If you are using a true astringent with alcohol (the bad kind) as an ingredient—stop! Don’t use it another day. Throw it away (or if you just purchased it, return it), and know you just gave your skin a huge break from a harmful product.
Astringents in years past almost always contained alcohol—on purpose—and some toners still do. Alcohol is used to dry up the oil on your face, therefore helping your oily skin, right? The truth is, using the bad kind of alcohol, like the kind used in some types of toners, is one of the worst things you can do to your skin. Instead of promoting health, alcohol destroys the healthy balance your skin requires to function properly, which can promote problems. Drying up oil actually puts your skin in a state of emergency in a sense and causes your oil glands to produce more oil to compensate for the loss (caused by the drying effect of alcohol).
Unfortunately, toners and astringents are sometimes lumped together even though in reality they are very different (if by astringent you mean a product containing high concentrations of alcohol). If you have oily skin (or any skin type) do not use a toner with alcohol, no matter if it’s called an astringent or not.
For more information, see:
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