The origins of the company are unusual.  DHC stands for Daigaku Honyaku Center, which Wikipedia says began in Japan as a translation center.  It expanded into publishing, direct marketing, cosmetics, health food supplements and lingerie.  Here in the states they have found success in direct mail, producing monthly catalogs with a lot of repetitive products.  January’s book included 36 moisturizers, for instance. Some products are a little silly – “Q10 Watermist” spray-on revitalizing, um, water, lots of products with milk or olive oil, and the monthly section on DHC Fine Foods, including soups, pilaf, and the above mentioned olive oil.

The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep doesn’t have much information on the line except for a nighttime moisturizer that gets a low hazard rating, and they get points for listing all their ingredients online.  My hero, Paula Begoun, the Cosmetics Cop, finds DHC mediocre, but not dangerous. “None of them [the products] are in any way groundbreaking or unique,” she says.

Several LookinGood volunteers tried out a product of one of their sub-brands – Q10 Ultimate Firming Body Lotion, billed as a “Daily Hydration and Skin Firming Body Care.”  The line is fragrance free and EU Cosmetics Directive Compliant, so there didn’t seem much risk in following the directions of daily use.  But alas, only minimal firming for any of us, and we all disliked the smell.   In the company’s defense, if you are going to truly abide by organic standards, ingredients that alter the smell cannot be added.  But we know there is a plant extract of some kind that would appeal to our olfactory senses.

Coincidentally, two of LookinGood’s volunteers have also tried DHC Velvet Skin Coat, which is basically a fine wax-type base coat for your face.  It’s very light and makes liquid foundation go on lusciously.  It also serves as a filler for those imperfections – aka, wrinkles – around our faces.

There are a million personal care products in the annual DHC Product Guide and no doubt we will try more.  Who knows, maybe we’ll order some noodles and salad dressing.  When we’re done, we can just smear stuff on our bodies.

Of course, the idea that it actually DOES something could be all in my head. It could be the skin care industry’s version of a placebo. The primary ingredient, after all, is water.

Personal care product manufacturers tout toner as Step 2 in the daily face care routine. Used after cleansing, it clears away residue, helps re-balance the skin’s natural pH and closes the pores, making it harder for dirt to get in.  The Cosmetics Cop, Paula Begoun, consistently refers to using toners as part of a daily routine. Estee Lauder has one for every skin type. Burt’s Bees has jumped on the bandwagon with a “Tomato Garden” toner for oily skin. There are several for sensitive skin which are water, with little else.

So you can’t really blame the skeptics, who say that a good cleanser won’t leave a residue anyway; the skin restores its own pH within a couple of hours of cleansing and closed pores also prevent moisturizers from penetrating the skin.

The Beauty Brains likens toner to your appendix – you have it, but you don’t need it. An article on Smartskincare.com says it’s only essential for people with oily skin, noting that many contain alcohol or witch hazel, which can have a drying effect.

Still, my skin – which leans to the dry side — feels cleaner, softer and most importantly, quenched after using toner. I have lots of options in the do-it-yourself category including chamomile tea, green tea and even red wine.  It may be worth giving them a shot, especially the wine.  But chances are, you’d have to pry that from my cold dead fingers, too.

• DHC has about a thousand different kinds of toner.
• So does Estee Lauder.
• But, Burt’s Bees Wax Tomato Toner?  They sure have expanded since they were bought by Clorox!
• And of course, we have to give you a link to the red wine as toner reference.  Gets all over my face all the time!