#What Are Toners?
Toners are liquids, generally water-based, which are designed to penetrate the skin into our pores and balance its pH, thereby prepping it with hydration so that subsequent skincare we apply is more efficacious and sinks in deeper.
Therefore, toners are generally best applied after cleansing and exfoliating. Traditionally, toners were also often formulated as exfoliants, which may not have been obvious to consumers - and therefore they were associated with being rather harsh and damaging to the skin for some people who weren’t prepared for this effect. Nowadays, spurred on by sophisticated formulations from Korea, toners have become gentle yet effective skin prep steps in most people’s routines, and you would usually need a dedicated exfoliant in addition to this if you need to get rid of dead skin cells.
##What are the best toners to use with safe, clean ingredients?
For dry skin or climates, try the Laneige Cream Skin Refiner Mist or Hada Labo Premium Lotion (which is actually a toner). The Laneige Cream Skin Refiner Mist is a particularly intricate formulation that strikes a great balance between being wonderfully hydrating but not too thick, in a mist form!
There are also a range of more affordable toner options though they may have a lower concentration of active ingredients.
Two brands to check out are Isntree and Secret Key. In particular, try the Secret Key Milk Brightening Toner and the Secret Key Aloe Soothing Moist Toner, as well as the Isntree Green Tea Fresh Toner and Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Toner. Another one in this category that comes to mind is the <Etude House SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner>. These products contain relatively safe brightening and/or antioxidant ingredients such as green tea. However, if you have had previous reactions to hyaluronic acid or aloe, you should take care. Always do a patch test first to be sure.
#What Is An Essence?
Essences work similar to serums, in that they are thin but hydrating formulations packed with active ingredients that help subsequent layers of skincare to absorb better in the skin.
They act adjuncts for the rest of the nine steps in the routine, and also help to achieve a dewy
##What are the best essences to use with safe, clean ingredients?
We recommend COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence, which also contains 2% niacinamide. This helps to even skin tone and for skin brightening. Read more about the effects of different niacinamide percentages on your skin in this post.
There are also a lot of skincare ingredients you shouldn’t combine with niacinamide! Read our post on skincare ingredients not to mix and breakdown of skincare ingredients for more information.
To help fade any dark spots and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and for anti-aging effects, you can also try the The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, but only apply it directly onto the offending areas, not all over your face, to minimise the risk of irritation.
If you are looking for an alternative to the SKII cult favorite, the Skii Facial Treatment Essence, give the IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning or the Neogen Real Ferment Microessence a go. These contain saccharomyces ferment filtrate, which works as a humectant to help draw moisture into your skin and help with anti-aging.
If you are looking for a really hydrating essence, try the Primera Miracle Seed Essence. This is packed with a few key ingredients, including saccharomyces ferment (for anti-aging), nelumbo nucifera germ extract (for skin conditioning), and niacinamide (which has too many effects to go into detail here, see our separate post).
If you are suffering from acne, this could be good time to try the Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Essence. Skinfood does a good job at working with propolis in this formulation. Propolis is an ingredient which studies suggest has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. While it can’t get rid of acne, it can help with soothing your skin and controlling the inflammatory response.
Centella asiatica is another great ingredient to look out for anti-inflammation effects. There is also some evidence for its use in wound healing. The AHC Minimal 10 Watery Essence contains one of highest concentrations of centella asiatica among the essences, at 98%.
If you are looking for an essence with minimal ingredients and something a little different, another essence to look out for is the Make P:rem Chaga Concentrate Essence. This contains only three ingredients, the active ingredient being mushroom extract (chaga). Chaga is emerging as an ingredient in Korean skincare, for which there is some evidence for providing skin strengthening properties.
The Rovectin Skin Essentials Aqua Activating Serum is a natural formulation containing niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate, and aloe leaf juice, but otherwise contains a limited ingredients list with few extracts. We noticed long term plumping effects and improvement to the appearance of skin elasticity after using this for a few months.
You can also try the Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum Ex, which improved our skin tone and texture, making it more smooth and bouncy. However this does contain alcohol as a preservative.
Snowise Brightening Serum: The bestseller of the line and the entire brand. This serum skips all that proven actives and just goes for the extracts,
?Essential Balancing Water EX - Wasn’t deeply hydrating. A jelly texture. It’s not sticky though, absorbs well.
Essential Revitalizing Serum EX +Essential Revitalizing Serum EX: I always recommend this serum for people who are starting to see the signs of aging or do not see it yet but want to prevent it. It is a fresh, light gel texture that packs a heavy moisture punch. Oily people love it, but it would definitely be enough for dry people like me as well (of course with moisturizer on top, I am not a savage). Definitely an investment type of product if you’re just stepping into the world of luxury Korean skincare. I do not believe in drugstore brands but some people just have to make do with what they have, but having this serum would definitely help their routine more efficient.
Toners and essence are generally less concentrated than serums, and are therefore more watery in consistency. This is partly because serums tend to have more active ingredients such as vitamin C, other antioxidants, and skin brightening agents like niacinamide, and are therefore suited to treating particular skin concerns, such as anti-aging, pigmentation and breakouts. You can find our recommended top serums to use here.
By the way…some of the skincare we recommend are available on iHerb, which is an awesome, trustworthy site with great organic products (including non-skincare products). You can use our code AEJ0519 at checkout to get 5% off.
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P.S…this is probably obvious, but the information presented doesn’t constitute medical advice - always check with your own doctor!
