As my first non-mask review on this blog, I decided to go with this toner: Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner. I've been using this toner for quite some time now so I figured it was time to share my thoughts about it.
Claims
"Aloe BHA Skin Toner is made for all types of skin including sensitive and troubled skin types. Instead of water Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water was used. This natural cosmetic further uses natural preservatives and natural cosmetic ingredients such as BHA and snail secretion filtrate. This product's moisturizing and cooling effect helps calm skin damages caused by stress and pollution"
Ingredients
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract , Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Polysorbate 20(solubilizing agent), Salicylic Acid(0.5%), Arginine, Althaea Rosea Root Extract , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Beta-Glucan, Polyglutamic Acid, Aspalathus Linearis Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Acrylates/ C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Xanthan Gum.
As you can see on the ingredients list above, it doesn't contain any synthetic preservatives which is probably why the PAO (Period after opening) is only six months.
Key ingredients:
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water (58%): This has a soothing, hydrating and cooling effect.
Hyaluronic Acid (Sodium Hyaluronate): This has an amazing moisture-binding ability.
Snail Secretion Filtrate: This has a healing effect to damaged skin, it's moisturizing and anti-aging.
Salicylic Acid (0.5%): This is whitening and exfoliating. Due to the low amount of it (0.5%), it doesn't irritate the skin nearly as much as an acid toner with a higher amount of acids.
Packaging
The packaging is classic Benton. A green bottle without any garnish - just text. The 'claims' are written in English on the front side of the bottle. Directions and ingredients list are written on the back of the bottle in both Korean and English.
The bottle comes with a lit on top. When you remove that lit, there's a pump. The pump makes it easy to control the amount of product and avoid any waste.Texture
This toner is thicker than water but it's not so thick that it's a gel toner. It's still thin enough to be applied with a cotton pad which is how I prefer to apply it.
Smell
This toner doesn't really smell of anything. As you can see on the ingredients list, it doesn't contain fragrance and non of the natural ingredients it contains has a strong smell. This is a huge plus for me.
How to use
Pump 1-2 times and take appropriate amount and rub evenly spread on your face, and then gently tab to enhance the absorption.
How I use it
I use this every day in my PM routine. In the beginning, I only used it only a week. Then after a few weeks, I started using it twice a week, then three times a week and so on - until I finally started using it everyday. By starting with using it once a week and then slowly building it up, my skin got used to the acids. Even though this only contains 0.5% Salicylic Acid, I'd rather be too safe than risk overexfoliating my skin. That probably wouldn't have happened due to how low the amount of acid is but with my slightly sensitive skin, I am very careful when it comes to acids.
As I've mentioned before, I apply this with a cotton pad. I might empty the product twice as fast by using cotton pads compared to if I just used my hands but I prefer using cotton pads because I like that they wipe away any smudge from my skin.
I pump the product out on the cotton pad (I usually use 4-5 pumps) and then just wipe it all over my face avoiding the mouth and eye area.
I wait about 20 minutes after applying this before applying the rest of my routine. I do this because I want to give the acids time to work.
Effects
Right after applying this toner, it has a nice cooling effect. When my skin is irritated and I use this, it really calms my skin. One of the things about this toner that has surprised me the most, is how moisturizing it is. Even though I wait about 20 minutes after applying this before I apply the rest of my skincare routine, my skin doesn't feel tight and dried out at. In the 20 minutes I wait, I can really feel how the acids are working with my skin - it gives me a prickling feeling. It doesn't sting at all, it just gives me that prickling feeling.
When I first started using this, my skin began purging. I got far more blackheads and small pimples than before but after about a month, my skin cleared. It was now much cleaner than before it started purging and I didn't get as many blackheads as I used to. I've never really had any problems with breakouts so I didn't see any changes there. I only get a few hormonal pimples a month and that's it. I still get that but I feel like this toner helps my skin to heal faster afterwards.
The blackheads on the other hand, is really something that bothers me. I have a lot of small blackheads on my chin and on the tip of my nose. This toner helped a lot in the beginning (after my skin was done purging) but now that I've used it for about half a year, it's like it has lost its magic. I don't have as many blackheads as I did when I started using it but my skin is not as clean as it was right after it stopped purging. Perhaps it's because it's about to expire. The color and the smell hasn't changed and it's so close to being empty that I will empty it and not just throw it out.
Price
This retails at about $20 (USD) so it's not expensive.
Pros
- Clean ingredients list
- Suitable for everyday use
- Hyigenic and practical packaging
- No strong smell
- Nice cooling effect
- Moisturizing and calming
Cons
- PAO is only six months
- The effects has faded
Repurchase?
I'll probably repurchase this in the future. I am going to empty my current bottle of it during this month and since I am currently on a 'no buy Summer', I will not repurchase it before the fall and by then I might have changed my mind about repurchasing it - it all depends on how my skin will be doing without it.
Rating
4/5
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