You have to experiment to find the best one for you! (Facial Cleansers & Toners in General)

Member Name: justathought

Product:	Facial Cleansers & Toners in General
Date:	22/08/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the right one can make your skin glow

Disadvantages: the right one is often pricey

Throughout my life so far (I'm 24), and especially in my teens, I have experimented with loads of cleansers and toners to find out what suits my skin. Lots of companies claim their product will be perfect for your skin, but really, you have to experiment to find out out yourself.

As I have combination skin, finding a good cleanser can be tricky - too harsh and my skin becomes dry and flaky, with spots; too greasy and my skin ends up shiny and spotty.

When I had very bad skin in my teens - I tried lots of cleansers and toners that were very harsh, and striped my skin of oil. I thought this would stop me getting spots, but my skin actually responded by producing more oil to sompensate, resulting in spots in some places (nose and forehead), and flaky sking on my chin. I've found that using cleansers that are moisturising stops this happening, if I use a toner then a light moisturiser.

Some that I would say were okay but not perfect were:

Clinique 3 step - when I used to use this, it was a bar of soap, a clarifying lotion and a thick moisturiser. This system used to be okay for my skin; I especially liked the clarifying lotion as it made my skin feel slightly tingly, and it was cooling. However, at certain times, my skin got a bit dry, and I found the moisturiser a bit too thick. It is also quite expensive. They used to give you free samples of the 3 step system if you went to the counter for a consultation but I think due to the credit crunch etc, they don't any more.

Clean and clear oil free exfoliating daily wash with micro beads. I have borrowed this from my sisters a few times and it's good as it's gentle and exfoliates your face, but I find it a bit of a chore to wash all the microbeads off!

I also quite like many of the bars of soaps you get from Holland and Barrett and other 'natural' stores - I like the ones that have mostly natural ingredients and some type of moisturising agent - they usually smell lovely too - the problem is that they last so long and don't feel as hygienic as squeezing something out of a bottle.

My favourite cleanser of all time is Burt's Bees orange cleanser. It's over 98% natural and smells gorgeous. Some people I know find it quite greasy (it is basically a greasy gel) but it really suits my skin - after using it, my skin feels so soft, and after a few days, it looks more even toned. It is quite expensive at around £12.50 but it lasted me more than a year I think. Unfortunately I can't afford to pay that much at the moment, so I'm using a Clarins cleanser that was a gift. It's good, and has quite a high proportion of natural ingredients so I can't complain.

As a toner, I use triple rose water (Nature's Aid), which smells lovely, is natural, makes my skin feel great, and makes my skin feel cool too. It also doesn't irritate my skin but on my mum, who had really bad eczema at one point, it didn't seem to suit. It also only costs about £2 for 150ml - it lasts me a couple of months or so. Apparently, rose water is even more effective if you mix it (one part) with glycerin (2 parts), which can be bought from health food shops etc - I don't think it's very expensive. Personally, I've never tried this, but I've seen rose water and glycerin toners/moisturisers for sale for extortionate prices.

Overall, when choosing cleansers and toners, I would recommend buying something as natural as possible, and not using anything harsh. If you can, get a sample or trial size befor aplashing out on the full size, if you're thinking of buying something expensive. As most companies are now loathe to give out free samples, you can probably buy sample or trial sizes on ebay.

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Lots to choose from - do your research