Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner Review and Pictures

(This post is part 2 of my Daily Skincare Routine series)

I've gone through many toners over the years but none has stuck so faithfully to me as the Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner. I use this toner in the day and at night after cleansing my face with Bioderma Créaline H2O Solution Micellaire.

While some don't use toner and simply put on moisturiser after cleansing their faces, toner is actually a very useful step in your skincare routine. Toner removes the remaining dirt from the skin, balances the skin's pH, and preps the skin for absorbing moisturiser. There's really no point in buying the best skincare products when your skin isn't primed to absorb them!

This particular toner is a favourite of mine because of a few reasons. I like how it's alcohol-free, and while this isn't a big issue, I just prefer to know that my slightly sensitive skin won't be dried out by alcohol. I also like the fact that it has a water-like texture and can be easily used with the Hitachi HadaCRiE Cool for great results. In fact, I think I prefer using this Neutrogena Toner with the HadaCRiE rather than using the Hada Labo Lotion. The Neutrogena Toner seems to be able to remove dirt much more effectively as it leaves the cotton pad filled with more brownish stuff than the Hada Labo Lotion. Sounds icky, but at least your face will be cleaner at the end of it!

Let's have a look at the ingredients:

Sodium Chloride? Harmless. Parabens? Ah, parabens. There have been raging debates about whether parabens are safe to use in skincare. Parabens are used as anti-contaminants to prevent skincare ingredients from going bad, but some research has found a possible correlation between using them and having endocrinal (hormone) problems. Right now though, the evidence is inconclusive at best. I've read stories of people switching to organic products and suddenly having skin breakouts (contact dermatitis) so I'm a bit wary of that. Since this toner has been working fine for me, I'll continue to use it until I find a better product, but it isn't a HG product to me.

Fragrane is slightly lower down the list, and while I'm not too pleased about that, it hasn't really caused skin irritations to me. The other ingredients aren't harmful either based on the information on the EWG Skin Deep cosmetics database.

For a 200ml bottle, the Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner is decently priced at around S$11.90 (with the recent long-running discount in Watsons) and lasts about 2 months or so if used twice every day. All in all a fairly decent product that has served me well.


Let's Break It Down

Product name: Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner
Product type: Toner
Amount of product: 200ml
Price per product: S$11.90 for 200ml (on sale now)
Comments: Effective, mild, good for sensitive skin, contains parabens
Where to buy: Watsons, Guardian, other pharmacies
To buy or not to buy: Yes, if you don't mind the parabens. It's cheap and good!

Product Approved 4/5

Disclaimer: I was not paid, sponsored nor influenced by external sources when reviewing this product. My opinions as expressed in the review are solely my own.