I’ve harbored mixed feelings about the importance of using toner as part of one’s skincare routine. I’ve used toners off and on since my teenage years. I suspect that most of the positive effects were psychological—using toner made my face feel cleaner than using face wash alone. Recently, I’ve been using Thayers Cucumber Toner, and I think it might continue to play a regular role in my skincare routine, for a number of reasons that I’ll go into later in this post.

Ahhh, disappointing skincare products. We all come across them from time to time. When you realize that a product just isn’t doing anything for you, do you just stop using it? Or do you force yourself to use up the rest of the bottle, as long as it isn’t negatively impacting your skin? I usually try to stick it out for a while, just so I feel like I’m not wasting it. My latest disappointing skincare experience was this [Bliss Triple Oxygen Radiant Protecting Energizing Serum](.…

I recently started reading the National Eczema Association’s blog, which is a great resource for people who deal with eczema in their everyday lives. Many of the contributors are medical professionals who really know their stuff. Today I’m going to share something I learned from this article: “…olive oil can disrupt the skin’s natural barrier when used as a moisturizer. This is likely because it contains irritating fatty acids such as oleic acids.”