The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (28 page)

Santaverde Pure Aloe Vera Spray
is a versatile green creation that can double as a lightweight moisturizer for acne-prone skin. Apart from the juice of aloe vera (grown and harvested by Santaverde) and salicylic acid–rich black willow extract, it contains synthetic, albeit safe, levulinic acid, which is used during photodynamic therapy for acne. This acid is normally produced from refined petroleum, but it can also be made from starch by boiling it with diluted hydrochloric or sulfuric acids. If not for this acid, this toner could well earn two or three stars.

Burt’s Bees Garden Tomato Toner
is a perfectly “green” astringent you may like if you have acne blemishes or use foaming soaps and cleansers. This acidic toner is a potent blend of grain alcohol and extracts of tomato, bilberry, and sugarcane, all natural sources of alpha hydroxy acids. To soothe the skin, this toner employs green tea and cucumber. I found that with daily use this toner helps fade postacne marks, thanks to the parsley and cucumber, both traditional skin lighteners. Last but not least, it smells like freshly tossed green salad.

Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Treatment Lotion
is a luxuriousmultitasker. It soothes,moisturizes, fights blemishes, and prevents wrinkles. Formulated for Origins by the guru of integrative medicine, this useful addition to the Mega-Mushroom line contains magnesium-rich mushroom extracts, soothing and antioxidant cordyceps, ginger, basil, and turmeric plus. The water-based, slightly slippery toner does not come cheap, so the savviest way to use it is to splash it on your face with your fingertips—don’t waste a single drop with a cotton ball! The only drawback is the scent: the toner contains too many essential oils, such as lavender, orange, patchouli, geranium, and mandarin, which can be a problem for those “blessed” with sensitive, fragile skin.

For dehydrated skin,
Aubrey Organics Rosa Mosqueta & English Lavender Facial Toner 1
, a green cocktail of witch hazel, flowers, and plants, delivers a healthy dose of nourishment. Aubrey Hampton, the creator of the line, uses whole organic chamomile, calendula, lavender, peppermint, and extracts of linden, sage, clematis, Saint John’s wort, burdock, bladder wrack, horsetail, cucumber, and elder flower, enhanced by rose hip seed oil (Rosa Mosqueta) and rose oil. However, lemon juice, as well as arnica and peppermint, may be too irritating for sensitive types. I found that this toner does deliver a good deal of moisture, especially if you have overindulged in the sun or spent a winter day outdoors.

If you can buy just one organic beauty product, it should be
Clarifying Facial Toner by Dr. Hauschka.
A cult celebrity and makeup artist favorite, this alcohol-containing, witch hazel–based toner with kidney vetch, calendula, echinacea, horse chestnut, daisy, and rose is surprisingly gentle even on sensitive, post-beach skin, while another of Dr. H’s toners, plain Facial Toner, contains much fewer beneficial herbs and a bit more alcohol. Dr. Hauschka’s experts recommend using toners and nothing else
when you go to sleep, but I found that if your skin feels tight, this toner is best combined with lightweight oily serum.

Making Your Own Toners

To prepare a toner, you will need a bottle of mineral or spring water, preferably with a high content of magnesium. You can purify mineral water by passing it through a jug filter, such as Brita. You will also need a glass spray bottle. Plastic bottles with vaporizers are fine, but why spend time creating purely organic products only to pack them into petrochemical plastic? Besides, glass bottles look so much better on your bathroom counter. Buy bottles in bulk on eBay or specialized online stores that cater to small cosmetic businesses. Homemade toners, especially with pretty, handmade labels and perhaps a dried flower or two floating inside, make wonderful holiday gifts.

Green
Garden
Moisturizing
Toner

4 ounces purified mineral water

2 drops carrot seed oil

1 drop sandalwood oil

1 drop chamomile oil

Yield
:
4 ounces

This is a homemade duplicate of the famous Burt’s Bees Carrot Seed Complexion Mist, but the potentially irritating balsam peru, ylang-ylang, and vetiver oils have been replaced with gentler alternatives. This toner has a long shelf life. You can also use it to refresh your hair and to seal mineral makeup foundation.

1. Pour the water in a glass bottle of your choice and add all essential oils.

2. Shake vigorously and use any time your skin needs refreshment.

Apple Cider
and Aspirin
Toner

½ ounce organic apple cider vinegar

3 ounces mineral water

5 plain aspirin tablets, uncoated

Yield:
5 ounces

Apple vinegar is helpful when it comes to clearing up acne scars, while salicylic acid from aspirin works as a powerful exfoliating and astringent agent. If you like the way it works, you can experiment with the concentration of apple cider vinegar in your toner. Some people swear by applying vinegar directly on skin, but this might be harsh for more delicate skin types.

1. Dilute vinegar in the following proportion: eight parts water to one part vinegar.

2. Crush aspirin tablets with pestle and mortar and add the mixture to the water and vinegar mix.

3. Apply the toner sparingly only to the areas where you usually have acne or enlarged pores.

The Rose
Witch Toner

3 ounces witch hazel

2 ounces rose water

1 teaspoon calendula tincture

1 drop rose oil

1 drop geranium oil

Yield
:
4 ounces

The smell of witch hazel is not exactly like roses, which is why it’s combined with rose water and other pleasant-smelling plant tinctures, making it softer, too.

1. Blend all the ingredients in a stainless steel shaker and shake vigorously.

2. Pour into a glass bottle and use within one month. You may also soak a few cotton disks and store them in a glass jar in the fridge, making a month’s supply of astringent pads without any chemical gunk in them.

Green Chai
Toner

3 organic green tea bags

5 drops organic tea tree oil

2 drops geranium oil

1 drop eucalyptus oil

1 mg green tea extract

1 mg Acai extract

Yield
:
5 ounces

This toner makes a great soothing potion for blemishes that tend to pop up overnight. According to studies, Acai berry extract contains more antioxidants than red grapes, which makes it an excellent inflammation quencher. It’s also thought to have cancer preventive properties. Acai berry is harvested in Brazil rain forests, so make sure to buy an extract that was ethically harvested.

1. Steep the green tea stronger than you’d usually drink (for about ten minutes). Let the tea cool until it’s lukewarm. Keep the cup covered to preserve the steam that may carry beneficial volatile compounds of the tea.

2. Blend well. Remove the teabags and add all the oils and extracts.

3. Store this toner in the fridge for up to one month, but do not freeze.

Silver Vitamin
Blend

10 drops colloidal silver 400 IU vitamin E 2 ml beta-carotene 1 g ascorbic acid

Yield
:
5 ounces

This blend is a powerful antioxidant with clinically proven anti-inflammatory action. It can be used as an antimicrobial base for your homemade cleansers and masks. This blend prolongs shelf life of oil-based creams for up to six months, and keeps water-based preparations fresh for up to two months.

1. To make a concentrated solution that you can use in your homemade green beauty preparations, combine all ingredients in ½ ounce of purified water. Add the blend to 4 ounces of the finished product.

2. Alternatively, add the ingredients one by one to the DIY preparation of your choice.

3. To prepare a soothing toner for daily use, combine all ingredients in 3 ounces of purified water.

Fresh Summer
Cucumber Water

4 ounces (½ cup) cucumber juice

4 ounces (½ cup) purified mineral water

½ ounce orange water

1 drop peppermint oil

1 drop melissa oil

1 drop tea tree oil

1 drop grapefruit oil

Yield:
5 ounces

Cucumber doesn’t keep well unless preserved, especially in summertime. Use citrus oil and colloidal silver as mild preservatives. The toner may be frozen to make a refreshing, lifting treatment or poured into small spray bottles and carried wherever you go. Use organic cucumbers for this toner.

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

2. Strain through a coffee filter to remove cucumber pulp that may clog the spray tube.

3. Pour into a spray bottle and use as often as needed.

Green Valley
Toner

4 ounces purified mineral water

2 teaspoons dried elder flower blossoms

2 teaspoons dried chamomile blossoms

1 teaspoon dried calendula blossoms

½ teaspoon dried lavender florets

1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin