I love skincare. I vividly remember surveying the aisles of Walgreens with my childhood friend, Grace, looking for fun new products to try. We later graduated to Sephora, where we were introduced to face creams, masks, and sprays. In my everlasting and ongoing beauty journey, I always dabble in the area of skincare. However, there are so many products claiming to do so many things, and with so many ingredients. Thus, I often turn to a more natural approach that agrees with my sensitive skin and carefree spirit.
This is where I introduce my less than revolutionary idea; DIY skincare. This is not new, but as a veteran of mixing things up and putting them on my face, I am here to spread some wisdom. This week I’m tackling rose facial toner, a product I frequently buy. Rose is one of my absolute favorite scents, and it turns out roses have lots of benefits as well. Anti-aging, acne healing, and irritation soothing are among the benefits of a rosewater toner.
For my toner, I used three ingredients: Homemade rose water, witch hazel, and rose essential oil.
To make the rose water:
- 5 red roses
- 2 cups of water
Heat the water in a medium saucepan until it reaches a boil. While the water is boiling, remove the petals from the stems and set aside. Once the water reaches a boil, turn the heat to medium, and add the rose petals. Steep the petals in the water mixing occasionally until the petals are discolored. The petals should go from bright red to faded magenta pink. The water will also turn pink, and that is how you know you have rosewater! Finally, strain the rosewater into a bowl and discard the petals.
To make the toner:
- ½ cup rosewater
- ¼ cup witch hazel
- 2-3 drops of rose essential oil
The toner is very easy to assemble. Mix together the rosewater, witch hazel (I used rose-scented witch hazel for extra rosiness), and rose essential oil. And it’s done! I love to put this toner in a spray bottle. However, this time I poured the toner into little jars filled with cotton pads, so I can easily pullout a cotton pad and swipe the toner across my skin. And there you have it, now you’re ready to use your new toner!
