Korean Toners

How to choose your Korean toner

The right toner depends on what your skin needs after cleansing: water, calm or a radiance boost. Texture matters too: the more watery it is, the easier it layers.

Types of Korean toners

• Hydrating toner: a watery texture for tight-feeling skin, like the Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner or the Haruharu wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner, free of alcohol and fragrance.
• Rice toner: it hydrates and brings radiance. The I'm From Rice Toner is one of our best sellers.
• Milk toner: a more comforting milky texture for dry or dull skin, like the Beauty of Joseon Glow Replenishing Rice Milk or the TIRTIR Milk Skin Toner Light.
• Soothing toner: heartleaf, centella or green tea for sensitive skin and redness. The best known is the Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner, with 77% heartleaf extract. The Purito Wonder Releaf Centella Toner Unscented and the Isntree Green Tea Fresh Toner are good choices too.
• Exfoliating toner: gentle acids to smooth skin texture and clear pores, like the COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner or the SOME BY MI AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner.
• Pads: soaked pads, handy in the morning or when travelling, like the Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0 or the SKINFOOD Carrot Carotene Calming Water Pad.

Key ingredients for your skin

• Rice: radiance and dull skin.
• Hyaluronic acid: dehydrated skin.
• Centella asiatica and heartleaf: sensitive or reactive skin.
• Green tea: combination to oily skin.
• AHA, BHA, PHA: uneven texture, visible pores, blemishes.
• Vitamin C: dark spots and uneven tone, with the Goodal Green Tangerine Vita-C Dark Spot Care Pad.
• Ginseng: tired skin, with the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water.

How to apply a Korean toner

1. After cleansing, on slightly damp skin.
2. Pour a few drops into your palms and pat onto your face. For an exfoliating toner, use a cotton pad instead.
3. Very dry skin: layer 2 or 3 thin coats. This is the idea behind the Korean 7 skin method, without needing to go up to seven.
4. Follow with essence or serum, then moisturiser.

Toner, lotion or essence: what is the difference?

Toner is the most liquid step of the routine. In Korea, the word lotion often means a slightly richer emulsion. Essence comes right after toner: more concentrated, it targets hydration or radiance. Essence toners combine both.

Precautions with an exfoliating toner

Start with 2 or 3 evenings a week and avoid using it on the same evening as retinol. Acids make the skin more sensitive to the sun: apply one of our Korean sunscreens every morning.

Why buy your Korean toners at SKINOREA

• Authentic products, bought in South Korea directly from the brands or their authorised distributors, then selected by our team, including Nahla, chemical engineer and co-founder, who reviews every formula.
• Stock in France: same-day dispatch from the Paris region for orders placed before 1 pm, with no customs fees within the European Union.
• Free pickup-point delivery in France from €75.

FAQ

What is the best Korean toner?

The best Korean toner is the one that suits your skin. For dehydrated skin, a hydrating toner like the Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner. For sensitive skin, the Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner. For dull skin, a rice toner like the I'm From Rice Toner. For oily skin with visible pores, an AHA/BHA exfoliating toner a few evenings a week.

What is a rice toner or a milk toner?

A rice toner is based on rice extract, which hydrates and brings radiance, like the I'm From Rice Toner. A milk toner has a more comforting milky texture, often rice based too, like the Beauty of Joseon Glow Replenishing Rice Milk. It suits dry skin well.

Which Korean toner for oily skin?

Choose a light, watery texture with green tea or centella for daily use. Add an AHA/BHA exfoliating toner 2 to 3 evenings a week to clear pores without drying the skin.

Should I use toner every day?

A hydrating or soothing toner is used morning and evening, after cleansing. An exfoliating toner should be limited to a few evenings a week, especially at first, so as not to weaken the skin barrier.

Toner or micellar water: what is the difference?

Micellar water cleanses. Toner goes on already clean skin, to hydrate it and prepare it for the next steps. One doesn't replace the other.