Best Korean toners in Australia

By Claire Doyle · Updated October 2026 · 7 min read · How we rank

Korean brands use the word toner differently from older Western products. Older Western toners were drying liquids that left skin feeling tight. Korean toners are hydrating steps. You press a thin layer into the skin after cleansing to add moisture before the rest of your routine. Toners differ a lot. Some only hydrate and calm the skin. Others also contain gentle exfoliating acids. We've picked three that cover what most people need: an everyday hydrating toner, a calming toner for easily irritated skin, and an exfoliating toner for blocked pores. We also explain who each one suits.

Best overall

Round Lab

1025 Dokdo Toner

4.4

A short, fragrance-free formula that rehydrates skin after cleansing. It has few ingredients that commonly cause reactions.

What we like

Simple, fragrance-free, alcohol-free
Simple moisturising formula, no acids

Keep in mind

No exfoliating acid and no treatment effect
A deliberately simple formula

Price guide $$ · 200ml Check current price →

Best heartleaf toner

Anua

Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner

4.3

A fragrance-free toner that is 77% heartleaf extract. It's aimed at calming skin that reddens easily, with light hydration.

What we like

Built for reactive, easily-reddened skin
The biggest bottle of the three

Keep in mind

Does not treat texture, spots or marks
Light hydration; still needs a moisturiser

Price guide $$ · 250ml Check current price →

Best exfoliating toner

Some By Mi

AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner

4.0

A low-dose exfoliating toner on a tea-tree-water base, for oily skin with blocked pores that needs more than hydration.

What we like

Low-dose acids aimed at rough texture
Good for oily, blemish-prone skin

Keep in mind

Too active for very reactive or dry skin
Best used only a few nights a week

Price guide $$ · 150ml Check current price →

Where it fits in the routine

At a glance

Feature	Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner	Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner	Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner
Type	Hydrating toner	Soothing toner	Exfoliating toner
Where it fits	Step 2 — after cleansing, before essence or serum
Hero ingredient	Deep-sea water + panthenol	77% heartleaf (Houttuynia cordata)	AHA/BHA/PHA + tea-tree water
Size	200ml	250ml	150ml
Skin types	All, especially dry or sensitive	All, especially sensitive or redness-prone	Oily, combination, blemish-prone
Fragrance	None added	None added	Tea-tree scent

What to look for in a toner

Fragrance and alcohol. A toner stays on your skin for hours and you use it every day, so the ingredient list matters. Fragrance and alcohol are the two ingredients most likely to irritate reactive skin. If your skin is sensitive, look for “fragrance-free” and “alcohol-free” on the label.

Hydration only, or acids too? A plain hydrating toner (like two of our picks) rehydrates and preps skin for the rest of your routine, and that’s all most people need. An exfoliating toner adds mild acids that loosen dead cells on the skin’s surface. These come in three groups: alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) and polyhydroxy acids (PHAs). This smooths texture and clears blocked pores. It suits oily or blemish-prone skin, but the acids act on the skin, so use it with care. Do not use it every night or on reactive or dry skin, and always wear sunscreen the next morning.

Skin type. Sensitive or redness-prone skin benefits most from a soothing formula built around a calming ingredient. Oily or congestion-prone skin gets more from one with acids. Dry or combination skin usually does best with a plain hydrating formula that has little in it to irritate.

Best overall: Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner

Best for most people — anyone who wants a simple, fragrance-free toner that rehydrates skin after cleansing, whatever their skin type.

Choose this toner if you mainly want hydration. The formula has only a few ingredients. It is built around deep-sea water and three humectants, which are ingredients that pull water into the skin: glycerin, betaine and panthenol (provitamin B5). It also contains allantoin to soothe the skin. There’s no alcohol, no added fragrance and no essential oils. That is why it suits skin that reacts to most products.

Press a few drops in with your hands after cleansing, or sweep it on with a cotton pad, then use your next product, such as a serum or a snail mucin essence. It has no exfoliating acids, so it is unlikely to cause problems when you layer treatment products, such as acid serums or retinol, on top.

The formula is simple, so there is little in it to irritate your skin or interfere with your other products. It contains no exfoliating acid, and it does not brighten or treat any skin condition. Round Lab’s ingredient list does include a protease, an enzyme that breaks down protein. The maker says it gives a light exfoliating action. If your skin is already calm and you want a reliable daily hydrating step, this is a good choice. It is also a low-risk toner if you are building your first routine.

Best heartleaf toner: Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner

Best for sensitive, redness-prone skin that flushes easily and mainly needs calming.

The main ingredient in this toner is heartleaf (Houttuynia cordata), a herb long used in Korean skincare to calm irritated skin. Heartleaf sits first on the ingredients list at 77%, ahead of water. Ingredient lists go from the largest amount to the smallest. The evidence for heartleaf comes from lab and animal studies, and there are no trials on people. A 2018 review in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology collects the cell and animal studies that report anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. These studies suggest heartleaf can help calm skin. No trials show that it treats any skin condition.

Like the Dokdo, it’s fragrance-free and alcohol-free, with glycerin, panthenol and a hyaluronic-acid complex doing the hydrating. Anua says it has a cooling effect on contact. The hydration is light, so follow it with a moisturiser. It’s made to calm skin, so don’t expect it to change texture or fade marks.

It comes in the biggest bottle of the three, which suits using it generously every day. There’s a full Anua Heartleaf 77 review if you want the deeper write-up.

Best exfoliating toner: Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner

Best for oily and blemish-prone skin dealing with rough texture and congestion — used a few nights a week.

This is the only pick here with exfoliating acids. It’s a toner built on tea-tree leaf water and a low dose of three exfoliating acids: AHA and PHA, which work on the surface, and BHA (salicylic acid), which is oil-soluble so it can get down into a pore. Hydroxy acids like these loosen the bonds holding dead surface cells together so they shed more evenly, which over time can smooth rough texture and help keep pores clear — the mechanism is set out in this review of how hydroxy acids work.

The acids are at a gentle dose, and the formula also contains niacinamide. Even so, this is an active toner, because the acids exfoliate the skin. It has a tea-tree scent. Acids plus fragrance can be too much for very reactive or dry skin. Use it on only a few evenings a week, and build up slowly. Wear sunscreen too, because exfoliating acids make fresh skin more sensitive to the sun, and the Australian sun is strong.

If your skin is oily or prone to congestion and a plain hydrating toner has not helped enough, choose this one. If your skin is calm or dry, choose one of the two toners above instead.

Which one’s right for you?

If you only want a toner to rehydrate skin after cleansing, the Round Lab Dokdo is a safe choice for almost any skin type. Choose the Anua Heartleaf 77 when your skin is red and reactive and you want a calming step. And if your skin is oily, rough or congested, the Some By Mi adds the exfoliating acids that the other two leave out. Use it only now and then, because its acids exfoliate the skin.

Our verdict

If you’re new to Korean skincare, start with the Round Lab Dokdo. It has little in it to irritate your skin, and it is simple to use every day. Once you know how your skin reacts, you can add a second toner. Add a soothing one for redness. Add an exfoliating one for rough skin or blocked pores. That order matters, because your skin should be settled on a simple routine before you add an active product such as an exfoliating toner.

If you already have a routine and want to improve it, the Anua and Some By Mi each do one narrower job, and they do it better than the Dokdo. One practical note on all three: patch-test first, introduce one product at a time, and use each one for a full two weeks before you judge it.