12 Best Korean Toners We Tested for Every Skin Type

Glamour editors also love this brand’s toner pads. True to its name, it contains a blend of three acids: alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), and polyhydroxy acids (PHAs). If you want it as a classic pourable toner, grab this bottle. It’s packed with the same ingredients as the toner pads: a blend of exfoliating acids plus sebum-targeting, calming ingredients like witch hazel and tea tree extract. “I notice I’m less oily when I keep them on rotation. The scent is subtle and herbal. I never feel like my face is raw or irritated after using, and it helps clear my clogged pores,” says Glamour senior commerce editor Jenifer Calle.

While I wouldn’t recommend this formula for anyone with dry or dehydrated skin, it’s perfect for oily to combination skin types. As someone with combination skin, I like splashing it on my T-zone to ensure my pores stay clear and my forehead doesn’t get too greasy and congested.

• Toner type: Exfoliating sebum-balancing toner
• Key ingredients: AHA, BHA, PHA, adenosine, witch hazel extract, tea tree extract
• Highlights: Water-like lightweight texture; exfoliating and pore-clearing ingredients; helps balance sebum; calms and soothes

This popular exfoliating toner is one of the best CosRx products we’ve tried. Dr. Hwang loves the gentle-yet-effective formula, which combines glycolic acid (an alpha hydroxy acid, or AHA) with betaine salicylate (a beta hydroxy acid, or BHA). “Glycolic acid exfoliates and promotes skin turnover, and betaine salicylate clears sebum and prevents blackheads,” he says. The formula is also packed with willow bark water, “a natural anti-inflammatory and mild exfoliant,” Dr. Hwang says.

One of my favorite features of this toner is that it’s mild enough for regular use, even on my sensitive skin. Dr. Hwang confirms this, and notes that it “pairs well with both prescription and over-the-counter routines.” He recommends this product to younger patients dealing with uneven texture, mild breakouts, or congestion. “I’ve also used it during travel when my skin becomes congested, and found that it helps smooth out texture within a few days without causing dryness,” he says. “The spray-type bottle is also convenient for quick use without overapplication.” Whether you’re dealing with pimples, blackheads, or congested skin, this toner can help.

• Toner type: Exfoliating, breakout-fighting toner
• Key ingredients: Glycolic acid (AHA), betaine salicylate (BHA), willow bark water, apple fruit water, allantoin
• Highlights: Gentle exfoliant; smooths texture and prevents breakouts; doesn’t cause dryness; easy-to-use spray applicator

Cho and I both love this affordable rice toner from HaruHaru Wonder, formulated specifically for sensitive skin. “It’s a TikTok favorite,” says Cho. “It has fermented black rice enriched with essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that absorb quickly and effortlessly.” She loves the way her complexion “looks and feels healthy and plump after just one use.” The first time I tried this, I was just as blown away by how good it made my skin look with a single application. The formula has a thicker texture that feels like a cross between a toner and a serum, but still sinks in fast.

• Toner type: Hydrating toner
• Key ingredients: Oryza sativa (rice) extract, phyllostachys pubescens shoot bark extract, hyaluronic acid
• Highlights: Fragrance-free and gentle on sensitive skin; hydrating but fast-absorbing texture; immediate plumping effect

For a youthful glow, try Beauty of Joseon’s Ginseng Essence Water as your daily toner. It’s packed with 80% panax ginseng root water, ginseng extract, and niacinamide. Dr. Chang particularly recommends panax ginseng for mature skin because it’s “suggested to have antiaging properties including stimulating collagen, brightening, and fighting free radicals.” That said, anyone can benefit from its collagen-boosting properties, which help enhance your overall skin texture and support your skin barrier. The added niacinamide also helps skin look smoother, brighter, and more balanced. While it doesn’t contain any fragrance, the formula features a subtle herbal scent from the ginseng root. In testing, I loved how hydrated, healthy, and smooth it made my skin feel. Although it’s extremely moisturizing, it has a lightweight, refreshing feel that absorbs in seconds.

• Toner type: Antiaging toner
• Key ingredients: Panax ginseng root water, ginseng extract, niacinamide
• Highlights: Antiaging benefits; targets fine lines and wrinkles; fast-absorbing and lightweight; long-lasting moisture

For an instant brightening boost, swipe on Iope’s brightening essence. Dr. Chang loves the hydrating, glow-boosting effect of this formula when her complexion looks dull. “It contains a high concentration of saccharomyces ferment filtrate (probiotics), as well as niacinamide and adenosine,” she says. The former helps brighten, while the latter ingredients speed up skin-cell turnover for smoother skin. I also love this popular essence for its water-like, refreshing feel, which immediately makes me feel more awake when I apply it.

• Toner type: Brightening essence toner
• Key ingredients: Bio-Redox A, probiotics, niacinamide, adenosine
• Highlights: Refreshing lightweight feel; instant brightening effect

The Tiktok-famous Tirtir Milk Skin Rice Toner won a spot on our list of best rice toners for its intensely nourishing effects. It’s one of the most popular K-beauty toners recommended for all skin types, but I found that its mix of hydrating ingredients (including hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and panthenol) make it extra effective for dry and sensitive skin. If you’re used to traditional toners, this will feel more nourishing and a little thicker than formulas you’ve used before. “The milky texture feels like a soft hug for my skin, instantly soothing and plumping it up with hydration,” says Cho. “I love how it preps my skin for the rest of my routine without feeling heavy or sticky. It’s perfect for days when my skin feels tight or needs extra nourishment, and it layers beautifully under serums and moisturizers.”

I personally love this formula for days when my combination skin leans dry. It makes my skin look immediately bouncier and dewier, and my face just drinks it up. You also get a lot of product for the price. I have the mini size here, which is great for travel; the full size is significantly larger.

• Toner type: Repairing milk toner
• Key ingredients: Rice bran extract, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, cica, licorice root extract, ceramides
• Highlights: Good for dry and sensitive skin; long-lasting intense hydration

If you want a toner that gives glass skin (a phrase originating from K-beauty to describe a complexion so smooth and glowy that it looks reflective), you need to try this mesmerizing Numbuzin toner. Part of the glow comes from subtle light-reflecting particles, but the formula is also packed with derm-loved ingredients. “This toner offers more than superficial hydration,” says Dr. Hwang. “It contains NAD+ and PDRN, which are both regenerative ingredients often used in clinical injectable skin boosters, and seeing them in a topical format is compelling.” NAD+ helps boost cellular turnover, while PDRN is currently trending in K-beauty for its regenerating and firming effects. They’re paired with other brightening, firming ingredients like niacinamide and peptides. “I’ve used this toner for over a week and noticed visible improvement in brightness and overall skin vitality,” says Dr. Hwang. “It’s suitable for patients with dull, fatigued skin, and can complement antioxidant or brightening regimens very well.”

I’ve been testing this toner since launch, and it’s quickly become my favorite formula for my morning skin-care routine. While it looks shimmery in the bottle, it’s subtle once applied, leaving my skin luminous, not glittery. I love how hydrated and plump my skin feels after each application, and even on days when I don’t wear makeup, it makes me look instantly more refreshed.

• Toner type: Brightening firming toner
• Key ingredients: NAD+, PDRN, niacinamide, peptides, ceramide NP
• Highlights: Hydrating essence toner; brightening and firming ingredients; recommended for dull or tired skin; light-reflecting particles boost glowy finish

If you need a soothing reset for stressed skin, try this Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Toner. It features centella asiatica extract (also known as cica), an ingredient loved by dermatologists for its potent calming properties. Cica toners are usually designed to treat sensitive, reactive skin, but this multitasking bottle packs additional ingredients like peptides and rose PDRN to help brighten and firm skin while it soothes. This is one of the most watery, refreshing formulas I tested in this roundup, and I love splashing it directly on my face for a cooling start to my skin-care routine. Try it if you dislike heavy toners; it goes on light and absorbs instantly. I also noticed how it made my skin tone look glowier and more even over the two weeks I tested it.

• Toner type: Soothing and brightening skin toner
• Key ingredients: Rose PDRN, peptides, centella asiatica extract, niacinamide, adenosine
• Highlights: Immediate calming and soothing effect; deep hydration; fast absorbing; also targets dullness and skin texture

Cho reaches for this popular formula whenever she needs extra moisture in her routine. “It’s an all-around Korean-beauty favorite,” she says of Anua’s Heartleaf Toner, which has also been showing up all over your TikTok FYP. Infused with 77% heartleaf extract, which studies have shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties, this toner has an immediate soothing, calming effect on inflamed and irritated skin. It’s also extremely hydrating. Cho loves the “slightly viscous” texture that “doubles as a moisturizer if you layer it a few times.”

• Toner type: Soothing toner
• Key ingredients: Heartleaf extract, glycerin, panthenol, centella asiatica
• Highlights: Deeply hydrating; thicker texture; can replace your serum or moisturizer

Editors and dermatologists love peptides for their collagen-stimulating, firming properties. This refillable milk toner pairs a dose of peptides with ceramides, an ingredient with proven barrier-strengthening benefits. “I apply this in the morning, and it’s a nice pick-me-up for my face. I recommend buying the mist pump for easier application, since it’s very runny,” says Jenifer Calle, Glamour’s senior commerce editor. This is Calle’s favorite Korean toner because “it’s great for layering under skin-care products and makeup.”

• Toner type: Hydrating milk toner
• Key ingredients: Ceramides, peptides, white tea leaf
• Highlights: Intensely hydrating; helps improve skin texture and firmness with regular use; refillable bottle