Have you ever wandered through the skincare aisles looking at toners and essences, and thought…wth? Even though they’re both liquids and are kinda priced the same, they actually serve completely different purposes. Do you absolutely need both? Probably not. But knowledge is power, sis, so keep on reading.

Toners

First of all, toners are not the same thing as astringents. If you happen to have any astringents in your vanity, do you skin a favor and bin them. Astringents are very drying and damaging to the skin. In the long run, they make oily skin even oiler. Just say bye and *never* look back.

Toners are water-based formulas with liquid consistencies. Their purpose is to balance the skin’s pH, right around 5.5 for maximum radiance and a fortified skin barrier. When pH is optimised, your skin can best absorb all your skincare ingredients. Toners also help to remove remaining impurities on the skin (not that there should be any there, because we know you double cleanse). They can also be found with added exfoliating ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids to remove dead skin cells so your skincare is applied to fresh skin.

Make sure you avoid toners that contain pro-drying alcohol. This will show up on the ingredients label with names like isopropyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, alcohol denat., SD alcohol 40, and ethyl alcohol. These will strip your skin barrier, cause your skin to redden, and essentially ruin all the hard work you put into having your skin look its best.

We love the Nudeskin 5% Citrus Fruit & Glycolic Glow Toner (Dhs123, Sephora). This vegan toner contains brightening glycolic acid to gently exfoliate the skin, remove remaining impuries, and smooth out skin texture. Apply three times per week. It works great on arms and legs too.

Essences

Essences are water-based with a water-to-serum consistency. They’re sort of a toner-serum hybrid. Instead of balancing pH, they’re meant to nourish skin after cleansing, although some do contain active ingredients in addition to moisturisers. Essences tend to have a small molecular size that allows them to penetrate deep into skin to address your skincare results.

When choosing an essence, be sure to avoid the pro-drying alcohol (same as above) and fragrance. Sometimes brands put drying alcohols into their products because these alcohols are able to penetrate deep into skin (again, *not* what we want). They also can be used as preservatives.

Then I Met You The Giving Essence (Dhs241, Cult Beauty) is packed with antioxidants, moisturisers, and niacinamide to brighten skin and give it a dewy (not oily) finish. This deeply hydrating essence can be used daily after double cleansing.Â