Choosing the Best Korean Toner for Your Skincare Routine

Toners, toners, toners... We all have heard about them and how they are an important step to your everyday skincare routine. Whether you are going for a simple skincare routine or the 10 step Korean skin care, toners are just as important as the other skincare steps. Unsurprisingly, the toning step is often skipped or missed because they are deemed 'unessential', partly due to common misconceptions like excessively stripping away any moisture off the skin, causing flakiness and so on. Today, we will be debunking these myths and common misconceptions about facial toners, as well as provide you with details about which one would work best for your skin's needs.

Before we get into the details, what is toner for face? What does face toner do? Korean Toners are essential products in your Korean skincare routines as they help replenish the skin's hydration and moisture after cleansing, by keeping your skin's pH balance in check. Toner for face often come in liquid form, either watery in texture or more viscous. They remove any impurities and dead skin deep within the pores that your cleansers did not catch, allowing the rest of your skincare products to penetrate better, otherwise they will just be sitting on top of a layer of impurities and dead skin (yikes!). Other benefits you can expect from Korean facial toners include reducing the appearance of enlarged pores, even out skin tone and making the skin look refreshed. Who knew that a bottle of toner could provide so many benefits for your skin?

So, in order for your skin to reap the maximum benefits of your skincare products (and also ensure that you receive good value for what you paid for), it is important to invest in a good face toner that is suitable for your skin type and concerns. You can rest easy on that part because we have done all the heavy lifting for you! 

Cleansing Toners

Cleansing toners help exfoliate the skin gently with chemical exfoliants such as AHA, BHA, PHA or other fruit acids to slough away dead skin cells and impurities trapped in the pores. They are generally suitable and preferred by those with oily or combination skin as they contain ingredients that help control excess sebum production and prevent acne or breakouts. These ingredients can include gentle exfoliators like AHA skincare, beta hydroxy acids; and sebum controlling ingredients like tea tree extract.

You won't believe that a bottle of this toner is sold every 3 seconds until you try it for yourself! Believe us, this product really works wonders! SOME BY MI AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner contains 3 types of exfoliators- AHA, BHA, PHA as well as tea tree and papaya extracts to gently remove impurities, dead skin cells, excess sebum and combat acne and blemishes. Don't worry, despite sounding harsh, this best Korean toner for acne and oily skin is gentle on the skin due to its PHA content that helps prevent moisture loss, making it ideal even for sensitive, acne-prone skin. 

Like we mentioned earlier, the best Korean toner for oily skin would typically contain gentle exfoliators and are watery, lightweight in texture. COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner is a facial mist toner enriched with Jeju Mineral Water, AHA and BHA to help control excess sebum production while softening the skin with a refreshing finish. The AHA and BHA helps clear impurities and fend off any unwanted breakouts for clarified, smooth complexion. Also, this COSRX AHA BHA Toner comes in a spray bottle that you can easily spray on your face for a refreshing start of your skincare routine. Use this toner at any time of the day to keep your skin fresh and mattified!

Hydrating Toners

Hydrating toners have lightweight, fast absorbing formula that penetrates deep into the layers of your skin without greasiness lingering around. They restore your skin's hydration and pH balance, leave a refreshing and soothing finish that your skin will love. Generally, this type of toners will suit all skin types and are among those that we commonly find. So what are the best hydrating Korean toner in the market?

This award-winning, all time favourite Kbeauty best toner is about to become your new obsession. Say hello to KLAIRS Supple Preparation Facial Toner, it contains hyaluronic acid, wheat amino acids and Centella asiatica extracts to soothe your skin, replenishes and prolongs hydration by about 20% more than most other toners. Its fast absorbing texture penetrates into the skin layers well without leaving greasy or sticky residue. This Klairs toner works perfectly for all skin types, including dry and sensitive skin.

If you're not a fan of scented toners, essential oils or have extremely sensitive skin, you can go opt for its unscented sibling  KLAIRS Supple Preparation Unscented Toner. This has all the same benefits as the Supple Preparation Toner, but without any added fragrance.

Who's not familiar with I'M FROM Rice Toner? Meet our best niacinamide brightening toner at BONIIK. Enriched with Yeoju rice extract and niacinamide, this natural Korean skincare toner works by restoring hydration levels to eliminate fine lines and wrinkles, as well as brightening dull, tired-looking complexion! The watery, fast absorbing consistency makes it ideal to be used at any time of the day. If your skin is on the drier side, simply add a few layers of this rice toner before continuing with your other skincare routine for visibly softer, supple skin!

Moisturising Toners

Slightly richer and more nutrient-dense than hydrating toners, moisturising toners offer deeper moisture for your skin to strengthen skin barrier and form a barrier to prevent excessive moisture loss. These toners are suitable for dry, damaged skin or those with uneven, flaky skin texture. They also come with the added benefit of anti-aging care to help diminish the appearance of fine lines.

Did you know that having strong skin barrier can help prevent numerous skin troubles? Yes, this includes flakiness, redness, irritation and sensitivity! Enhance your skin barrier with a moisturising toner like DR. JART Ceramidin Liquid. Formulated with 5 types of nourishing ceramides, panthenol and centella asiatica, it infuses dry skin with essential moisture, locks in hydration, and strengthens the skin barrier. The moisturising finish rebuilds and strengthens your skin from within to help improve skin elasticity, even out texture, as well as maintain optimal moisture levels. The result is supple, soft and firmer-looking complexion.

While the idea of using snail secretion extract on your skin is squeal-worthy, we can assure you that snail mucin offers amazing benefits in boosting skin cell regeneration, visibly improving the appearance of aging signs and deeply moisturising the skin for firmer, youthful-looking complexion. MIZON Snail Repair Intensive Toner is packed with nutrients derived from snail mucin to provide your skin with intense moisture without stickiness. Snail mucin can also help shrink large pores, even out skin tone and texture to leave the skin smoother. Find out more about the benefits of snail mucin for your skin here.

Nourishing Anti-aging Toners

Commonly found in anti-aging skincare, nourishing toners contain high levels of skin-boosting nutrients to rejuvenate, deeply hydrate and moisturise, brighten and firm the skin. Nourishing anti aging toners usually have more viscous texture that is similar to an essence.

THE FACE SHOP Yehwadam Heaven Grade Ginseng Rejuvenating Toner is infused with Korean traditional herbs and premium, high class red ginseng that has been aged for 6 years. It delivers deep moisture to fight aging signs, improve skin firmness and moisture from within by stimulating skin cell regeneration and collagen production for youthful, supple skin.

Although its name says 'water', SULWHASOO Essential Balancing Water EX has a gel-like consistency that glides and absorbs easily into your skin. Formulated with Martimony Vine to soothe and deeply moisturise the skin, improve elasticity to help even out skin texture for supple, smooth skin and fight aging signs. The long lasting hydration and moisture provided by this best anti aging toner makes it suitable for mature skin as an anti wrinkle care product.

So, do facial toners work? Yes they do! Although you may not immediately feel or see their effects, they do make a difference by adding an extra layer of hydration and ensuring that your skin enjoys maximum benefits from your other skincare products. Apart from that there is no one 'correct' way with how to use a face toner. The reason being, you can use toners in a multitude of ways- by patting it using your hands, sweeping it over your skin with a cotton pad, or simply left on your skin like a sheet mask!

We hope you have gained more information about how including this simple and quick step can make a difference to your skin's overall health, texture and complexion. The next time you apply your skincare routine, be sure to tone your skin right to reap the benefits of the rest of your skincare products. Let us know which toner you currently use in the comments down below and stay tuned for more beauty tips! Shop below for the best Korean toners.