Toners get a bad rap in the beauty world. Billed as drying, irritating and overrated, it’s a skincare step often skipped.
K-Beauty’s take on toner, however, is entirely different and, if the goal is glass skin, completely necessary.
Able to balance and hydrate simultaneously, Korean toners (sometimes simply referred to as ‘Skin’) are free from the irritation-triggering ingredients included in the formulas of standard Western ones (alcohol, we’re looking at you).
Instead, their goal is to protect the moisture that classic toners tend to eliminate, relying on extracts able to keep bacteria at bay without upsetting skin’s pH.
Their benefits span beyond balance, too, with most Korean formulas also enhancing the absorption of the topicals you turn to after toning.
The method is the same—a few drops will do, whether applied with a cotton pad or patted in with your palms—and they’ll certainly still take care of the pore-clearing portion of your routine; that’s just not all they’re capable of.
Because everything we can do, K-Beauty can do better. Here are the best Korean toners on the market...
