Have You Ever Heard of 7-skins?
If yes, then you know what we are going to talk about. If no, prepare to explore a whole new world of hydration.
When you look at Korean women, it seems like they all have perfect, glass-like skin. No visible pores, no blemishes, and a hydration level to-die-for. Eastern approach to skincare is quite different from Western ones, with a strong focus on essences and lotions.
Some Koreans have more than 10 steps in their regular skincare routines. What is common for all of them: they start with serious cleansing and obligatory balancing/hydrating toners.
Have a dry skin? Check also:
- Oils for Dry Skin
- Soaps for Dry Skin
- Face Washes for Dry Skin
- Powder Foundation for Dry Skin
- Primers For Dry Skin
You may wonder now, how exactly acids can help your dry skin? Stay with us, and learn about the importance of proper balance. We present you with the list of best Korean toners for dry skin, with some unique features that made them so popular all over the world.
The 10 Best Korean Toners for Dry Skin
1. Marine Mineral Plump & Glow Essence by SeoulCeuticals
This toner features 98% natural formula, enriched by hydrating and soothing essentials like Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Japanese Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, and Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract (Chamomile).
It’s more nutrient-dense than most of its competition and, besides hydration, provides all the benefits of minerals.
After cleansing and before your serums and moisturizing, hydration prepping mist is proven to be that crucial step in your Korean beauty routine. Additional benefit: mists are multi-purpose. You can take your Glow Essence with you for a boost of hydration during the day, at work, or in dry air-conditioned areas like an airplane cabin. The fine mist will not disturb your make-up.
This essence is non-comedogenic, PH balanced naturally and packed with super nutrients. It’s guaranteed to provide you with a brighter, more youthful complexion.
2. Aqualuronic Toner by AHC
Aqualuronic Face Toner comes from the innovative skincare brand, initially developed for high-end aesthetic clinics in South Korea. Aesthetic Hydration Cosmetics is a pioneering Korean beauty brand renowned for its premium ingredients, advanced cutting-edge technologies, and luxuriously affordable skincare.
This hydrating facial toner is expertly formulated to supercharge moisture-levels in your thirsty skin. The triple-layered Hyaluronic Acid formula drenches skin in deep hydration, leaving it soft, plump, and perfectly prepared for your next skincare step.
Hyaluronic Acid is a classic hydration hero, due to its power to hold up to 1000 times its weight in water. This Aqualuronic collection includes an advanced blend of Hyaluronic Acid with low, medium, and high molecular weights, to penetrate the skin at different levels. The result is long-lasting hydration and radiant skin that looks lit from within.
AHC skin toner is fortified with specially selected French seawater. Its mineral-rich properties, combined with moisture-trapping Ceramides, boost a powerful moisture-lock barrier on the skin’s surface.
3. Pore-Aid Pore Refining Toner by Neogen Dermalogy
This soothing and clearing, conditioning toner clears and calms your pores.
It’s fresh and lightweight, but powerful enough to excrete pore waste and remove blackheads and whiteheads without irritation. It leaves the skin perfectly clear and nourished thanks to the rich formula with rice extracts.
With gentle peeling properties, it exfoliates dead skin cells to relieve utterly smooth skin. At the same time, this toner controls the skin moist, oil balance, and keeps your skin soft without looking greasy. By removing excess sebum which blocks pores, the Pore-Aid helps even-out skin texture, revealing a smooth glow.
Related: check our article about best drugstore pore minimizers!
The overall balancing effect means your skin will stay soft without feeling oily. Moisturised skin enjoys a tightened effect full of freshness. This feeling is pleasant and completely opposite of tight, dry skin prone to excessive sebum production.
The Pore-Aid is certified by a professional clinic institute as a non-stimulated item.
4. Supple Preparation Facial Korean Toner by DearKlairs
The DearKlairs Supple Preparation Toner is a cult-favorite classic among fans of Korean cosmetics. It’s enriched with a powerful soother: anti-inflammatory Centella Asiatica.
Other key active ingredients include Beta-Glucan and Hyaluronic Acid.
This toner effectively hydrates and calms skin, evens-out the skin texture, and maintains its optimal pH balance to help the absorption of other products as well. Thanks to its decreased oiliness and fast absorption, it’s also suitable for oily skin.
The viscous, essence- or serum-like texture that manages to stay lightweight, is what makes the Supple Preparation toner different from other toners in the market. This calming formula is non-irritating and safe to use on sensitive skin.
Due to its fast absorption, this toner is ideal for the famous Korean 7-skins method. You can use it to layer multiple times, gently patting it into your skin using bare hands.
5. Sake High Moisture Skin Lotion Toner by Kikumasamune
The Skin Lotion Toner by Kukumasamune is a rich, alcohol-free, slightly acidic formula that naturally protects the skin barrier against moisture loss.
Glycerin and Butylene Glycol attract and help retain moisture inside your skin, which means this toner will make any high-humidity area work to your benefit. Two ceramides, Ceramide 3 and Ceramide 6, are essential ingredients for maintaining the healthy and strong moisture barrier.
This lotion’s watery-milky consistency makes it ideal for decanting into smaller spray bottles and taking it with you for extra hydration boost on the go.
The rice ferment filtrate (sake lees) is a traditional, extremely nutritious ingredient packed full of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and more. This is one of the components usually found in Japanese cosmetics, famous for its skin-nourishing properties.
Additionally, the mighty Arbutin will lighten your complexion and get rid of any dark spots.
6. Time Revolution Toner by Missha
Known as a first-step essence in Korean routines, this toner is used right after cleansing to restore the skin’s pH to the ideal level before layering heavier lotions and serums.
Gentle and refreshing, it hydrates, soothes, and helps eliminate pores, impurities, and dead skin cells. At the same time, it prepares the skin for the absorption of all active ingredients from the next steps of skincare.
This toner features both common types of exfoliating acids, to secure the perfect cleaning of your pores from the deep. AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) is a water-mixing, volatile exfoliating component that softens old dead skin cells to secure their removal. BHA (Beta Hydroxy Acid) is an oily substance that removes dead skin cells and sebum from inside, helping to cleanse pores and minimize the risk of acne or blackheads.
Fermented Yeast Extract nourishes for clear, healthy skin with natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) and Phospholipid components that help improve the basic skin tone.
7. Soon Jung pH 5.5 Relief Korean Toner by Etude House
Formulated at an ideal pH level of 5.5 that is similar to skin’s natural pH, this toner helps the skin become healthier, while its cooling relief ingredient relieves stress.
It’s free of fragrance, animal materials, mineral oil, color additives, synthetic perfume, polyacrylamide, silicone, imidazolidinyl urea, triethanolamine, surfactant, and paraben.
It contains Panthensoside, a mix of two powerful ingredients. Panthenol is a protector of skin barrier that helps to maintain proper hydration levels. Madecassoside is one of four prime bioactive components in Centella Asiatica, known for its unbeatable soothing effect on sensitive or irritated skin.
This toner has passed various skin tests to verify its hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic formula. It does not cause breakouts or worsen any existing skin condition.
Chemicals with an alkaline pH can affect the skin’s protective barrier, making it more prone to dryness or damaging effects of external factors. Low pH products calm down, rejuvenate, and prepare the skin to accept all other actives for maximum impact.
8. AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner by Some By Mi
This toner features three different kinds of acid to secure a maximal effect on cleaning your pores. AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) softens, dissolves and removes dead skin cells from the surface.
BHA (Beta Hydroxy Acid) removes impurities, sebum, and dirt accumulated in deeper layers of the skin, preventing clogging of your pores.
PHA (Polyhydroxy Acid) exfoliates, prevents water loss, and enhances the effects of other ingredients. It evens skin tone and texture and helps the rest of your skin-care penetrate deeper, boosting their efficacy.
PHAs are particularly useful if you’ve found that your skin is sensitive to other exfoliating acids; they’re rich in antioxidants and stimulate epidermal growth and collagen production.
Another power active in this formula is Niacinamide, a form of Vitamin B3. Niacinamide reduces inflammation, minimizing redness from eczema, acne, and other inflammatory skin conditions. It keeps your skin smooth and moisturized. Due to its ability to regulate sebum production, it promotes a natural reduction in pore size over time.
9. AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner by COSRX
The CosRx AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner is formulated as a mix of AHA, BHA, and purifying botanical ingredients. This is a mist-type toner that soothes, refreshes, and softens skin.
The main ingredient of this toner is not plain purified water, but mineral water from Jeju Island. With its high mineral levels, it both hydrates and nourishes skin, bringing out glow and smoothness. It contains natural BHA.
Other key features are Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water and Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Water. Both of these are natural exfoliating ingredients with high levels of AHA, to smooth and soften skin texture by removing all dead cells and letting your pores breathe.
The CosRX Clarifying toner maintains the skin’s optimal pH level, keeping the skin hydrated and healthy.
It is formulated with minimum ingredients to be gentle on sensitive skin, with the help of additional substances like allantoin to provide moisture and calm down any irritations.
10. Snail Repair Intensive Toner by Mizon
Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Toner is a multitasker. This skin-repairing toner is infused with 30% snail mucin, and promotes skin resilience, helps restore skin balance, and even smooths some fine lines.
You can easily calm multiple skin conditions in one easy step. The watery, lightweight texture of this toner instantly moisturizes dry, fatigued skin, making it soft and supple.
This hydration booster restores the skin’s balance and vitality. Its lightweight, transparent, and watery formulation provides instant flexibility, supplying deep hydration.
Mizon Snail Repair toner contains 30% of purified snail slime. This powerful moisturizing ingredient is very typical in Korean cosmetics, due to its property of forming a protective film on rough skin to preserve hydration and maintain its balance with oil.
The formula also features Centella Asiatica, to brighten skin, calm irritations, and help prevent scarring. The hypoallergenic formula makes this toner suitable for all skin types, even sensitive skin types. It’s free of parabens, fragrance, and irritant ingredients.
OK, That’s Great, but What Does the 7-Skins Method Have to Do with the Best Korean Toner for Dry Skin?
The famous 7-skin method is what made Korean skincare so renowned in the first place. It means applying seven light, thin layers of hydrating toner, one by one, by patting them gently into your skin using bare hands. The more lightweight your toner is, the better it fits this method.
However, not all toners are made to be used like that. If your toner features acids, then it’s meant for balancing of the skin, and better to use in one single layer, wiped with a cotton pad.
The best part about this method: you are not obliged to use only one toner. It’s perfectly fine to combine two or even three of them, as long as you layer from lighter to heavier.
In the case of layering different kinds of toners, it looks like this:
- Acids (like our number 8, AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner by COSRX)
- First treatment essences (like our number 6, Missha Time Revolution)
- Hydrating toners (like our number 4, Supple Preparation Facial Toner by DearKlairs)
However, keep in mind that, even with the Korean cosmetics, less can be more. Too many different ingredients layered at once could make your skin angry. If you want to try many combinations (and who doesn’t) while searching for the best Korean toner for dry skin—separate them into AM/PM routines or even different days.
Still searching a toner? Check also:
Joan S. Wilson is a lifelong makeup and skincare enthusiast. She used to work as a makeup artist for 5 years. Joan is always curious and wants to learn more when it comes to makeup and skincare. She tries her best to make other people’s skin health better. This is why Joan is so passionate about writing articles on beauty topics. She always looks for products that are high-quality, dermatologist-tested, and does that it says on the label. In every article, she shares her knowledge to make your life healthier and happier!