Happy New Year!

Hello my faithful BGND readers! It is 2009 (wow!) and I am back and ready to attack any and all skin care and make-up issues anew. My apologies to the lack of posts for the end of December...between the holidays and a nasty little spyware virus that sunk it's teeth into my computer (and had it out of commission for roughly two weeks), I had no way to post. But I am back and I am here with something humbling for the new year.

What you ask? What new foot am I starting out on for 2009?

A retraction of sorts- gasp!

That's right ladies and gents, a product (or product type I should say) has worked it's way back into my good graces. And what is it?

Toner!

I don't know about all of you but I have been having some WEIRD winter skin woes. Isn't acne supposed to be worse in the summer and not in the winter? I mean by all general knowledge one would think that sweaty summer heat + gunky lotion + sunscreen would ultimately top cold outdoor wind + drying indoor heat when it comes to the clogging pores equation. Well the truth is- often times in winter our skin is worse. The reason? Exfoliation! We forget that even ravaged winter skin has dead skin cells that need to be cleared so our skin can breathe and regenerate just like our summer skin does. But because we are so afraid of over drying and stripping skin of any natural oil in the winter, we often do not exfoliate enough.

So in my current state I sought out some new advice for my newly minted skin exfoliation issues.

Little did I know that the product most derms recommend for fixing the winter exfoliation issue is toner! If you use the right toner, you will gently remove the excess skin that has built up but still baby your skin the way it needs to be babied in winter.

I set out to use my holiday time as a 7 day trial run - sort of my own toner test. The product? Good old reliable Clinique Toner #2. I used it religiously morning and night for one week, and continued with the rest of my skin care routine as usual. The results? Happy, glowing, less clogged skin! Not only that, I looked and felt smoother and my pesky forehead fine lines even seemed diminished.

So there you have it, I am back on the toner train - at least for the winter months. Perhaps when the weather gets better I will return to my old toner-free practices, but for now- I am loving it!!

Keep looking fabulous in 2009!

BGND

P.S. I still stand by my original post that toner is not for everyone. I only sought it out because I was having a particular issue. If your skin is fine and you already have an exfoliating treatment in your skin-care routine do not rush to add toner. You don't want to over -do anything and end up with a raw face. But if you are interested in trying toner, go gently and work your way up to the toner strength that works for you!