Guide
Do you need a toner? What Korean toner labels show
“Do I actually need a toner?” comes up all the time, and the pages that answer it are mostly written by shops that sell toners. We read the research those answers lean on and the ingredient lists of the two Korean toners we track. We haven’t tested any of these products.
The pH reason, and where it comes from
The classic argument goes like this. Peach & Lily, a K-beauty retailer, says a toner is “first and foremost, used to balance your skin’s pH levels (normally around 5.5) after you cleanse with your normal face wash.”
The research we read doesn’t show a toner is needed for that. Skin is acidic, and it rebalances itself. In a 2006 study of 330 people, Lambers and colleagues estimated that skin’s natural surface pH averages 4.7. Plain tap water, which is around pH 8 in Europe, raised skin pH for up to six hours before it returned to that level without help.
The alkaline problem is soap. A 2014 study by Indian dermatologists measured market soaps and found most had a pH of 9 to 10. Many K-beauty cleansers are acidic to begin with: COSRX lists its Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser at “pH 5.31±1.00” on its own product page.
The two studies don’t agree on what “normal” is. The 2014 paper uses 5.4 to 5.9 and the 2006 one 4.7. Both still sit below a typical bar of soap. If you wash with a low-pH cleanser, the pH case for toner is weak. We didn’t find a study that tests whether a toner speeds up the return.
What’s in a Korean toner
We read the ingredient lists on each brand’s own page on 6 October 2026. Ingredients are listed from most to least, so the first few make up most of the bottle.
| Toner | Ingredients | First four |
|---|---|---|
| Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner, 250 ml | 24 | Heartleaf water, water, 1,2-hexanediol, glycerin |
| Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner, 200 ml | 16 | Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, pentylene glycol |
Both are mostly water plus humectants, ingredients that hold water in the skin’s outer layer. Neither lists denatured alcohol, witch hazel, fragrance or an exfoliating acid. Anua’s first ingredient is a plant water from heartleaf, so it does carry a botanical higher up the list. For a head-to-head on price and lists, see our Anua vs Round Lab comparison.
Across all 17 ingredient lists we track, none includes denatured alcohol. The word “alcohol” appears only inside other ingredient names, such as cetearyl alcohol in the COSRX snail cream, and those are different ingredients.
Your moisturizer may already do this
The toners’ main humectants turn up again in the moisturizers we track.
| Product | Type | Glycerin | Butylene glycol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round Lab Dokdo Toner | Toner | 3rd of 16 | 2nd |
| Anua Heartleaf 77 | Toner | 4th of 24 | 6th |
| Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream | Moisturizer | 2nd of 37 | 7th |
| COSRX Advanced Snail 92 cream | Moisturizer | Not listed | 4th of 21 |
| Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream | Moisturizer | 40th of 48 | 4th |
A toner gives you another layer of the same kind of ingredient before your moisturizer. Some people like that, especially in dry indoor heat. It isn’t a separate job that nothing else in your routine does.
Exfoliating “toners” are a different product
Some liquids used at the toner step are exfoliants. COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid opens with willow bark water and lists betaine salicylate third of ten. Two other products we track also contain betaine salicylate: Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum (8th of 30) and the COSRX gel cleanser (19th of 25). If you use the BHA liquid, you don’t need a hydrating toner to do the same job. Our BHA and niacinamide guide covers how it fits with other products.
What a toner costs
Prices are the lowest in-stock CAD price in our October Price Index, observed between 5 and 10 October 2026.
| Product | Lowest price | Store | Per 100 ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round Lab Dokdo Toner, 200 ml | C$16.74 | Lakinza | C$8.37 |
| Anua Heartleaf 77, 250 ml | C$21.19 | Stylevana | C$8.48 |
| I’m From Rice Toner, 150 ml | C$22.22 | YesStyle | C$14.81 |
| COSRX BHA liquid, 100 ml | C$16.99 | Stylevana | C$16.99 |
Leaving out cleansers, the two hydrating toners are the cheapest products we track per 100 ml. We added the I’m From toner’s ingredient list on 10 October 2026, after the tables above were written, so it isn’t counted in them. Every store’s price is on the Round Lab toner page.
Who might still want one
If you like the feel of an extra watery layer, that’s a fair reason to keep one. It’s preference, not a requirement.
If you wash with bar soap, switching to a low-pH cleanser does more for pH than adding a step afterwards.
If you’d rather cut a step or save money, skip it, and check that your moisturizer lists a humectant such as glycerin near the top.
Patch test anything new, and see a pharmacist or dermatologist if your skin reacts. That’s general caution, not medical advice.
What we could not verify
- Whether a hydrating toner changes skin hydration or pH compared with skipping it. We didn’t find a study that tests this.
- How much of each ingredient is in either toner. A list gives order, not percentages.
- The I’m From Rice Toner’s ingredients. The brand’s site didn’t list them when we checked.
Sources
Read on 8 October 2026:
- Lambers H. et al., “Natural skin surface pH is on average below 5, which is beneficial for its resident flora”, International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2006. Abstract on PubMed.
- Tarun J. et al., “Evaluation of pH of Bathing Soaps and Shampoos for Skin and Hair Care”, Indian Journal of Dermatology, 2014. Full text on PubMed Central.
- COSRX’s page for the Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser, for its stated pH.
- Peach & Lily’s post on why you need a toner, for the pH quote.
- Anua’s page for the Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner, for its ingredient list.
- Round Lab’s page for the 1025 Dokdo Toner, for its ingredient list.
Keep going
- See where a toner sits in our routine order guide.
- Learn what list position means in how to read an ingredient list.
- Compare every Canadian price in the Price Index.
Continue: pages this guide points to
Questions people ask
Do you need a toner in a Korean skincare routine?
No. It's an optional step. The usual reason given, rebalancing pH after cleansing, mattered more with alkaline soap than with today's low-pH cleansers. The Korean toners we track are mostly water and humectants such as glycerin and butylene glycol, which most moisturizers also contain.
Does toner restore your skin's pH?
A 2006 study of 330 people found that skin's natural surface pH averages about 4.7, and that after washing with tap water it returns to that level on its own within about six hours. A low-pH cleanser such as COSRX's, which the brand lists at pH 5.31, moves it less in the first place.
What is the difference between a Korean toner and a Western toner?
The Korean toners we track are hydrating liquids. Water or a plant water comes first, then humectants. Neither lists denatured alcohol, fragrance or an exfoliating acid. Some toners sold elsewhere are astringents with alcohol, so read the list rather than trusting the word on the bottle.
Is COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid a toner?
It's used at the same step, after cleansing, but it does a different job. Its ingredient list puts betaine salicylate, an exfoliant related to salicylic acid, third of ten. Treat it as an exfoliant, not a hydrating toner.
How much does a Korean toner cost in Canada?
In our October 2026 Price Index, Round Lab Dokdo Toner was C$8.37 per 100 ml at its lowest in-stock price and Anua Heartleaf 77 was C$8.48. Leaving out cleansers, those were the two cheapest products per 100 ml that we track.