An Uncomplicated Life Blog: DIY Acne Clearing Toner

Thursday, July 28, 2016

DIY Acne Clearing Toner

If you suffer from acne, try this all natural DIY facial toner to clear up your breakouts


These claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. 


I was gifted with great genes: I'm tall. I'm slender. I'm smart. I have straight, white teeth. I like to think I'm kinda funny, even if only on my best days. But where I tanked in the gene pool is my skin. I have had acne prone skin since I was a pre-teen. Back in those days I attempted to over-treat it and developed "combination skin", drying out any of the normal/healthy sections with aggressive acne treatments. When I was pregnant, my skin was about as bad as it was when I was a teenager! And then I got it under control after Otto was born... Until I stopped breastfeeding. Since then, my skin has been a complete horror. I don't wear makeup most days, and I've been embarrassed to go out in public. When I was pregnant and couldn't do the aggressive chemical treatments, I learned that oils and natural products actually worked BETTER! So after a bunch of research and basically becoming your personal horrible-skin-test-lab-rat, I've come up with a DIY toner that really clears out stubborn acne. Even that dreaded hormonal acne. Yassssss!

Easy to make, all natural and nontoxic facial toner that clears acne without harmful, harsh chemicals #beautyproducts #acne #skincare #essentialoils

First, the essential oils! Revive oils are my new go-to. Yup, I used to be with Young Living, but the expense of those oils were insane. I asked some of my oily gurus who they got their oils from and learned about Revive. They're therapeutic grade, indigestible essential oils that are NOT a multi-level-marketing structure. You can go on their website and buy them like you'd buy something on Amazon - no need to sign up for some membership! They have packages with diffusers and single essential oils, plus roller bottles and other lifestyle items. Use code Paige10 for 10% off your order and experience the same quality of Young Living or doTERRA without the obnoxious price (and minus the sales people always trying to get you to buy things...)

When I was boobie feeding lil O, I used this DIY acne clearing face wash and it did WONDERS. My skin cleared up completely in two weeks, and stayed clear until I stopped with the boobie feeds. When you wean, there's a massive hormone shift - and I even took about two full months to wean! I was also battling an extraordinarily humid Texas summer. Add the hormones and the high humidity and my skin was about the worst it's been since I hit puberty and shot up to my glorious 5'10 self. Gene pool win met gene pool fail.

Anyway, my wonderful coconut oil/baking soda/essential oil acne clearing face wash was no longer enough! I needed more. Being the {un}smelly hippie that I am, I immediately looked into some go-to, centuries old (um, at least) stand-bys: apple cider vinegar and witch hazel. I added a few of my fav, thousands of years proven essential oils.

Not so much for the benefits of the essential oils, but honestly? I think apple cider vinegar STINKS. I know people who drink it and wash their hair with it and I'm just over here like the most basic of white girls with her "cannot even" to the smell of that stuff.

But to cure some nasty, ever-lingering acne? Ooooooook, twist my arm. I'll plug my nose. And add some great oils. And hope this stuff doesn't smell as I sweat throughout our 100+ degree summer days. (Spoiler alert: it doesn't smell as you sweat!)

Easy to make, all natural and nontoxic facial toner that clears acne without harmful, harsh chemicals #beautyproducts #acne #skincare #essentialoils

So! Here's how I made it. And yes (shameless plug) you should use it with my DIY face wash.

DIY Acne Clearing Toner 
- 1/2 C witch hazel

Witch hazel has been used for thousands of years by Native Americans for it's gentle cleaning ability. apple cider vinegar is used for just about everything it seems, but from my research it has cleaning and anti-inflammatory properties, which is beneficial for clearing acne. In terms of the essential oils, lavender helps to calm any breakouts and irritation you may have on your face, tea tree is a natural antibacterial cleaner (bacteria is what's causing those breakouts) and lemon helps to fade any scarring you may have from past acne.

Mix everything together in a small bottle that you can either unscrew or pop the top and pour a small amount out of and boom! You're in business. Use a cotton ball or pad and wipe it over your face after you've washed it in the morning and the evening. Give this DIY acne clearing toner about two weeks and watch your face clear up, even if you live in a hot and humid climate like me!

33 comments:

  1. This looks good I'd like to try this.

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  2. This is awesome! I can't stand the taste/smell of Apple Cider Vinegar either. I tried to drink it in the morning, and even plugging my nose makes me gag. The hot, humid weather really does a number on my skin too, plus sweating at the gym. I want to try both this and your DIY face wash!

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  3. I had really bad acne growing up and now thankfully I have grown out of it. But this looks like it would leave your skin feeling so good! I have a cousin who works for young living and she loves their oils. I'll have to bite the bullet and buy some now.

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  4. Oh my gosh, this sounds amazing! More and more I'm trying to move away from chemical, store-bought facewashes, so I've been on the hunt. It's a hard transition because my skin is acne prone, but slowly I'm moving away from the icky kinds!

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  5. This looks great! I would love a more natural option

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  6. I just love essential oils they are my favourite, I need to try this out!

    http://xoxobella.com

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  7. I think I should make some and add Frankincense too! I use just regular Witch Hazel now. :)

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  8. i hate apple cider vinegar as well. i tried a diet that makes you drink it and i lasted 0 hours because i couldn't stomach the stuff. my skin has always been kind of okay (i tanked in all the other areas hahaha) with a pimple here or there but nothing horrible. i do get hormonal breakouts though, and i have this ugly thing happening on my chin right now that won't bugger off. i'll have to try this!

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  9. I'll have to make this for my kiddos to try. I like how it has simple, easy to find ingredients!

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  10. Apple cider vinegar is a beauty staple I've heard. I haven't gotten in on it, but I want to. My sister DRINKS it every day. I don't know if I can get behind that. Haha

    Your DIY beauty stuff is great, girl!

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  11. I use ACV pretty often on my face, as well as witch hazel (separately), but I didn't know it was ok to mix all that stuff. AWESOME!
    ps- can I just say it cracked me up how you referred to your stint of "boobie feeding" :p

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  12. Great toner! I love using a variation of this every week or so. Works wonders!

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  13. This is amazing, I'll definitely would give it a try.

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  14. Ooooh DIY & acne-clearing, you are speaking my language girl! I may have to give this a go xx Adaleta Avdic

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  15. I know I already told you this, but thank you for writing this post JUST FOR ME. I've been toying around with using witch hazel or apple cider vinegar, and never thought about combining them. I'm giving this and your face wash a try. You da best.

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  16. We use ACV all the time but you're right; it stinks to high heaven! If this ever doesn't work for you, you should try the YL ART skincare toner. I love it!

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  17. Apple cider vinegar is good for EVERYTHING! Seriously! Love this DIY!

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  18. This sounds amazing! I love witch hazel and tea tree oil! ALSO, I love that you use the same essential oils over and over again. Helps show that each oil can go a long way!

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  19. Does "C" mean cup? Because that's way too much for a recipe. And is "T" a "Tablespoon"?

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    Replies
    1. Same question here. Can someone pls help us with T and C. Thanks

      Delete
  20. Does this have to be refrigerated or not? If not how long is it able to sit out since it contains water?

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  21. What do the measurements mean?

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  22. I found a bottle of witch-hazel that has 14% alcohol is it okay to use this? I noticed that you put alcohol-free witch hazel

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  23. Some may work and some may not work which purely depends upon the way you use it efficiently. Some of the facts related to acne skin treatments and acne are as follows.
    get rid of acne marks

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  24. So I am probably a little behind the times here, but I just found your blog and in particular this post along with your face wash post. I was wondering... did this toner make it worse before it made your acne better? I made this for a friend of mine and she used the face wash for about 3 weeks and has seen it work great, but then when she added the toner, it seemed to get worse. Thoughts? Suggestions?

    Thanks!

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  25. I made this and started using it a few nights ago. I can definitely see it working as my pimples are drying out. I have a question though. What do you use for a moisturizer? I don’t want to walk around with flaky skin, but I also don’t want to create a place for more bacteria to grow.

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  26. My son is getting acne now at 12 and I am trying to get him on a skin care routine before it gets out of hand, looking forward to using this for him. Definitely will take a look at the face wash too (he has mine and i want it back lol)!

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  27. tablespoons or teaspoon can you please reply thanks natasha

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  28. Same here please would like to know if C means Cup as in a 1/2 cup and does T mean teaspoon or Tablespoon please.

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  29. Thanks For Sharing Your ideas through this blog. Keep Doing Good Work. I Hope You Will Check our Websites :

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  30. Can this be used in a spray bottle instead?

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  31. First, the essential oils! Revive oils are my new go-to. Yup, I used to be with Young Living, but the expense of those oils were insane. I asked some of my oily gurus who they got their oils from and learned about Revive. They're therapeutic grade, indigestible essential oils that are NOT a multi-level-marketing structure. You can go on their website and buy them like you'd buy something on Amazon - no need to sign up for some membership! They have packages with diffusers and single essential oils, plus roller bottles and other lifestyle items. Use code Paige10 for 10% off your order and experience the same quality of Young Living or doTERRA without the obnoxious price (and minus the sales people always trying to get you to buy things...)

    ReplyDelete