Somewhere in most bathroom cabinets is a half used bottle of toner, abandoned around the time we learned our faces did not need to squeak. It might be time to replace it. Toner has returned milky, serum-like, exfoliating and packed with actives that used to sit much further into a routine, and it has become surprisingly hard to say what a toner even is.
Forget what toner used to be
Traditional toners were largely associated with removing leftover cleanser, cutting through oil and “balancing” the skin after washing. That made more sense when cleansers themselves were harsher. Modern cleansers are generally far gentler, so the old idea that everyone needs toner to reset the skin is hard to defend.
Which left toner with an identity crisis, and the industry solved it the way it solves most things: by adding actives. Hyaluronic acid, ceramides, peptides, salicylic acid, salmon DNA.
K-beauty changed what we expect from toner
Korean skincare did more than anything to change the category. K-beauty popularised the idea of toner as something you layer and pat into the skin to prep everything that follows. Along the way, it normalised gentler textures and more treatment-focused formulas.
EQQUALBERRY Swimming Pool Toner is a good example of that thinking. It is a watery, everyday toner with eight types of hyaluronic acid and berry extracts, plus a mild exfoliating action to keep rough texture in check. Hydration and gentle resurfacing in a single step is a long way from the astringents many of us grew up with.
Enter milky toners
Bubble Cosmic Silk Hydrating Milky Toner shows how far the category has moved from its astringent past. It is built around ceramides and four types of hyaluronic acid, with maple sap water to support the barrier and arnica and allantoin to calm. The texture is soft and cushioning, closer to a lightweight essence than the watery toners many of us remember. That makes it especially appealing for dry or dehydrated skin, or for anyone who wants moisture without reaching straight for a heavier cream.
Thayers is the toner your mother probably used. Its Hydrating Milky Toner, launched in 2022, pairs snow mushroom with hyaluronic acid and elderflower water, skips the alcohol and promises to strengthen the skin barrier, a claim nobody ever made for witch hazel.
Then there is the toner-serum hybrid
Fenty Skin does not bother choosing: Fat Water is sold as a Toner Serum, and the texture backs that up. It is thicker than a classic toner, with niacinamide and Barbados cherry aimed at pores and dullness. One bottle, two steps, a shorter routine.
If toner is the step people skip and moisturiser the one they cannot, Laneige Cream Skin Cerapeptide Toner & Moisturizer merges the two. It is essentially cream thinned into a toner: milky and lightweight, with ceramides and peptides for the barrier and white tea leaf to calm. In a minimalist routine, it saves a step. For dry skin, it works best as a cushioning first layer under a richer cream.
Exfoliating toner never really went away
For every milky newcomer, there is an acid that has been doing the job for years. Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant is the benchmark: salicylic acid that gets inside the pore to tackle blackheads, congestion and texture. It is brilliant on oily skin and punishing when overused, which is why the brand itself suggests starting every other day. Restraint is the one thing toner has never outgrown.
Toner has entered its PDRN era
Genabelle PDRN Rejuvenating Toner brings PDRN, the salmon-derived DNA fragments behind a wave of clinic treatments, into the toner step. It is a watery formula with 1,000ppm of PDRN alongside hyaluronic acid and tripeptide-1, plus niacinamide and tranexamic acid for uneven tone. That moves toner squarely into treatment territory, and it will appeal to anyone already invested in barrier repair and recovery-focused skincare.
Numbuzin No.9 NAD+ PDRN Glow Boosting Toner reads like a roll call of skincare’s buzziest ingredients: PDRN, NAD+ and more than 50 peptides, all for under £20. The essence-like texture carries a subtle shimmer, which means the glow in the name is at least partly instant.
So, do you actually need toner?
Need is a strong word, but want is easy to justify. A good toner is one of the simplest upgrades a routine can get: a few seconds after cleansing for extra hydration, smoother texture or one fewer step later on. Pick one that matches what your skin is asking for, and it will earn its place quickly.
