Homemade Organic Facial Toner
February 15, 2008 by Jennifer
As promised after last week’s popular lavender sugar scrub post, we’ll be making homemade beauty recipes a regular part of Tree Hugging Family. I’m thinking Thursday or Friday is a good day.
Today; facial toner. You can buy organic toner for over $40 – or you can make your own for a whole lot less. This recipe has a simple base, that is very customizable. If you have a good herb, flower, and essential oil book, you can pick herbs, flower essences and oils that will compliment your skin type. This recipe is the version I like. But keep in mind that I have pretty normal skin, not too dry or oily, no breakouts, etc. I’m lucky. I call it even because I have unruly curls that I can’t stand – it’s only fair that I got good skin.
After this I’ll add some tips for customizing in case you do have troublesome skin.
You need to gather:
You’ll need a bottle of witch hazel. It’s fine to get plain or even a witch hazel – aloe mix. Plus you need a mixture of herbs and spices (in equal parts) such as fresh mint, fresh rosemary, lemon balm, lavender, dried cloves, cinnamon sticks – or anything else that suits your fancy.
What I personally use:
- Equal parts: fresh rosemary and lavender (yes, grab organic).
- A tiny bit of fresh basil (I know odd, but I like how basil smells).
- A few cinnamon sticks and a tablespoon of dried whole cloves.
- A tablespoon of grated orange peel and the peels of ½ of a lemon.
- Two – three drops of tea tree essential oil.
How to make:
Place all ingredients in a jar and cover completely with witch hazel. Let the mixture sit for a while in your fridge – I usually go a week. Strain, and apply to face. To avoid using extra stuff, I apply this with clean fingers. If you want to use it as a cleaner / toner, use a washcloth (you don’t need to waste a million cotton balls). Another way to use this is as a refresher. Keep it in the fridge, and spray on your face (close your eyes!) during the heat of summer.
The downside: The only downside of this recipe is that unless you use it quick, you really should keep it in the fridge. It’s perishable. I don’t like this factor. To get around it, I make tiny batches frequently, instead of a lot all at once. If you make a small batch you can give it as a gift as well. Making small batches is smart anyhow because you can see if a toner is a good fit for your skin type.
About skin type:
As noted, this is fully customizable for your skin. To learn more about the herb, oil, and flower items that will work best for your skin you can purchase some books on herbs, oils, and flowers (my first recommendation) or visit this amazing ingredients guide from the Organic Pharmacy. The guide lists tons of items and what they’re used for; i.e. to reduce scars, help dry skin, and so fourth.
Thanks! Just what I was looking for!
Ditto to jeneflower. Thank you sooo much! I just can’t see spending a fortune on retail stuff or opting for cheap, chemically-based (alleged) toners.
Hi Jennifer,
I know I’m commenting here late, but I wanted to let you know that I made the facial toner over the weekend. I love it — it makes my skin feel very clean and soft
. However, I didn’t follow your advice and ended up making a lot of it! I know it needs to stay refrigerated, so I came up with a way to save it more conveniently. I put the solution into ice cube trays and froze small portions of it. I used food coloring to dye the solution so we wouldn’t confuse it for regular ice cubes, plus I put “DO NOT EAT” on the trays I used for it and will keep these trays just for that purpose. Once they were frozen, I put the cubes in a bag labeled “DO NOT EAT” in the freezer. I just take out a cube in the morning and it melts by the time I’m ready to use it! Just a couple of things I’d do differently next time:
-I filled the compartments in the trays about halfway, but this is still too much toner for me to use in a day. So I take the extra and put it into a small bottle that I keep in the fridge and use the next day. Next time, I think filling the compartments just a quarter of the way would be enough
-The witch hazel makes the whole freezer smell as it’s freezing, and the smell even gets into the fridge a bit. I put baking soda into both the fridge and freezer to get rid of the odor, and I replaced all of our regular cubes as they were uncovered and I was concerned they’d pick up the flavor of the witch hazel. Next time, I’m going to try putting the toner ice cube trays into sealed bags in the freezer to keep the odor contained while they’re freezing
Other than that, I’m happy with the results of my first batch. I figure it will last me about 3 months and only cost about $7 to make. Overall, a good deal!
Karen.