The Chronic Consumer

I’ve never followed much of a “skincare regimen” before. I just cleanse with Purpose soap from Johnson & Johnson, moisturize with Neutrogena, and use a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide acne treatment whenever necessary.

But now that I’m 34 and am already starting to see telltale signs of aging, I’ve been trying to use better skincare products to help take care of my face. Towards that end, I recently purchased a 6oz. bottle of Skin Recovery Toner from Paula’s Choice.

Paula’s Choice is a line of skincare products that has a reputation for being gentle and non-irritating, making them very popular among acne sufferers. In fact, I first heard about Paula’s Choice from a skincare message forum where people with acne reported good results after using these products.

Anyway, the Skin Recovery Toner that I purchased says on the bottle that it’s for “normal to very dry skin” — which is definitely me during the winter months when I used this. My skin totally dries out in the winter and becomes very flaky even though I moisturize religiously, so I was looking for something extra to help with the problem.

This is the product description from the Paula’s Choice store website:

Discover silky-smooth, radiant skin with this sophisticated union of skin-fortifying antioxidants, essential lipids, and hydrating water-binding agents.

• Revives skin’s intercellular matrix to help eliminate dry skin
• Anti-inflammatories calm reddened or sensitive areas
• 100% fragrance- and colorant-free.

That sounded great to me, and I was especially interested in the first two bullet points about eliminating dry skin and calming reddened, sensitive areas.

There were no recommendations on the bottle as far as how often to use the product, so I decided to apply it once daily after my morning wash. I have to admit that the toner feels very refreshing as it’s being put on. It’s not harsh and stinging like astringents, but rather smooth and silky (as the description says).

After two months of regular use, I actually noticed significant improvements in my skin. When I didn’t use the toner, I was still as dry and flaky as ever, but when I did use the product, the dryness went away almost immediately, and the toner also lessened the redness/irritation on my face.

I paid $14.95 for a 6oz. bottle of Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Toner, which I think is a reasonable price, all things considered. I like the way this product works and will definitely be buying it again!