Introducing… Botanical Balance Toner

I am so in love with my new skin tonic! For ages now I have wanted to develop an easy to use, gentle on the skin but effective skin tonic, and finally, after months and months of research and many, many iterations, here it is.

I wanted a toner that would do more than just clear away the last of your makeup remover, leaving skin fresh for the application of the day’s serum and moisturiser. In my book, anything we put on our faces has to be proactive, it has to actually engage with the skin and do good things. We leave skin toner on our skins so, for me, it has to be beneficial, not neutral. Anything that doesn’t positively contribute to our skin health doesn’t belong on my shelves!

Growing up, I followed the classic mantra: Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise. This is still great advice - but now we have the knowledge and technology to make each of these steps a really powerful and effective element not only in the care of the visible skin of the epidermis, but in the overall health and vitality of those deeper layers that support the epidermis, too.

So - what’s in my Botanical Balance Toner that makes it such a useful element of our daily skincare routine?

Let’s start with my brief to the skincare I lab I work with for all my products.

I wanted my toner to not only remove those last dregs of last night’s makeup, but to gently exfoliate dead skin cells, act as an antioxidant to minimise the signs of aging, soothe stressed skin and contribute to the hydration of skin while supporting the skin’s barrier.

While there are many synthetic ingredients available, all perfectly safe for skin, I wanted to look first at what nature might supply we could harness for good. The skincare scientists and I did an awful lot of research, looking at known-to-be effective ingredients that were vegan, cruelty-free and didn’t require horrible preservatives (those SLS nasties) to remain safe and effective. So here’s a look at the botanical ingredients in my new toner that led to its name.

Licorice Root Extract

A natural plant-based ingredient that has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and skincare, licorice root is an absolute powerhouse. It has anti-inflammatory properties that can help to soothe and calm irritated skin; it can help brighten skin by inhibiting the production of melanin, and so help to address pigment spots; it contains antioxidants that help to protect skin from environmental stressors, such as UV radiation and pollution; it’s a natural humectant, which means it can attract and retain moisture in the skin and so help improve overall hydration and plumpness; and it has been shown to have antibacterial properties that can help reduce the growth of acne-causing bacteria on the skin. I love this stuff! 

Green Tea Extract

Green tea is an anti-inflammatory, even more powerful than aspirin. It improves skin’s microcirculation and protects intracellular cement lipids - by which I mean it protects the upper layer of skin, the epidermis, by protecting the fluids that surround the skin cells which provide hydration and prevent water loss. There’s no point putting hydration onto your skin if your skin can’t hold it. And if it can’t hold it, it can’t benefit from it.

Green tea extract is also a powerful antioxidant. Oxidative stress is the most important factor in the ageing of the skin so we take steps to battle this with antioxidants.

Very excitingly, green tea extract has photoprotective properties, which means it can absorb ultraviolet radiation in the harmful range that can damage our skin. Yes! It can suck up those nasty UVA and UVB rays and can help prevent them from attacking our skin. Now, this is NOT an alternative to SPF. This is a skin toner, green tea extract is simply one of the ingredients and is a support act, not the main act, in sun protection!

Finally, green tea extract can help reduce sebum production and the associated oily skin some of us suffer with,

Ginseng Root Extract

Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2,000 years, ginseng has many benefits for the skin.  

Ginsenosides, the active compounds found in ginseng, are known for their anti-aging

properties. They help stimulate collagen production, which improves skin elasticity and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Ginseng is also a natural anti-inflammatory agent that

soothes irritated skin and reduces redness. 

It also helps protect the skin from oxidative damage caused by free radicals (atoms that can cause cellular damage and accelerate ageing) environmental stressors and UV radiation.

Important to me is skin hydration, and Ginseng Root Extract is rich in polysaccharides, which help lock in moisture and keep the skin hydrated.

Aloe Vera

Everybody’s heard of aloe vera, often used straight from the leaf to treat minor burns. In fact, I keep one on my kitchen windowsill, just in case! In skincare, Aloe soothes the skin, prevents trans epidermal water loss, cools and hydrates, and promotes healing from breakouts.

Fermented Radish Root Extract

I’d love to know how the first scientist came up with the idea of testing fermented radish root extract for beneficial properties, but I’m very glad they did, because it’s a marvellous natural preservative, meaning no need for harsh synthetic preservatives.

It is also a natural humectant, and so boosts moisture content in the skin, it soothes irritated skin, is a gentle exfoliator and helps prevent the growth of harmful bacteria which can cause blemishes. Winner winne

Coconut acid

A fatty acid found in coconut oil, we have chosen coconut acid as our toner’s cleansing agent, to complete your cleanse before applying fresh serum and moisturiser. It also has mild antimicrobial properties that can help protect against harmful microorganisms.

Panthenol and Sodium Hyuralonate 

Okay, so these aren’t botanicals, but I love their power, so thought I’d say a little about each anyway.

Panthenol, or Vitamin B5, Panthenol is a humectant, which means that it helps to attract and retain moisture in the skin, so reducing dryness and. It has has anti-inflammatory properties that can help to calm and soothe irritated or sensitive skin and can help to support the skin’s natural healing process by promoting cell regeneration and tissue repair and enhances skin’s natural barrier function, reducing moisture loss and protecting the skin from external stressors.

Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of Hyaluronic Acid, a water-binding ingredient that has the ability to fill the spaces between the connective fibres collagen and elastin, helping maintain or boost that plump, bouncy feeling we love. Skin naturally loses its water volumes as it ages, so we use this to help feed the skin the water it is missing. Sodium hyaluronate is composed of small molecules that penetrate the skin easily and can hold up to 1000 times their own weight in water. 

Shop Botanical Balance Toner here, we do love a life hack :-)