Toner vs Hydrosol vs A/S Splash

[cammyfive]

I'm currently using Nancy Boy mild facial toner after I shave and before I apply my A/S balm (alternate between a few now). I've always been under the impression that toner 'cleans up your pores' before your A/S balm, but isn't that what a quality A/S splash is supposed to do? Also, how would hydrosol (for example: the AoS Hydrosol) fit into all of this? An extra step or a substitution?

 

[HoratioCaine]

I'm currently using Nancy Boy mild facial toner after I shave and before I apply my A/S balm (alternate between a few now). I've always been under the impression that toner 'cleans up your pores' before your A/S balm, but isn't that what a quality A/S splash is supposed to do? Also, how would hydrosol (for example: the AoS Hydrosol) fit into all of this? An extra step or a substitution?

The line of distinction between toners and aftershave splashes is a blurry one, to be sure. A lot of that distinction has more to do with perception and marketing than an actual difference. Toners are often marketed as skin care products; aftershaves are shaving products. Toners are often seen as a step in a skin care regimen; aftershaves are meant to complete a shave by themselves, although a lot of men here do use them as an intermediate step between the end of a shave and the application of a balm, much like a toner. Alcohol based aftershaves (ABAs) were originally developed to disinfect the skin after a shave, back in the days before antibiotics, when a nick inflicted during a shave had the potential to develop into a disfiguring or life-threatening infection. Since in modern times that risk is considerably lower, what ABAs are "supposed" to do now is arguable. Many men still like the bracing feel of the alcohol and feel that it also helps reduce razor burn. A number of ABAs are now made with "buffer" ingredients like glycerin or hydrogenated castor oil, to help offset the drying effect of the alcohol.

Personally, I feel toners have little benefit as an intermediate step between cleansing and moisturizing. If you have a good cleanser, that's all you really need to get clean. On the other hand, using a toner as a lightweight moisturizer or aftershave has a lot to recommend it. Which brings us back to the blurry line of distinction I started out with.

As far as the AOS hydrosol is concerned, it functions essentially the way a toner does, whether it be as an intermediate step between cleansing and moisturizing, or as an aftershave. True hydrsols are waters distilled with plant essences; the essential oils from the plants chemically bond with the water molecules during distillation - they are not added after the fact. Some people claim hydrosols contain the botanical benefits of the plant from which the hydrosols are distilled. This may be true, but by and large, they're pleasantly scented water. The AOS hydrosol is a great one, though; I have yet to find another face product that smells so purely of real roses.

Hope this helps.