Are toners the holy grail or simply a fad?

By Ria Bhatia
11 November, 2022

Are toners the holy grail or simply a fad?

By Ria Bhatia
11 November, 2022

Toners have been thriving for as long as we can remember, but with a slew of potent serums and nourishing moisturisers, does our skin really need the watery tonic solution every day? We investigate

Go to any Korean beauty shop, and you’re bound to spot a shelf loaded with minimally designed bottles of toners. From green  and black tea to niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, the options (and concoctions) are never-ending, leaving you spoilt for choice. Closer home, the panorama is pretty much the same. Toners have been an easy find in every beauty shop and pharmacy for over a decade now. But there’s a stark difference in the formulation, which plays a pivotal role in the relationship that your skin and a toner share. While the true-to-Korean-beauty-standards toners are packed with skin-enriching ingredients, the ones that we were exposed to typically contain high amounts of alcohol, diminishing the difference between an astringent and a toner, ultimately defeating the product’s purpose.

The buzziest Fat Water from RiRi’s Fenty Skin is packed with a power-packed ingredient complex like niacinamide, green tea, fig, Barbados Cherry and more. The toner-serum hybrid seeps into the skin to reveal brighter, smoother and healthier skin

With five per cent  of glycolic acid, the global-favourite toner is used by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Jourdan Dunn and Alia Bhatt. On an average, one bottle of this brilliant brightener is sold every minute across the globe, proving its massive fanfare

Many skin experts and dermatologists have declared that toners are really not that necessary in your skincare routine. The reasons are fairly simple—from non-skin-friendly formulations to impotent efficacy. But then, we’ve also come across stellar products like Pixi’s Glow Tonic, Thayers’ Rose Petal Facial Toner, Fenty Skin’s Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner and the likes that make us reconsider the product. You see, this confusion and mixed opinions can easily confound us. But we’re here to help you make an informed decision. 

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