Green Tea Facial Toners

Green Tea Facial Toners

 

We’ve spoken about all the amazing skin benefits of green tea in our latest blog series,  Green Tea For Skin, and we’ve covered some fun recipes in  P2: Scrubs, Serums & Masks. Now it's time to make some green tea toners. Toners are the first step in skin hydration following a good cleanse and exfoliation, and help to prep your skin for moisturisers. A good toner will be packed with ingredients that hydrate, plump and glow your skin, as well as bringing it to its natural slightly acid state (yes our skin is acidic). 

 

Ingredient actives that you would want to include in your toner are humectants (moisture givers), antioxidants, hydrators, skin calmers and any good acids such as  hyaluronic acid, lactic acid and the alpha-hydroxy acids.

 

Green tea covers just about all of these functions on its own, but it is nice to include other ingredients too. We recommend  vegetable glycerinD-panthenol and  hydrolyzed wheat protein as hydrating agents, humectants and skin conditioners. 

 

Other ingredients to add would have a toning and even astringent action, such as  witch hazel (the original oily skin toner),  apple cider vinegarlemongrass infusion, or essential oils such as  lemongrapefruit or  bergamot

 

Next, something to calm and moisturise the skin such as  rose powder infusion,  aloe gelallantoin (highly recommended) or an essential oil such as  rose or  chamomile, can be added. 

 

If you decide to add any essential oils, add in some  OliveM 300 too as it can act as a light solubiliser. 

 

Finally, you will require a preservative as a toner is water based. Use  geogard 221 or  Euxyl 940 blend.

 

Recipes

Toners are user-friendly to make and you can’t go wrong using a combination of the ingredients mentioned in the previous section. Here is a basic customisable green tea toner recipe to get you started.

 

Customisable Green Tea Toner

90ml  green tea infusion, or if using, green tea + another botanical infusion, or hydrosol

Actives such as 1 drop  vegetable glycerin, 2ml  hyaluronic acid, 1T  aloe gel, and/or 2ml  D-panthenol

½ tsp  allantoin (optional but I highly recommend it for a moisturised and silky skin feel)

2 drops preservative  geogard 221 or  Euxyl 940 blend.

The first step is always to prepare your infusions. Sterilise all your utensils with boiling water then measure out a teaspoon of botanical powder, cover with freshly boiled and slightly cooled filtered water, leave to infuse for at least half an hour, then filter and preserve. 

Once you have your infusions ready, combine all the ingredients together, stirring gently after each addition. Lastly, you may want to test the pH with  test strips and if necessary, add a tiny pinch of  citric acid. You are looking for a pH of around 5.5. You can store your toner in the fridge (I like the cold feeling on my skin), or keep it in a cool cupboard. To use, pour some on a  cotton pleat or  pad and dab on your skin.

 

Green Tea & Rose Toner

The added allantoin here really gives your skin a moisturised, silky and hydrated feel - it’s one of our new favourite products! The rose infusion makes this an ultra delicate and gentle toner that is particularly good on mature skin.

¼ c I  65%  green tea infusion

30ml I 30%  rose petal powder infusion or you can use  rose hydrosol

⅓ tsp I 1%  allantoin

1 drop I 1%  vegetable glycerin

2ml I 2%  hyaluronic acid (1 squirt of the pipette should do it)

2 drops I 1%  geogard 221 or  Euxyl 940 blend

Blend everything together and pour into a glass bottle. Store in the fridge or in a cool place. To use, pour some on a  cotton pleat or  pad and dab on your skin.

 

Green Tea Orange Blossom Toner

Orange blossom has a deliciously heady scent that combines nicely with the light, fresh green tea. This recipe will have your kitchen smelling like a floral paradise while you make it up, and feels oh-so-lovely on skin.

¼ c  green tea infusion

25ml  orange blossom hydrosol

½ tsp  allantoin

1 drop  vegetable glycerin

2ml  hyaluronic acid (1 squirt of the pipette should do it)

1 drop  geogard 221 or  Euxyl 940 blend

Blend everything together and pour into a glass bottle. Store in the fridge or in a cool place. To use, pour some on a  cotton pleat or  pad and dab on your skin.

 

SHOP THE TOP INGREDIENTS HERE:  allantoinrose petal powdermasmi cotton productspH testing stripsbergamot essential oil.


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6 comments

Hi Nombulelo, use enough water to make up the required amount for whichever recipe you are following :)
You can also read more on infusions at this link: https://essentiallynatural.co.za/blogs/botanical-extracts/how-to-make-water-based-botanical-extracts

Juliette

Hi

How much filter water do I use when making the green tea infuson?

Thank you :)

Nombulelo Thwala

Hi Eleanor, it’s a pleasure, glad you like everything!
It might depend a little on what essential oils you are using, but I would try with 2-3% OliveM 300 and see from there. If you need a little more you can then always add it in. Keep in mind the OliveM 300 may make the solution appear cloudy.

Juliette

Hi there, thanks for the best source of natural skin care making info and the best online shop for ingredients!
If I were to add some essential oils to my toner and use OliveM 300 as a solubiliser, how much what % of OliveM 300 should I use? TIA:)

Eleanor

Hi Marcy, you could probably get away with a direct substition of lactic acid for HA. You will need to see how your skin responds.

Juliette