Creating a Toner with Witch Hazel or Hydrosol Base

You can certainly create a toner using Witch Hazel or a Hydrosol as a base to help with acne, soothe irritated skin, and prepare your skin before applying BHA.

Recommended Additional Ingredients

As suggested by the staff, beneficial ingredients to enhance the toner's effectiveness for acne and soothing purposes include:

• Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide)
• Vitamin B5 (Panthenol)
• Licorice Extract
• Green Tea Extract

These ingredients offer properties such as reducing inflammation, calming redness, strengthening the skin barrier, and some help control oil, which are helpful for acne-prone and irritated skin.

Mixing Instructions and Usage Percentages

For most water-soluble ingredients (like various extracts or B vitamins), you can add them directly to Witch Hazel Distilled or a Hydrosol. Simple formulas don't typically require complex mixing procedures; just add the desired ingredients and stir or shake to combine.

The specific amount or percentage to use for each ingredient will vary depending on the ingredient type and the recommended usage rate from the raw material supplier. There is usually a suggested percentage range for cosmetic formulations.

Using Pure Witch Hazel or Hydrosol

You can absolutely use pure Witch Hazel Distilled or a Hydrosol on its own as a toner. The base itself already possesses soothing and skin-conditioning properties.

Examples of Hydrosols that can be used as a toner base include:

• Lavender Water (Lavandula Angustifolia): Helps soothe skin and reduce inflammation.
• Chamomile Water (Anthemis Nobilis): Helps calm skin and reduce irritation.
• Rose Petal Water: Helps refresh and soothe the skin.
• Jasmine Grandiflorum Floral Water: Helps promote relaxation and soothes the skin well.

Many commercially available Floral Waters already contain preservatives. If you use them as the main component in a high concentration (more than 60%), you may not need to add additional preservatives to your formula.

Regarding pH and BHA

Based on the discussion in the thread:

• If you are using BHA for exfoliation, the BHA formula is generally designed to have a low pH (around 3-4) for maximum effectiveness in shedding dead skin cells. In this case, the pH of the BHA product itself is more critical than the skin's pH before application.
• If you want to use BHA to dissolve clogged pores with less irritation, it was mentioned that BHA can work at a slightly higher pH (around 5-6), which is gentler on the skin than using it at a very low pH.

Therefore, preparing your skin with a toner before applying BHA may not significantly impact the working pH of the BHA product itself if the BHA product is already pH-adjusted appropriately. The toner's role would be more focused on cleansing, soothing, and preparing the skin to receive subsequent treatments.