general, "good" skincare and beauty products aren't affordable. The dominion — whether earned or just given — is that expensive products are ameliorate than less expensive ones. The exception to this, of course, is the handful of outstanding drugstore products that gain notoriety via discussion-of-oral fissure and then, seemingly overnight, snowball into a phenomenon.

The $10 Aztec Clay Mask — with nearly 16,000 reviews on Amazon — is one such product.

Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner is another. Despite beginning every bit just another under-$x product stocked alongside paper clips and floss at retailers like Target and Amazon — the toner has racked upwardly more than 5,000 five-star reviews on Amazon solitary, been recommended by Allure, and been called a "Holy Grail" product by users and celebrity makeup artists akin — including Jo Baker, makeup creative person to Emmy Rossum, Salma Hayek, and Olivia Wilde. Right at present, a dissimilar variation of the toner currently takes all three of the top spots on Amazon'south most popular toners. In all of Amazon'southward skincare offerings, it cracks the top 5 most popular under $25.

What is it?

Thayers' Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner is an alcohol-free toner made from witch hazel, aloe vera, and rosewater. Witch hazel, a botanical extract derived from a flowering plant that humans take used medicinally for ages, is known to be soothing, anti-inflammatory, and accept antioxidant properties. More colloquially, people often apply it to combat acne since it removes backlog oil from the peel. That means that, if overused, witch hazel tin be drying — a holding that's only exacerbated by the fact that most toners that contain it also tend to include alcohol.

In contrast, Thayers' Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner pairs the clarifying properties of witch hazel with rosewater and aloe vera to hydrate the peel. According to Thayers, the formula's rose petals piece of work twofold: their natural oils and sugars ramp up the skin's dewiness, while its vitamin C aids collagen product, strengthens the peel, and fades blemishes and scars. Certified organic aloe vera helps pump moisture back into the pare. Altogether, it's free of alcohol, parabens, and propylene glycol (a potentially irritating synthetic).

Used afterward cleansing merely before moisturizing, the toner will remove backlog clay, oil, makeup, and any residue left over, prep the skin to absorb the rest of the products in your regime (similar moisturizers), and both clean and minimize pores.

What it's similar to apply

Until I tried the 10-Step Korean Skincare Routine (and the pop Acwell iteration), my experience with toner was isolated to my early on teens. Caught in the get-go wave of serious acne, I had allied myself with a militaristic understanding of skincare: the more it stung, the more bacteria it must exist killing, and the better it must be working. Nether that logic, harsh alcoholic astringents became foundational pillars. Spoiler: they did not fix the issues.

Today, you lot'd probably have to pay me to slather anything that harsh on my skin again. Dermatologists typically agree that most alcohols only serve to dry out out the skin, and a more than sustainable approach may be feeding salubrious leaner rather than obliterating every bit many of them as possible indiscriminately. That way, they can self-manage a healthy microbiome on acme of your skin — kind of similar an allowed system — rather than face the world and its pollutants every day anew.

All this meant I was skeptical of an under-$10 toner that claimed to be gentle and constructive — even one that was free of alcohol. However, post-personal use, I become the enthusiastic fandom: for me, the Thayers' Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner was indeed gentle, relatively non-drying, and did the job of helping clean off the vestiges of earlier cleansers so the residue of my skincare routine could sink in more finer. My pores also looked noticeably smaller, and I've started using it as an constructive spot-treatment to isolate and treat blemishes as they pop up. If y'all're looking for a toner, it's a solid pick — and information technology'southward a big bonus that it's less than $10 for a 12-ounce canteen.

How to use it

To use it, wash your face, pat it dry out, and soak either a cotton fiber ball or cleansing pad with the toner. Lightly spread information technology across your face and neck. If you're following with essence or moisturizer, let the toner dry before applying other products on top of information technology. You may want to transition first with once-daily or every-other-day applications, but, typically, toners are fine to use twice daily — depending on how your skin reacts.

My only notes are that, while the fragrance is pleasant and natural, I typically prefer unscented skincare. Fragrance at best is an unnecessary additive and at worst tin can hide harmful ingredients nether a loosely vetted definition. If you're like-minded, try Thayers' Unscented version – information technology's the aforementioned cost and also has witch hazel and aloe vera.

And since information technology'south always wise to exam new skincare products on smaller and/or less visible patches of the body before dousing your face, you may desire to dab toner on your wrist to test your torso's reaction first.

Mara Leighton

Senior Educational activity and Personal Development Reporter, Insider Reviews

Mara Leighton is the senior education and personal evolution reporter for Insider Reviews. In the spring of 2020, Mara spearheaded Insider Reviews' new education beat. She'due south reported on Yale's virtually popular form on happiness as well as essential workforce recovery programs, gratis instructional courses for non-ICU workers on operating mechanical ventilators, and a Johns Hopkins' contact tracing course designed to fill thousands of remote jobs. She's interviewed Google executives, presidential policy committee members, best-selling authors, leading researchers and professors, and NBC's Chuck Todd in her instruction coverage. She's most interested in personal development, skill-edifice, industry shifts, and increased accessibility for learners of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Previously, Mara covered e-commerce for Business Insider from 2017-2020. She's written thousands of reviews and explainers, profiled emerging and established D2C companies, blogged through major retail events, and forecasted and analyzed industry trends. She also produced the vertical's weekly newsletter. Say hello at mleighton@businessinsider.com or tweet her @maraleighton. Learn more than about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider hither. Larn more than about how nosotros review educational and personal development products.