A carefully considered position
Please realize that our position on toners is not something we have come to casually, but a subject which we have considered and studied very seriously.  It would be quite easy for us to simply follow the trend of so many people who offer skin advice, and to repeat whatever seems to be the current popular homily.  Instead, our position on toners is based on a considerable amount of study, explorative thinking and experimentation regarding what is most effective.  In other words, our objective is not, what is a trendy approach, but, instead, what truly works best in promoting the healthiest skin.  Therefore, we recommend using an alcohol based toner in conjunction with the SkinClean regimen, but with some notable exceptions, which are described in more detail following.  For example, we explain how if a proper rinse routine is employed with the SkinClean system, the primary need for the alcohol toner with our system is negated.  We describe, however, why it is indicated for most users, as well as some other advantages it enjoys. 

First, is a toner safe for the skin?
It is extremely popular for some of those giving advice about skin care to say that alcohol in a toner is bad for the skin.  This logic has become very widespread, and like so much "common wisdom" it is based on statements made, and oft repeated, but without the support of substantiating data.  Alcohol based toners are key products in virtually every major skin care line, simply because they are effective.  In addition, they are beneficial and non irritating for most people. The truth is that based on their overwhelming usage by millions of people daily, alcohol based toners pass any scrutiny regarding whether or not they act predictably as an irritant to the skin.  The answer is that the usage data overwhelmingly demonstrates that alcohol toners have proven themselves to be quite safe for daily usage for most people, and the continuous use, and repeat purchases, by millions, because of their own personal experiences without difficulty, enables this category of product to be regarded as safe and compatible with the skin for nearly all people. 

Another interesting and conclusive bit of data that sheds light on the safety of alcohol in toners, is information regarding the usage and history of alcohol based after shave lotions sold for men (truly, these are actually toner formulations with an added so-called "masculine" fragrance). These products, led by Mennen's Skin Bracer,  accounted for $818 million in sales in the United States last year (a remarkable $9 average annual purchase per  male between 15 and 64 years old).  These men's "toners" are used every day after shaving, splashed generously on the face and neck, where the skin is cut and nicked by blades, with great satisfaction, and without irritation, by most men, resulting in their continued support of the product and repurchase.  The alcohol based Skin Bracer is a product  which has been used repeatedly, daily, by millions of men for the past fifty years, and its' popularity in many families spans three or more generations, passed on from father to son.  No competitive product has ever been able to assail its' hold on the number one sales position for decades.  Most significant is that many attempts have been made to market an alcohol-free after shave for men, however, in spite of vigorous sampling campaigns and promotions, this category accounts for only a fraction of one percent of sales.  Certainly non-alcohol men's toner (after shave lotion) has a use for that very tiny segment of the population who finds the alcohol ingredient to be either irritating, or perhaps they find the stinging which often accompanies usage, just unpleasant, and not appealing to their personal sensibilities.  Whatever the reasons, or the supposed need for a non-alcohol product, the male population has never substantiated the category by supporting it with purchases.

So the conclusion which can be drawn from this remarkable usage data is that for most people, application of alcohol daily and repeatedly to the skin is not an irritant, and produces results which are satisfying to the user.  The operative term used in these discussions, as with any ingredient or formulation, is "most people."   A very tiny percentage of the population will find that different ingredients, such as alcohol, will act as an irritant to them. If this is the case with any product or ingredient then that item is contraindicated for use by that person.

Why use a toner with the SkinClean system?
This is a question which is responsibly asked.  Why is a toner recommended as part of the SkinClean regimen, when it seems unnecessary?    First, a toner is really only recommended by SkinClean as a finishing part of your rinsing routine, and what is most significant is that you really do not need a toner with SkinClean if you rinse appropriately with warm water.  Although a toner serves several other beneficial purposes, which are described later, its' most important function is to enable a user to completely remove any residual facial cleanser from the skin.  If a user makes the observation they really didn't think they need a toner with the SkinClean system then it is possible that they were following an appropriate rinsing routine.  Unlike other treatment products which contain ingredients such as benzoyl  peroxide or one of the glycolic acids, which need to be left on the skin to be effective, the SkinClean system does its' work entirely during the application and scrubbing process.  It is then required to be removed totally from the skin during the rinsing process.   We recommend the following rinsing procedure:  Use warm water with repeated flushing of all areas, which were cleansed, using water which is very warm to the touch.  Don't use water so hot that it would burn your skin, but certainly select a temperature which pushes up to just under the limits of your comfortable zone.  Rinse repeatedly until the skin feels "squeaky clean."  Our experience indicates as many as four or five flushes of the skin with fresh warm water is what produces satisfactory results.  If you follow this procedure with SkinClean, then you really don't need a toner.   For a long time we merely included these instructions, and didn't mention the use of a toner at all as part of our recommendations.

Many people simply don't rinse properly
The reason we see a need for a general alcohol toner recommendation is based on our long term observation of people using the product.  We have seen that the general population is very difficult to train in how to rinse the skin properly after cleansing.  We have found that in a one-to-one laboratory setting, where we are doing tests with volunteers, most people, have to be instructed strictly about how to rinse effectively.  The tendency is for most individuals to do a quick splash or two of water, and then to towel off. 

We have found, however, that individuals, when guided face to face,  are quite responsive to personal instructions, and those people will then follow the steps, as outlined previously, and from then on, do a good job of rinsing. Those persons then make the appropriate rinsing a part of their daily routine, and they  find a special satisfaction in their new found knowledge about proper rinsing.  However, we have found that written instructions regarding appropriate rinsing often go unheeded.   A great number of individuals  seem to follow what evidently are naturally occurring, very bad habits regarding rinsing the skin.   Typical are people  who finish their scrubbing process,  then flush their skin one or two times with water and towel dry.  Others will only give themselves a single cupped handful rinse, getting some of the cleanser off, then just wiping off the remainder with a towel. 

What has caused the creation of these poor rinsing habits has been the subject of much speculation in our laboratory setting for many years, but it has probably been produced by the patterns ingrained into many women's subconscious minds from the custom of removing other cosmetic materials from the face.  It has been always customary for  women  to use towels or cotton wipes to remove makeup after applying a lotion cleanser.  The final step for those products is to simply wipe the residual from the skin.  Another reason might be the popularity of the washing sequence in films and television for the past fifty years. In a movie, anyone washing their face, who is approached by someone else, immediately grabs a towel and wipes off any remaining sudsy material from their face, and begins their conversation.  If you haven't observed this consciously,  you will begin to see it now that your attention has been drawn to this peculiar custom.  Likewise,  if you have ever seen a man in the process of shaving in a movie, with his face all lathered up, if he is interrupted for any reason, he just grabs a towel and wipes off the remaining foam, (what is funny is will have only shaved half of his face, but wiping off the lather shows an entire smooth totally shaven face ).  How much these movie experiences may have contributed to the psychological mind set concerning proper rinsing is subject to speculation.  Others have postulated that it is just a matter of the pace which people put themselves into in our rushing work-a-day world, and we are programmed that time saved by eliminating steps is really  the natural and responsible way to act.  Our efficiency training makes it seem silly and impractical to waste time rinsing five or six times, when one or two splashes will do.  However, no matter what the causes or motivation, we know the problem exists.  As a general rule, people don't rinse thoroughly.

Why does the cleanser need complete removal?
Elsewhere we discuss how the SkinClean system acts to remove, a range of toxins as well as the by-products of cellular metabolism by bringing those offending materials into a micro-web called a cellulosic colloidal matrix.  This occurs both on a macro level (large enough for the eye to see), and a micro level (producing a filth ridden thin film as little as a molecule thick).  We are not trying to overpower you, or impress you, with a complicated explanation (if we could explain it in a simpler way, we would) , but sometimes understanding something about this mechanism makes our logic (as in this situation) perhaps more understandable.  The scrubbing process activates the action of this colloidal matrix, and once these toxins and dirt and exhausted cells are bound into the system, we need to remove everything completely from the skin.  A cursory rinse (one with just a few splashes of water) can get the bulk of the cleansed material, and the bulk of the matrix, but that monomolecular film, which still working and holding other contaminants can be left behind if the skin is not adequately rinsed.  Leaving behind that toxic micro-layer can easily cause the cleansed pores to become contaminated anew, and even invade new locations.  Further, that mono-molecular layer of the matrix contains some of the surfactants (surface active agents, used as part of the mechanism to get that dirt and unwanted matter into the matrix), and leaving those behind can cause skin irritation, sort of like if you lathered your body up with your bar of Zest, and shampooed your hair, and then jumped out of the shower, without rinsing further, and merely just toweled off.  You can imagine how irritated your skin would be.   What would be left behind, after using your SkinClean product, would be even less appealing, because, what can be left behind after doing a cleansing, will also contain the recently dislodged "detris" we described previously.  So, it is apparent that we simply don't want to leave anything behind by inadequately rinsing the SkinClean cleanser.  SkinClean does a remarkable job of binding that cellular matter and toxins, and we need to complete that job.. That requires total removal.   A great, thorough warm water rinse with multiple flushes, until a squeaky clean skin is felt, is all anyone needs, but for those who can't do that, then the alcohol toner will finish the job for them.

What does the alcohol toner do? 
For people who don't adequately rinse, the use of the alcohol toner, used by wiping the skin with saturated cotton ball swabs, acts as an insurance procedure to remove any residual of the activated SkinClean colloidal matrix, and whatever detris it has collected.  Using the saturated balls, swabbing all the areas which were cleansed, will make sure that whatever was missed by an inadequate job of warm water rinsing, is completely removed with the toner.   We don't use isopropyl (or "rubbing alcohol), but instead, pure alcohol, distilled from grain.  Ethyl Alcohol acts as a wonderful solvating agent for complete removal of any residual of the SkinClean system left by inadequate rinsing.  Non-alcohol toners simply lack that ability to provide that degree of effective solvation, plus have other negatives, discussed later.  The alcohol is only on the skin momentarily. It is effective and quick, taking the unwanted materials into the cotton swabs.  The evaporative process completely removes all any remaining alcohol from your skin in just a few seconds after application.

To summarize: Our experience and observation of so many people using the product in test situations indicates that without personal instruction, most don't rinse with warm water thoroughly enough.  The alcohol toner used with cotton ball swabs will insure that any residual skin cleaner is totally removed, producing the effect of an adequate warm water rinse.  This is our reason for adding the alcohol-toner recommendation to our instructions.

Exceptions 
If you find that the strength of a particular alcohol toner is too strong for your situation, for example, if you feel excessive stinging, then simply dilute that toner with distilled water until it can be tolerated by your skin.  You then will have to use your newly diluted mixture longer (and with more saturated cotton swabs) for the same removal effect, but it will still be effective.

Other benefits of the Alcohol Toner
There are several other benefits which are enjoyed from the use of the alcohol toner, apart from being an insurance for complete removal of all traces of the SkinClean cleanser.  For example, ethyl alcohol acts as a very effective antiseptic, and can serve to help remove remaining surface bacteria, which may not have been removed in the use of the cleanser.  There are superior antiseptic chemicals, such as the quaternary ammonium compounds, like benzalkonium chloride, which could be utilized for further bactericidal action, but incorporating those into a toner has disadvantages in that they remain on the skin.  As an instant antiseptic wipe that leaves no residue, ethyl alcohol is the absolutely the best.  Another benefit to using the alcohol comes from its astringent capability.  Astringent agents are defined as those which contract organic tissue.  Alcohol is an astringent, and can cause your pores to contract.  Repeatedly, in public discussions, people, who hold themselves out as authorities on skin information, will say that alcohol does not tighten pores.  This is complete disinformation.  First, the skin is a complicated organic polymer structure, and behaves under the laws of thermoplasticity.  When you wash and rinse with warm water your skin expands, just like a plastic material would.  Pores are made more flexible and they open.  This makes the cleansing process better, but afterwards it is important not to have expanded cells and pores.  Therefore, if for no other reason than from the cooling effect from the remarkable evaporative traits of the alcohol, ethanol will cause the pores to close by thermoplastic contraction.  But, like they say on the infomercials, "that's not all."  Secondly, ethyl alcohol is an excellent astringent, and organic tissue has a reaction (the same way it does to an herbal astringent like witch hazel) to the presence of ethanol by contracting, giving the benefits of protecting previous opened, and cleansed, pores from recontamination.  An astringent herb applied topically (to the surface), like witch hazel, will also tighten the tissue, and makes a good addition to an alcohol toner.  Incidentally, the presence on a label of the term "witch hazel" in any preparation, other than an ethyl alcohol formulaton, often means that, most likely, you are just getting a propylene glycol extract.  Use of those "extracts" is indicative that the combination is virtually ineffective, and merely included for the "label value."  Elsewhere, we will discuss the history of the witch hazel herb, and what is the only useful presentation of this valuable ingredient.

Does alcohol irritate some people's skin?
Any ingredient in any cosmetic product can cause some people to have an adverse reaction.  There is a very tiny percentage of people who simply cannot tolerate ethyl alcohol on their skin, and they have a reaction to its use. This amounts to about one half of one percent of the general population (.5% or .005)., or five out of a thousand. As mentioned previously, alcohol based products such as toners and men's after shave lotions have a 75 year history as having a wonderful safety record.  Colognes and perfumes, which are eighty to ninety percent alcohol, have been in use for hundreds of years (up until the '40s, popular splash-on alcohol preparations were known under the unseeming name of "toilet waters"), daily, by millions and millions of women and men without any adverse reaction to the alcohol.  However, there are some people who simply cannot tolerate alcohol.  If alcohol causes a rash, or breaking out or redness for you then you are part of that very tiny percentage.  This is something you would most likely would have become aware of early in your life.  Certainly, if you have used a cologne or fragrance, you would have discovered your lack of tolerance to alcohol.  If you think perhaps that you are one of those who reacts negatively to alcohol preparations, then take a cotton swab, and wipe the product in question on the bare smooth skin on the inside of  the crook of your arm (other side of your elbow), several times per day, and observe that area for the next two weeks.   See if you have any reaction to the alcohol product.   The very nature of alcohol's evaporative characteristic enables it to do its' function, and then be completely gone from the skin.  If you were to do a conventional patch test with alcohol you probably would be able to get a reaction rather predictably.  For example, if you took a cotton swab or pad and saturated that with alcohol and then use adhesive tape to totally seal that swab against your skin so that alcohol would be in contact with your skin continuously for several days, 24 hours a day, and then removed it, you would most likely have produced a redness or a rash or some serious debrading of the skin.  But, a test like that would not be relevant to predicting how a person's skin would respond to the "real world" situation of wiping an alcohol based product on the skin, because of the rapidity by which remaining alcohol evaporates away.

What about so-called "non-alcohol" toners?
"Non-alcohol" toners are not non alcohol.  What is perhaps most shocking for many people to learn is that non-alcohol toners contain alcohols, but not alcohols which are really suited for a toner application.  The glycols which are employed in the "non-alcohol" toners, such as butylene glycol, hexalene glycol, propylene glycol and even ethylene glycol are actually each a type of alcohol called a "dihydroxy alcohol."   Butylene glycol is one of the most commonly used today.  Prior to use in toners, butylene glycol was used primarily as an industrial solvent, and for plasticizers in polyester and polyurethane resins.  It is a colorless, odorless, very viscous (thick) liquid, which is miscible (similar to dissolves) in water.  What is very troubling is that the temperature needed to volatilize butylene glycol is much higher than skin temperature. This indicates the compound will remain on the skin, which will increase the potential for absorption.  A comparison of boiling points is an indicator of the relative evaporative capacity of liquids at room temperature.  Water has a boiling point of 212 degrees F,  Ethyl Alcohol's boiling point is 173.9 Fahrenheit. Butylene Glycol has a boiling point of 404 degrees F.  This is one of the reasons the glycol alcohols are used as radiator antifreeze liquids (Prestone is Ethylene Glycol).   This lack of volatility (evaporative capability) causes butylene glycol (dihydroxy alcohol) and the other glycols stay behind as a resistant film when applied to the skin in the so-called "non-alcohol" toners.   Also, since glycols are known to be lipophilic in nature, and therefore have the potential to accumulate in fat tissue if left on the skin, they run the risk of being carriers of surface contaminants into the body.   Toxicological data regards butylene glycol as a skin irritant drawing from the data from the Selected Registry of Toxic effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS) while ethyl alcohol is not, using those same criteria.  Our only concern, in spite of such classification as a skin irritant for the butylene glycol would be if it remains on the skin for a long period of time (as it would in the standard use of a "non-alcohol" toner).  Using it, then removing it completely, would eliminate any concern we would have.  Therefore, in our opinion, because of their limited solvency capability (they are very weak in solvency compared to ethyl alcohol), these "glycol" toners could be marginally effective in acting as additional cleanser in your routine, however after using one, you would want to clean the skin again with your SkinClean system, and follow that with a true alcohol toner, to insure that all of the glycol residue is completely removed.