Types of Toners: Fixes or Fictions?

"Should I use a toner?"

It’s a question we get asked all the time.

And if you’ve ever stood in the skincare aisle trying to decode which bottle might be the missing link in your routine, you’re not alone.

The problem?

There is no straight answer.
Because toner doesn’t mean just one thing anymore.

There are toners for oil control.
Toners for pH balancing.
Toners for exfoliating.
Toners for hydration.
Toners for soothing.

Toners with alcohol. With acids. With calming herbs. With rose petals floating inside like a botanical potion.

So here’s how we’re going to approach this:

Let’s unpack what toner is.
What it isn’t.
Why it was ever invented.
What each one does.

And whether, if your skincare is actually doing its job, you need one at all.

Why Toner Was Invented in the First Place

Once upon a time, facial cleansers were brutal.

They were filled with sulfates and soap-like surfactants that left skin squeaky clean — and stripped to the bone.

The result?
Skin that felt tight, dry, reactive, and completely out of balance.

So toner was created to counteract the damage.
A second step to neutralize the harshness of the first.

Restore pH.
Calm inflammation.
Pretend the damage didn’t happen.

In other words: toner began as a cover-up. A patch for a problem that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

Fast forward...

The cleansers have changed.
But toner? Still lingers.
Now in a dozen forms with a dozen justifications.

So What Is a Toner?

Here’s the truth...

"Toner" is a marketing term that got rebranded.

What was once a balancing liquid is now a catch-all category for everything that doesn’t fit neatly into a cleanser, serum, or moisturizer.

Let’s break them down:

1. Astringent Toners (Think: Alcohol + Witch Hazel)

• Meant to remove excess oil and tighten pores.

• Short-term matte finish.

• Long-term barrier damage.

Do you need it?

No. These belong to the skincare logic of the 90s - control, strip, suppress. They’re harsh on even the oiliest skin and unforgiving on mature or dry types.

2. pH-Balancing Toners

• Their job is to return your skin to its natural acidic state after using an alkaline cleanser.

• Usually includes lactic or citric acid.

Do you need it?

Only if your cleanser is alkaline (pH > 7). Ours isn’t. Our cleanser is pH-balanced to match healthy skin (around 5.5). So this becomes redundant.

3. Hydrating Toners / Essences

• Marketed as a drink of water for your skin.

• Ingredients: glycerin, hyaluronic acid, aloe, rose water.

Do you need it?

Only if your moisturizer or serum isn’t doing its job. If your barrier is healthy and hydration is locked in, layering watery steps is more placebo than performance.

4. Exfoliating Toners

• Glycolic, lactic, mandelic, salicylic etc - these are exfoliants in liquid form.

• They dissolve dead skin cells and promote cell turnover.

Do you need it?

Maybe. If used intentionally and sparingly. But let’s not pretend this is a toner. It’s an acid. And acids demand respect.

5. Soothing / Treatment Toners

• Designed to calm or deliver actives.

• Ingredients: green tea, niacinamide, chamomile, centella asiatica.

Do you need it?

Only if these actives are missing from your routine. But if they’re already in your serum or moisturizer? You’re just double-dipping.

6. Cleansing Toners / Micellar Waters

These are water-based cleansers with surfactants and emollients that lift makeup and dirt without rinsing.

Often mistaken for toner - but really, they’re just gentle no-rinse cleansers.

Do you need it?

Only if you’re not already cleansing properly. This isn’t skincare - it’s cleanup.

7. Spray Toners / Facial Mists

Usually water, fragrance, and a few hydrating or herbal ingredients - meant to “refresh” or “hydrate” during the day.

They feel good. They often smell nice. But the benefits are surface-level at best.

Do you need it?

If you like misting your face… sure. But don’t confuse this with moisture or treatment.

8. Actives-as-Toners (The Serum Disguised as a Step 2)

Some toners blur into serum territory - packed with peptides, retinoids, growth factors, or vitamin C.

At that point, it’s not a toner. It’s a serum with thinner marketing.

Do you need it?

Not if you already use targeted treatments. Don’t let a watery texture trick you into redundancy.

Here’s What Nobody Tells You:

Toners are often sold as essentials.
But they’re usually just compensations.

They exist to fix what bad formulation broke.

A pH-balancing toner? That’s a workaround for a too-alkaline cleanser.
A hydrating toner? A patch for a moisturizer that doesn’t perform.
An exfoliating toner? A daily chemical peel pretending to be a refresher.

It’s like taking a painkiller for the side effects of another pill.
Why not fix the cause instead of building a routine on band-aids?

If your skincare is intelligently formulated from the start, you don’t need a recovery step after every move.

So Are Toners Useless?

Not always.

Some people enjoy them. Some routines benefit from them. There are excellent formulas out there.

But should they be standard?

No.

The idea that every routine needs a toner is legacy thinking - a carryover from when skincare was reactive instead of preventative.

We believe in proactive formulation.

Build every product to support your barrier.
Design each step to eliminate the need for the next.
And remove the guesswork from your shelf.

Because when your skincare is working, you don’t need extra steps...

You just need better ones.

So Are We Ever Going to Release a Toner?

Let’s put it this way:

Do you really want us to introduce five new "maybes" to your daily routine?

One for balance.
One for hydration.
One for acid.
One for actives.
One for vibes.

Or would you rather we just make the rest of your skincare so good, you don’t need toner at all?

We didn’t forget toner.

We just built products that make it obsolete.

Sources

Fluhr JW, Darlenski R, Angelova-Fischer I, et al. Skin pH: From Basic Science to Clinical Relevance. Curr Probl Dermatol. 2018.

Kircik LH. Glycolic Acid: The Most Widely Used Alpha-Hydroxy Acid. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2010.

Bousliman Y et al. Micellar water: A review. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021.

Draelos ZD. Active agents in common skin care products. Clin Dermatol. 2001.

Baumann L. Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice. 2009.