Products I Don’t Use and Why: Toner, Eye Cream, Exosomes
The world of skincare can often feel complex and overwhelming - and you may feel pressure to buy into the latest beauty trends or succumb to a 7 step skincare routine. I am here as your friendly and very honest dermatologist to remind you that overwhelming your skin with too many products leads to irritation. Simplifying your skincare routine and selecting products formulated with high-quality ingredients with proven efficacy will give you your best skin. Less is more.
These are common skincare products I DON’T use.
1. Toner
Toner was originally developed to balance the skin by increasing its acidity after cleansing. Since soap is basic (alkaline), toner helps raise the skin's pH back to its slightly acidic level. I do not use toner because: 1) I don’t wash my face in the morning - instead, I splash my face with cold water to start my day, and 2) while I always wash my face with my Doctor Rogers Face Wash at the end of the day, my face wash is already pH balanced which makes toner unnecessary.
Some use toner to ensure their skin is clean. Rather than using a toner, I suggest using a better and more effective face wash to achieve clean skin in one step. It’s also good to keep in mind that our skin is not made to be squeaky clean. Squeaky clean means the skin is stripped of its natural oils and the barrier is damaged.
Others claim toner is needed to prepare the skin for better absorption of the next steps in their skincare routine. Guess what? Water also softens the skin which is why I start my morning skincare routine by splashing my face with water.
The only time I recommend a toner for normal or dry skin is to provide gentle exfoliation in the form of a liquid exfoliant. Although not necessary, this can be a nice step to make your skin extra glass-like. When I want to achieve this look, there are times when I use Skinceuticals Cell Cycle Catalyst.
Keep in mind these products do not do the heavy lifting like Night Repair Treatments. They are weak AHA and PHA options that gently buff off the very top layer of dead skin to make it appear smooth in the light and are to be used BEFORE your day antioxidant treatment. This is also a step to SKIP if your skin is irritated. If you have oily skin, then a salicylic acid liquid exfoliant can help with pore size but that is WAY too drying if you have dry skin like mine.
2. Eye Cream
The delicate skin around our eyes is often the first to show signs of aging. Thin and prone to dryness, it benefits from added moisture. In the 1930s, the first eye cream, "Eyeconic" was introduced, formulated with lanolin and petrolatum. It was an instant success from a sales perspective, and the beauty industry quickly realized people would pay a premium for small jars of hope—promising to smooth fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes whether or not they work.
Even today, when New Beauty polls readers, the product people are still searching for is a new eye cream. Why? Because eye creams are often marketed as miracle workers, when in reality, they’re not. Eyelid skin needs more than a moisturizer to halt the march of time. But eyelid skin like mature face skin, is thin and dry, making it particularly sensitive to product quality. If you’re using a low-quality face cream, then yes, you might benefit from a separate, well-formulated and high-quality eye cream. By the time you’re 35, you should be using high-quality face cream - and a good face cream works as a good eye cream. Simply dab your high-quality face cream around your eyes. I, of course, use my Doctor Rogers Face Cream on my face, neck, chest and eye area.
And with all that money you save on expensive eye creams, you can afford office treatments that actually help around the eyes like Botox, Dysport, Daxxify, PRP or lasering.
3. Exosomes, Peptides, or Growth Factors Creams
These are among some of the new buzzword ingredients people are spending a fortune on. While they may help our skin a little, they’re not a lot like level A products (read here for a refresher on my ABCs of skincare) like sunscreen, retinol, bakuchiol and vitamin C. These are products like Plated to TNS that have ingredients that “talk” to your skin through short amino acid signals to hopefully activate positive changes. The problem is the results from these ingredients are unpredictable.
Yes, there are peptides that can smooth the skin like Argireline (Hexapeptide) found in P-Tiox, or calm the skin like heparin sulfate found in Sente’s Dermal Cream. It is ok to use these products. I use the Sente Dermal Repair Cream sometimes when my skin is inflamed. But these expensive options are still only Bs. There isn’t data to show they activate long term benefits to the skin like the other steps I have outlined that are level A, must include ingredients. Remember, the more steps in a skincare routine, the more common it is for things to go awry. Be empowered to be selective.
As for now, the data is clear that the injectable version of these ingredients, like using your own platelet rich plasma (PRP) does more for our skin than any topical application.
While topical exosomes, peptides and growth factors seem enticing to use, they are not necessary! Instead, focus on using the best of the best for the 5 products you need in your routine: A Good Face Wash, A Quality Face Moisturizer, Zinc-Based Sunscreen, Vitamin C-Based Antioxidant, and a Night Treatment. Remember - when it comes to your best skin - its quality over quantity. Less is more.
Read more to learn about the products you should use, including my full Dermatologist Skincare Routine.
These recommendations are not sponsored. They are the result of Dr. Heather D. Rogers, MD evidence-based research and extensive clinical experience.
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