Editor’s tip: Licorice root extract is also a natural skin brightener, so if you have sensitive skin and want to avoid exfoliating acids entirely, this is the ingredient for you. It’s known to even skin tone by improving dark spots and hyperpigmentation over time.
Key Ingredients: cica, aloe, licorice root extract | Who It’s For: people with sensitized skin | Fragrance-Free: yes
Best Firming Toner: Tonymoly Wonder Ceramide Mochi Toner
Why it’s worth it: This ceramide-packed toner is beloved on Korea’s other go-to beauty platforms, Glowpick and HwaHae, and earned the title of best moisturizing toner of the first half of 2024 on the latter. However, the Tonymoly Wonder Ceramide Mochi Toner does much more than drench skin in moisture. Fans of the toner also rave about how well it firms and smooths skin.
Editor’s tip: Ready to commit to the mochi skin lifestyle? Tonymoly’s Wonder Ceramide Mochi Toner is offered in a jumbo, 500-milliliter bottle that retails for less than $30.
Key Ingredients: ceramides, panthenol, cica | Who It’s For: everyone | Fragrance-Free: yes
Best Anti-Inflammatory Toner: AHC Aqualuronic Toner
Why it’s worth it: First and foremost, AHC’s Aqualuronic Toner is a 2023 Best of Beauty winner. Familiar skin-care superstars ceramides, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid make appearances on its ingredient list to give your complexion ritual a brightening and hydrating head start. Most of all, we love how traditional Korean skin-care ingredients, specifically mugwort, birch juice, and green tea leaf water, bring anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits to the sky-blue bottle.
Editor’s tip: Yes, this toner does contain fragrance, but it’s subtle and spa-like.
Key Ingredients: niacinamide, mugwort, birch juice| Who It’s For: everyone, particularly those with mature skin. | Fragrance-Free: no
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Korean toners different?
Korean skin care places moisture at the forefront of all products, so you can guarantee that any Korean toner you try will never feel drying or astringent. The best Korean toners are also formulated to be as gentle on skin as possible by being fragrance-free, packed with soothing ingredients, and suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin—even brightening and exfoliating Korean toner formulas.
What are common ingredients found in Korean toners?
Centella asiatica (a.k.a. cica) is, by far, the most common ingredient found in Korean toners due to its versatility. Other popular additions include hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, peptides, ceramides, and panthenol—all powerful moisture-locking ingredients.
What are the different ways to apply Korean toners?
1. Pat
Sprinkle a couple of drops of Korean toner into the palm of your hand before rubbing your hands together and patting the toner onto your skin. This technique is much more gentle on skin than rubbing, which is more likely to inflict trauma upon your skin, board-certified dermatologist Shari Marchbein, MD, previously shared with Allure.
2. Layer
After patting on your Korean toner, you can repeat the process above up to seven times (a.k.a. the 7 Skin Method) for weightless hydration and a more concentrated dose of your favorite Korean toner.
3. Swipe
After cleansing, you dampen a reusable cotton pad with Korean toner and swipe it onto your face to help remove any makeup and debris left on your skin.
4. Mask
Soak Korean cotton pads, like the White Rabbit Naked Cotton Classic Cotton Pads or Biodance Cotton Pads, with your Korean toner of choice and stick them onto the parts of your face that need extra moisture, soothing, or brightening. Then, let them sit on your face for five minutes like a DIY sheet mask. Alternately, follow the 7 Skin Method with Experiment’s Avant Guard reusable silicone sheet mask—which comes in small and big—to better lock in all those juicy layers of toner.
Meet the experts
- Arielle Kauvar, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and director of NY Laser & Skin Care in New York City
- Hee Jin Koh, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Clifton, New Jersey
- Y. Claire Chang, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at New York City’s UnionDerm
- Shari Marchbein, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City
How we test and review products
When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that’s included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.