Review on Cucumber Witch Hazel Toner With Aloe Vera - 12 Oz Alcohol-Free Formula By THAYERS by Romas Pennington

I bought this as a toner for my skin after I wash my face, to help balance out moisture and keep my skin from drying out. There's a lot in this bottle; I don't need much on a cotton ball to cover my face, so I know it'll last me a long time. Plus, it smells lovely! So win-win!Many other reviews have complained about phenoxyethanol in the ingredient list, and I can't speak for whether the ingredients changed or not over the years as this is my first time buying it. What I can say is that phenoxyethanol actually has many names it goes by, like dowanol or rose-ether among many, so it's entirely possible it has always been in this toner, and when the label was reprinted for newer bottles, they changed the way they listed the ingredients to its scientific name. Adding to this theory is the fact that phenoxyethanol/rose-ether is known for smelling like roses, and it's likely where this product gets its rosy scent.If they DID change their recipe to suddenly start including it when they didn't before, it's worth noting that phenoxyethanol is used in many cosmetics, even soaps and vaccines, as an antibacterial preservative to keep the product from spoiling. Many companies switched to using it because consumers began to vocally dissent to parabens, which is another widely used preservative.Other people have said in their reviews that phenoxyethanol is toxic when absorbed through the skin, and this is true. but only in high amounts. The FDA, the American Cosmetic Safety Review both deemed it perfectly safe to apply topically, like in, say, a facial toner, so long as the concentration is 1% or lower. If that's not enough for you, the European Commission on Health and Food Safety deemed the same, and Japan also has similar restrictions.People in the reviews having reactions to their skin isn't necessarily from this toner. I've had reactions to creams I've used for years for eczema, sometimes the body changes, and something that worked for you doesn't anymore. Sometimes its external, and something changed in your environment that triggered the reaction. There's many reasons skin can act up, but that doesn't mean that a common preservative used worldwide in a variety of products is somehow to blame.In conclusion, phenoxyethanol sounds like a scary word, but has probably always been used in some form to give this product its scent. Sometimes products work for people, and sometimes they don't. Many people in the reviews said that they stopped buying this product because it stopped working well for them, but that doesn't mean the product itself is suddenly bad. It works well for me and many others.If the presence of phenoxyethanol deters you from this product, make sure to avoid any toner or product in general that has ethylene glycol monophenyl ether, 2-Phenoxyethanol, PhE, dowanol, arosol, phenoxetol, Rose ether, phenoxyethyl alcohol,beta-hydroxyethyl phenyl ether, or euxyl K® 400-- because all of them are literally also scary words for the exact same thing.