Often disregarded as an unnecessary step within the skincare regime, the best toners work to balance the skin's pH levels and target a number of specific skin concerns, such as boosting hydration, minimising dark spots and brighten dull complexions.
With many left wondering what exactly is toner, Marc Elrick, founder of skincare brand BYOMA explains: “Toners should be applied as the second step in your routine [after cleansing] to help replenish and restore the microbiome.” In fact, they can serve an array of purposes within your skincare routine: “They [can] help with skin exfoliation and rebalancing the skin’s pH, so incorporating them into your routine will help promote clearer, brighter skin by increasing cell turnover and shifting any dead skin cells," adds Elrick.
Despite not being as essential as one of the best cleansers or best facial sunscreens, toners are also dubbed to help enhance the efficacy of your other skincare formulas - whether that be your go-to serums, oils or best face moisturiser. So, if you're in the market for a new addition into your daily regime, our team of beauty experts share their tried and tested edit of the very best toners out there.
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The best toner for all skin types, reviewed by our beauty team
The best toner for all skin types, reviewed by our beauty team
RRP: £18 for 250ml
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
Pixi's Glow Tonic is a cult skincare staple that's built legions of adoring fans, thanks to its ability to turn on the skin’s glow in an instant. The alcohol-free, 5% glycolic acid formula effectively removes dead cells from the skin's surface to smooth the complexion and accelerate cell turnover. This exfoliating goodness is offset by soothing aloe vera to keep skin feeling comfortable.
All this is not only a treat for the skin but also makes makeup application a much smoother task (even the best lightweight foundation can cling to uneven or rough skin texture). After using Glow Tonic, my base seemed to sit better on my skin with a smoother and more natural-looking finish. From the very first use, my face looked a lot perkier; within a week I was waking up to noticeably brighter, healthier-looking skin. If your complexion looks a little fatigued and dull, this is a great toner to have in your arsenal. It also smells great.
RRP: £9 for 150ml
Reviewed by: Annie Milroy and Rhiannon Derbyshire
Annie: Bursting with all the good stuff your skin craves – soothing oat milk, calming aloe juice, detoxing niacinamide and hydrating hyaluronic acid – this toner does it all, leaving skin baby-soft without costing a fortune. It's also fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, cruelty-free and vegan, meaning it's a true overachiever in its field. All skin types, even those with sensitive complexions, can benefit from this product, which is music to my ears.
Rhiannon: E.l.f.'s skincare is quite underrated, but they're a brilliant affordable brand, full of hard-working buys. This is ideal for soothing sensitive skin, which came in handy after I got a bit heavy-handed with a potent AHA. My skin felt comfortable and immediately calmed; this would also work if your skin feels dry or itchy after cleansing.
RRP: £27 for 190ml
Reviewed by: Amelia Yeomans
You may feel like no amount of skincare has helped to reduce the visible signs of ageing, be that fine lines or deep-set sun damage, but I can attest that this toner makes a difference. Part of OLEHENRIKSEN's PM range designed for a nighttime skincare routine, this toner is designed to be used after cleansing in the evening and followed up with the brand's barrier booster essence, to reveal a lit-from-within glow the next morning. For best results, use a cotton pad to sweep the product across the face and remove any excess residue that your cleanser didn't quite tackle.
Absorbing quickly, this toner has a lemony fresh scent and leaves skin feel super clean. Although you may feel a slight tingling sensation when first applying, this is common with products that contain AHAs and it can still be suitable for sensitive skin (though we'd recommend a patch test first before widespread use, just to be on the safe side). What's not to love?
RRP: £18 for 200ml
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
If plant-powered natural skincare is your preference, treat your skin to this iconic tonic, which has been on the market since 1995. With a lovely, soft, botanical scent, it's fragranced with a blend of essential oils that belies the naturally active ingredients in the formula – but this toner also produces tangible, radiance-enhancing results.
This formula works to nix any tight and uncomfortable feeling after cleansing, which is a testament to its pH-balancing credentials, replacing stiffness with a soft and sated feeling. Even after double cleansing, it helped to remove a lot of extra muck from my face. The aloe vera offers instant refreshment, while the cucumber extract provides a calming, cooling effect. If your regime is already filled with high-powered actives through your serums and creams, this gentle and soothing tonic will be a sympathetic pairing for a spa-like experience.
RRP: £11.50 for 240ml
Reviewed by: Amelia Yeomans
If you're looking for an all-rounder glycolic acid toner that can tackle skin woes quickly and effectively, this ridiculously affordable vegan toner from The Ordinary is one of the best. It's ideal for those who are blemish-prone, have stubborn scarring or rough texture that just won't budge – however, those with sensitive or overly dry, dehydrated skin might be best to steer clear.
Glycolic acid is a brilliant ingredient due to its ability to whisk away dead skin cells and encourage turnover. As someone with acne-prone skin, I find it is best to use this toner every other day to keep breakouts at bay without drying out my skin. While it's best to use this toner in the evening, it's even more crucial that you apply your best facial sunscreen in the mornings, too, as glycolic acid makes the skin more sensitive to the sun.
RRP: £13 for 100ml
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
PHA skincare provides gentler exfoliation to the skin's surface and is ideal for congested, dull and rough complexions. PHAs (polyhydroxy acids) also have humectant properties, meaning they help your skin attract and maintain moisture. So if you're weighing up AHA vs BHA, which can both cause some irritation, PHAs could be worth a try instead. They help to enrich the complexion as they slough off dead skin and clear out pores.
I can certainly speak to its gentle approach, as I didn’t experience a hint of tingling or stinging and my skin felt comfortable afterwards – as opposed to desperate for serum and moisturiser. Of all the toners on this list, this one left my skin with the softest, silkiest feeling and a "post-facial" kind of glow. Some customer reviews note that it helped shoppers get rid of acne scars and, while I don’t have much in the way of scarring, my skin does feel less bumpy and rough after using this.
RRP: £35 for 118ml
Reviewed by: Annie Milroy
I have long been obsessed with this product and would go as far as to say that it’s one of the beauty products that has changed my skin the most. This potent formula is one of the most effective spot-busting products I have ever tried and it gets to work what feels like immediately. While I don’t use it as a toner per se (I wouldn't use it every day, or after every cleanse), if you do have acne or hormonal spots and your main skincare goal is learning how to get rid of acne, this is the buy I'd recommend as it has a reputation for helping with blemishes. Just don't be tempted to over-use it as it is fairly potent.
But whether you decide to apply it as a toner all over your face or dab it onto problem areas, this is one of the best toner options for spot-prone skin. The high percentage of salicylic acid and green tea extract work in harmony to help clear skin, maintain hydration levels and balance irritation. I have recommended this product to so many people that I wish I worked on commission, but I won’t ever stop singing its praises.
RRP: £11.99 for 150ml
Reviewed by: Annie Milroy
I'm a huge fan of BYOMA's skincare range, thanks to its reasonable pricing and that it's designed to care for the skin barrier. (The stylish packaging is pretty pleasing.) The brand's toner follows suit, promising a brighter complexion and improved skin texture and tone after just a couple of uses. As for the results, it really delivered when I used it consistently for a week, my skin looked brighter and clearer without any of the soreness from some of the other exfoliating toners.
Not only will the included AHAs – lactic and mandelic acid – gently exfoliate the skin to reveal a more radiant complexion, but this formula also deeply cleanses the pores, making it brilliant for blemish-prone skin. However, it's worth noting that seasoned exfoliating acid users may prefer something more potent. As someone who had a couple of spots while researching this list, though, I found this true multi-tasking beauty hero. The affordable price is a huge bonus, too.
RRP: £30 for 250ml
Reviewed by: Annie Milroy
Packed with both glow-boosting AHAs and exfoliating BHAs, this toner packs a punch. Gentle enough for daily use yet totally transformative, this powerful solution works to refine, exfoliate, tighten and smooth the skin's appearance, as well as brightening.
My first impressions of this toner were that I loved its nail polish remover-style pump dispenser, which made for a fuss- and mess-free application with a cotton pad. The bottle is also made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. I felt the ingredients getting to work immediately, giving a mild tightening feeling to my face – something that, to me, is a good sign of a hard-working product. I applied my serums and moisturiser on top as normal and found everything layered nicely, too, so if you're after a general skin health boost, then this is the best toner for you.
RRP: £45 for 150ml
Reviewed by: Lucy Abbersteen
The skincare brainchild of industry legend Caroline Hirons, Skin Rocks formulas are well-researched, well-formulated and – as you'd expect – efficacious. One of two acid toners from the brand, The Control Acid is another BHA-focused formula that works brilliantly on congested skin and visible pores. As well as working to unclog pores, it also works to regulate oil production – all while soothing the skin and supporting its barrier.
It's ideal if you frequently experience blackheads or other breakouts. Its weighty packaging is also super luxurious (if admittedly less ideal when you're working with a weight limit for your luggage!), and I enjoy seeing the cheerful yellow colour scheme among my skincare line-up.
RRP: £16 for 200ml
Reviewed by: Stephanie Maylor
The common concern around astringent toners is that they will be a little too efficient at eliminating excess oil and will leave the skin feeling stripped and tight. But that is far from the case with La Roche-Posay’s hypoallergenic, minimalistic and rather iconic formula, which was specifically developed with reactive skin in mind. So, yes: it helps to regulate oil production, prevent blemishes and unblock pores, but not at the cost of irritating or drying out the skin.
It was impressive (and hugely satisfying) to see how much residue came off my face when using this toner after cleansing, and my pores certainly looked less gapingly obvious. With a complexion that errs on the dry side, I may not be the target audience for this toning lotion but my skin felt refreshed, softer and looked more refined – proving that every skin type can benefit from gentle clarifying.
RRP: £29 for 100ml
Reviewed by: Annie Milroy
Picture all the senses of a spa-day bottled into one undisputed champion of toners and you've reached ELEMIS' Superfood Kefir-Tea Mist. Quite literally my favourite ever beauty scent, this toner is honestly unbeatable in my eyes. The refreshing four-in-one formula works to hydrate, tone, prime and set makeup for a healthy and radiant-looking complexion.
There's nothing worse than a soaked face after misting, but this spray dispenser evenly distributes the toner for a refreshing little pick-me-up for your skin. I am known to steal literally every bottle of this that lands in the office and will even reuse the empty container for other toners because the pump is just so good. Quite simply, it's a staple forever repurchase for me.
How we tested the best toners
The toners we tested for this feature
In order to compile a comprehensive guide to the very best toners on the market, we drew on our years of beauty editor experience using dozens of the best toners on the market, consistently using them on different skin types for at least a week to see how each product held up. We took the following factors into account throughout the testing process so we could properly assess the effectiveness of each and every product…
- Packaging
- Formulation and active ingredients
- The consistency and feel of the formula
- How it felt on the skin immediately after application
- Any noticeable difference in our skin after consistent use
- Price
How to choose the best toner for your skin type
Most experts will agree that a healthy complexion doesn't rely solely on using a best toner for face, however, they do offer some additional benefits – especially when you use a formula that is optimised for your skin type and concerns.
- Visible pores: Unfortunately, not even the most alcohol-laden toner has the ability to physically tighten and constrict your pores. However, an astringent acid toner works effectively to remove the gunk from them and purging whatever residue or oil might emphasise their appearance. Plus, they're more gentle than most acid products on the market.
- Sensitive skin: Working to keep moisture locked in and irritants out, the skin barrier is its frontline defence. Those with a weakened skin barrier may experience redness, irritation, and sensitised skin, so it's no surprise that strengthening this outer layer is the key to healthy skin. This can be supported by the right toner, according to Dr. Marie Drago, who recommends choosing “a slightly acidic toner to help rebuild the skin barrier”.
- Skin that's off-balance: Your skin’s pH level sits around 5.5, while water is 7, which means that splashing your face after cleansing can throw it off and cause issues such as redness, excess oil or flaky skin. Therefore, a gentle, acid-based toner can work to rebalance the skin.
- Dehydrated skin: Hydrating toners can help your skin to absorb any serums and creams that you apply afterwards. When water affects the skin's pH, your moisturiser has to work harder to restore equilibrium before it can begin treating dehydration. A supercharged toner can address the pH issue and give skin an easily-absorbed moisture boost.
Toners may also be referred to as essences, tonics or waters, so it's worth keeping an eye out for any products labelled as these. Once you've found the best toner that works for you, be sure to apply it on a daily basis, after cleansing and before any other skincare products, by splashing a few drops onto a cotton pad or misting it directly onto your skin.
