10 hydrating toners for skin that flakes and peels

Hydrating toners? More like a tall drink of hydration for your skin

Whoever thinks that the beauty enthusiasts are over toners, please look up on the Internet—hydrating toners have re-entered the chat—this time, with a milky upgrade. From Hailey Bieber’s Rhode to The Ordinary, Tirtir, and FAE Beauty, most beauty brands are jumping on the ‘milky toner’ bandwagon. A rage on Instagram and TikTok, these hydrating toners are more than just another layer between your cleanser and serum—they’re good enough to replace your serum or moisturiser, depending on which texture you prefer. Furthermore, these hydrating toners come packed with ingredients that go beyond offering hydration—you can also find exfoliating, plumping, and anti-inflammatory benefits. We put together a list of the 10 best hydrating toners on the market right now to help you cop the best-suited hydration boost for your skin type.

Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner, The Ordinary

With yeast extract and squalane as the primary ingredients, this milky toner delivers gentle exfoliation and moisturisation in equal parts. Additionally, it takes care of bumpy, textured skin by smoothing it and diminishing dark spots and unevenness. Extremely runny (read: lightweight), oil-free, and fragrance-free this award-winning hydrating toner will suit all skin types, including sensitive skin. 

Hydra-Milky Toner, FAE Beauty

A hydrating toner that also fortifies the skin barrier, improves pore health, and keeps damage caused by oxidative stress at bay? That’s why FAE’s Hydra-Milky Toner makes it to this list. Its milky texture and nourishing nature is supported by ingredients such as allantoin, niacinamide, witch hazel extract, White Tea extracts, and mugwort extracts that makes this hydrating toner a powerhouse of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, emollients, and astringents. 

Imbalance, d’you

A spray-on hydrating toner sounds like the perfect pick-me-up for the skin—d’you’s Imbalance is just that. Packed with Hinoki Water—a soothing and calming ingredient native to Japan—along with panthenol, apple juice, vitamin E, madecassic acid, and asiatic acid, it seeps right into the skin, relieving dryness and redness sooner than you’d expect. It also tackles ‘inflammaging’—or signs of inflammation and ageing. 

TIRTIR Milk Toner

This award-winning hydrating toner is a favourite in South Korea, for it smoothens, brightens, and softens the skin without feeling oily or heavy. This milky, hydrating toner contains sodium hyaluronate, ceramides, adenosine, niacinamide, chamomile, and licorice to tackle acne, dryness, texture, dark spots, and early signs of ageing. 

Centella Toning Liquid Toner, SKIN1004

Though not milky, this hydrating toner is perfect for irritated blemish-prone skin. Loaded with 84 per cent of Centella Asiatica extracts, the hydrating formula is enriched with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and PHAs (poly-hydroxy acids) to gently resurface the epidermis and regulate sebum production. Use it like an old-school toner to cleanse your pores and hydrate the skin using a cotton pad, or simply tap it into the skin seven times like the Koreans do.

Bounce Bank Skin Toner, Akind

Extremely beginner-friendly, this lightweight, hydrating toner from Akind packs a punch of hydration for your skin. Infused with skin-benefitting antioxidants, astringents, and soothing agents, it can be used to hydrate the skin post cleansing, prep the skin before applying make-up, or just refresh your skin after wearing sunscreen or make-up.

Cream Skin Cerapeptide Toner, Laneige

If you have a very oily or acne-prone skin and give moisturisers a miss more often than not, turn to this hydrating toner that’s basically watered-down face cream. Glycerin, meadowfoam seed oil, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, peptides, and camellia extract headline the lotion-like toner’s formulation, equipping it to deliver lasting nourishment and barrier support. 

Rosewater Mist, Forest Essentials

Nothing can substitute for a rose water facial spray that’s fresh and fragrant, and instantly uplifts your mood. Besides its therapeutic fragrance, this rosewater-infused hydrating toner also augments the moisture in the deepest levels of your skin, leaving it soft and dewy. This one from Forest Essentials comprises 100 per cent pure-distilled rosewater.

Eau Thermale, Uriage

If your skin is hyper-sensitive to most ingredients and skincare products, this hydrating facial spray from French pharmacy brand Uriage might be worth a try. This hydrating toner’s formulation contains nothing but pure thermal water, packed with naturally-occurring mineral salts, that helps soothe, hydrate, and protect your skin.

Cicapair™ Intensive Soothing Repair Treatment Lotion, Dr. Jart

It’s not unusual for our skin to turn red, irritated, or dull due to pollution and other environmental toxins it is exposed to. Add acne to the mix, and the skin’s health goes for a complete toss. This essence-textured hydrating toner features Centella Asiatica, allantoin, panthenol, madecassic acid, asiatic acid, and vitamin E to heal and rejuvenate the skin. While it helps relieve redness and dryness in a short span, over time, it improves the skin barrier’s resilience too.

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