What is Toner in Skincare, and What Does Toner Do For Your Face?

While the holy trinity of cleanser, serum, and moisturiser is well-publicised in the skincare world, there’s one product many of us tend to overlook: toner.

But what does toner do for skin?

The best-formulated toners retain skin’s natural moisture, rebalance oil levels, and assist in revitalising your complexion – and many skin types can benefit greatly from them.

In this guide, we’ll be demystifying this skincare hero and exploring how to use toner in your routine for radiant results. Transform your daily regime with Lancôme’s bespoke toners for dry skin, oily skin, sensitive skin – and more.

What is toner?

Toners are skincare products with a milky or water-like consistency. A toner sits between cleanser and serums in your daily routine.

Historically, toners have been packed with astringent ingredients – including alcohol and witch hazel – that rob the skin of essential moisture. But today, toners are enriched with a range of efficacious ingredients to support all skin types and various skin concerns.

What does toner do for your face?

Toners can help:

• Remove trace oil and debris missed during cleansing
• Prep the skin for product absorption – including serums and moisturiser
• Refresh and nourish the skin
• Rebalance the skin’s natural pH levels to support the skin moisture barrier
• Support hydration and comfort sensitive skin

Modern-day toners are developed to target a host of different skin concerns, acting as a bridge between cleaning and moisturising stages.

Lancôme’s National Skincare Expert, Brittany Hanchard, breaks it down for us:

“We can view toner as both the final step in the cleansing process and the first step in nourishing the skin after the pores have been opened. In this sense, it really complements your other skincare steps – especially if you have a formula that’s tailored to your skin type.”

Which toner is right for my skin?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to choosing the right toner for your skin. The purpose of toner in skincare depends on your needs, concerns and skin goals.

When integrating a new product into your skincare routine, you want to ensure that each step includes ingredients that support your skin type. For instance, a toner for oily skin is often formulated with potent, sebum-regulating ingredients that might be too harsh for sensitive skin.

To help you choose the right toner for your unique needs, we’ve curated our top picks based on each skin type.

Toner for dry skin

The right toner helps supplement moisture that can be lost during cleansing and improves product absorption for your hydrating serums and moisturiser. When selecting a toner for dry skin, we recommend avoiding alcohol-based formulas and seeking out products with nourishing ingredients that are going to help your skin retain moisture for longer.

Infused with Lancôme’s innovative Absolue Blackbiosis to replenish skin and rose micro-droplets for tonifying moisture, the Absolue L'Extrait The Elixir Lotion is ideal for quenching dry skin and amplifying radiance.

Toner for oily skin

A toner for oily skin can help refine the appearance of pores, regulate sebum production, and support pH-balanced skin – all while removing trace impurities that can exacerbate the look and feel of oily skin.

Look out for toners formulated with chemical exfoliants to control unwanted shine and gently purify the skin. Our Advanced Clarifique Double Treatment Essence has been developed with a blend of four micro-peeling acids – glycolic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, and phytic acid – to boost skin clarity and reduce excess oil.

Toner for sensitive skin

Toners haven’t been historically kind to sensitive skin types – but times have changed!

Sensitive skin is quite susceptible to water loss, but many toners for sensitive skin are enriched with comforting ingredients that support a robust skin moisture barrier.

Leaving skin soft and comfortable, Tonique Confort is infused with renowned hydrators – such as hyaluronic acid, squalane, and glycerin – to impart lasting hydration and reduce visible redness in the skin.

Toner for combination skin

Keeping skin balanced can be something of an uphill battle for combination skin types – but this is where toner can assist. A toner for combination skin will help remove any remaining impurities and control oil-prone areas, while ensuring the skin maintains an optimal level of hydration.

Designed for combination skin, Tonique Douceur is an alcohol-free toner that softens, refines, and refreshes the complexion. Plant extracts and gentle ingredients also make this an effective toner for normal skin to ensure skin stays balanced.

How to use toner in a skincare routine

Now that you have the perfect toner for your skin type, you can start integrating it into your daily skincare regime. But what is toner without the proper application? Much like cleansing products, we recommend using toner twice a day: once in the morning and again at night.

To maximise the efficacy of your toner, you can follow our step-by-step routine below.

1. Cleanse your face with a cleanser that’s formulated for your skin.
2. Apply toner by saturating a cotton pad or placing a few drops into your hands. Disperse the product evenly on your face, neck and chest, gently pressing into the skin.
3. Follow with your targeted serum (or serums). You can follow our guide on how to layer serums for a more detailed breakdown.
4. Seal in hydration with a moisturiser for your skin type, smoothing over the face and neck.

Some of the most effective toners for dry skin and sensitive skin are enriched with moisturising ingredients. Next, we examine the role of emollients, humectants and occlusives in hydrating skincare.