Often the tonic is considered an optional element of a correct daily beauty routine, but will it be so?
Yes, we are right in front of a "shakespearean dilemma": tonon yes or tonon no? Is it a mere trade found or a product that has a specific and important role in the practice of facial cleansing? Often in the world of cleansing you can have somewhat contrasting opinions in support of one or the other thesis and then we just have to try to clarify, occupying us to understand the nature and real function of the tonic itself.
Surely many of us will happen to forget about its use when we are preparing to clean our skin, in some cases then considering it as a shroud, in short, the Cinderella of cleansing products.
But then what is a tonic?
It is a liquid detergent used to complete the cleansing treatments of the face,
The second step in the removal phase of the make up, after the use of cleansing or similar milk.
The tonic in fact allows to eliminate the waste and milk residues, restores the pH of the skin altered by the removal of impurities and helps to have the skin breathe, to oxygenate as well as closing the pores. In addition to this, depending on the components present in it, it carries out a refreshing, purifying, softened, decongestant, humidifying, astringent action. Finally but no less important, it prepares the skin to a better absorption of treatments that will be applied later.
From a chemical point of view it is an aqueous or hydroalcoholic solution, generally containing 1 to 5% of humectants, 1-10% of functional substances mostly of vegetable origin.
Aqueous base It can be a simple distilled water or precious aromatic distilled waters of rose, orange flowers, hamamelis, chamomile, linden, mallow and burdock.
Alcohol At non-excessive concentrations (up to 10%), which best solubilizes the essences present and gives refreshing and astringent action.
Umettant which glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol.
Acidifying or substances that allow the tonic to have a isoepidermal pH (e.g. citric acid, lactic).
Functional substances: They give the tonic specific characteristics different based on the type of skin considered. We remind various plant extracts, but also urea, allantoin, protein derivatives, vitamins and AHA.
How to choose the most suitable tonic?
To choose the most correct tonic it is essential to know about its own type of skin. If we have a fat and oily skin, an alcoholic form will be useful with astringent and sebum-balancing vegetable extracts. If the skin is dry no alcohol, but vegetable extracts rich in mucilages such as Aloe and Mallow, calendula to name a few. Passing to sensitive skin and / or with couperose better to orient themselves on free alcohol formulations with softened action vegetable elements, refreshing as chamomile, linden, lemon balm etc.
Mature skins instead need the use of a tonic with elasticizing and firming extracts including horsetailing, echinacea and ginseng, with adding illuminants and refreshing if we have a turn off (menthol, lemon, sage).
Following the aforementioned above it seems that the tonic is a fundamental element to be included in a fair and effective beauty beauty routine, but if there was still a skeptical someone in this regard... seeing is believing! Try our Et charmante
