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When I was growing up, toner used to sting. So I thought it was a bit of a con, and have only reintroduced it into my regime in the past couple of years.
Newsflash: it’s not a con. A good toner can tighten pores, hydrate your skin, remove dead skin cells and remove excess oil. All without stinging. And – for ethical buyers – without animal testing.
This list has been ‘toned’ itself. I’ve only included toners that I’ve tried and would use again. A few are from small, independent companies (they often use the freshest, most natural ingredients) and some from big, well-known brands.
We’ve kept this list to the best of the best, but within here, there is something to suit every face and every budget.
The Best Cruelty-Free & Vegan Toners for Sensitive Skin
Flawless Rose and Lavender
Best overall toner
Flawless are my favourite skincare company and their rose and lavender scented toner is near to perfect.
- £5.95
- 100ml
- Certified cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Ships from Wrexham
- Alcohol-free, plastic-free and zero waste
- Recycled glass bottle and recycled aluminium lid
- Suitable for all skin types – including sensitive skin
It has a beautiful, natural scent, tightens pores and removes excess grime. It also contains witch hazel, and is soothing on sensitive skin.
The ingredients are fresh and ‘minimal’ (i.e. no nasties), and the glass bottle is recyclable so there is no plastic waste.
PIXI Glow Tonic Home & Away
Best toner for sensitive skin
PIXI’s Glow Tonic Home and Away Duo is an award-winning cruelty-free toner that gently strips away excess oils and impurities.
The addition of aloe vera and botanical extracts makes this toner perfect for sensitive skin. Invigorating and hydrating in equal measure.
The award-winning formula is contains glycolic acid – gently cleansing your pores – and aloe vera – which soothes and conditions.
- £25
- 250ml
- Certified cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Alcohol-free
- Highly concentrated, but gentle botanical / acidic formula
- 5% glycolic acid
- Highly suitable for sensitive skin
Tropic Vitamin Toner; Pore Refining Mist
Best toning spray
TROPIC are a lovely, green, ethical skincare and makeup company, using fresh ingredients, with beautiful packaging.
Its toner is a refreshing spray (I use the scented version, which smells of light florals/roses) and I struggle to not spray myself on the hour, every hour with this.
- £14
- 120ml
- Certified Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Ships from UK
- Not entirely plastic-free but their bottles are recycled and refillable. TROPIC offset double their carbon emissions too
- Suitable for all skin types – including sensitive skin
You can also use this on top of makeup to set it, or to give you a nice little refresh during the day.
The hero ingredients include: aloe vera juice, vitamins B5, B5, and C and mineral sulfur.
Read our ethical review of Tropic here.
The Best Cruelty-Free & Vegan Toners for Oily Skin
The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner
Best toner for oily skin
The Body Shop have long been cruelty free supporters and activists.
I most often buy Body Shop products when I’m on holiday (or in Stansted airport) and need a brand I can trust.
This tea tree toner (using Fair Trade tea tree oil from Kenya) is perfect for oily skin. It’s mattifying and tea tree is an antiseptic, so it’s not the most gentle on the skin, but it works.
- £8.50
- 250ml
- Certified Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Ships from UK
- Unfortunately they aren’t plastic-free as the bottle is (quite literally) plastic
- Not alcohol-free
I use this on holidays when my skin tends to be oilier and there is more dirt/grime to remove!
Read our cruelty-free review of The Body Shop here.
The Best Cruelty-Free & Vegan Toners for Combination Skin
Herbivore Jasmine Green Tea Balancing Toner
Best toner for combination skin
Herbivore’s cute little bottle of toner is expensive, but effective.
Packed full of antioxidants and plenty of natural ingredients (witch hazel, bark extract, ginger, bergamot), this toner helps calm redness, as well as combat excess oil and inflammation.
- £31
- 120ml
- Certified cruelty free by PETA
- Vegan
- Ships from UK
- Not entirely plastic free but the bottle is recyclable
- Alcohol-free
Oh, and it smells bloody lovely too. Jasmine green tea isn’t just for drinking!
The Best Glycolic Cruelty-Free and Vegan Toners
Evolve Liquid Radiance Glycolic Toner
Best glycolic toner
Glycolic acid toners (the active ingredient here is sugar) offer a form of exfoliation that gives you smoother, brighter skin.
This glycolic toner from Evole is 100% natural and contains sugar cane, apple acid, citrus acid as well as Galactoarabinan (from larch trees).
- £20
- 100ml
- Certified Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Ships from UK
- Not plastic free
- Especially suitable for those with sensitive and oily skin
It doesn’t dry the skin, and is subtly fragranced with orange flower water.
Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Toner 5%
Best budget glycolic toner
All Superdrug own brand products are cruelty free.
This glycolic toner isn’t as natural or boutique as some on this list, but it is the perfect alternative to high street versions like Garnier and Simple.
- £6.99
- 100ml
- Superdrug themselves are certified cruelty free (by PETA), but they do make money from selling products that aren’t cruelty free
- Vegan
- Ships from UK
- Not plastic free
- Alcohol-free
- All skin types – particularly for oily skin
This toner has Kiwi and Mulberry fruit extract and has really excellent customer reviews too.
The Best Cruelty-Free & Vegan Toners for Anti-Ageing
NIP+FAB Retinol Fix Tonic Extreme
Best toner for glowing skin
This NIP+FAB toner lives up to its name. It works really hard and almost gives you a facial.
The 0.3% retinol acts almost as an exfoliant, and really plumps your skin (good for anti-ageing!).
- £24.95 – always a sale
- 100ml
- Certified cruelty free by PETA
- Vegan
- Ships from UK
- Not entirely plastic free but the bottle is recyclable
- Not alcohol-free
This isn’t great for sensitive skin, and should only be used a few times a week.
Wrapping Up – The 8 Best Toners
Using a toner is a skin routine must. It not only gets rid of extra oil, and grime (yep, sometimes cleansing alone doesn’t catch everything), but it refreshes your skin too.
It seems obvious to say, but if you want toned skin, use a toner.
Some of the big brands still dominate the toner market. If you are looking for simple alternatives then look no further than Superdrug’s own brand – just as good as Garnier and L’oreal, but with no animal testing.
If you want to go even more ethical, or more natural – try brands like Flawless, TROPIC or Herbivore – their toners are all exquisitely packaged and beautifully gentle on the skin.
FAQs
Our favourites are The Body Shop, Superdrug own brand, Sainsbury’s own brand, Marks and Spencers own brand, Flawless, Lumene, NIP+FAB, Evolve, Herbivore, TROPIC.
L’oreal, La Roche Posay, Olay, Clearasil, Nivea, Eucerin.
Toners typically contain active ingredients like acid – hyaluronic, glycolic and mandelic acids are most common. These ingredients are active in chemically exfoliating the skin without needing any elbow grease from your part.
Natural toners are made without the use of parabens, sulfates, phthalates or any other harsh chemicals.
Typically they’re used because chemically-forward toners can leave your skin feeling dry. Substitutes include:
– Witch hazel
– Apple cider vinegar
– Rose water
– Essential oils
– Green tea
No hyaluronic acid is not a toner in itself. Whilst it is present in a lot of toners, it is more typically used in serums, face mists, essences and moisturisers.
One is not necessarily better than the other. They are different products, for different purposes. Toners have restorative properties. They cleanse your skin and restore its natural pH balance. Serums on the other hand provide a high concentration of active ingredients to your skin. We recommend using both.
Rose water is a natural toner. Because it possesses astringent-like properties, rosewater helps clean pores and tone the skin.
Rose water is made by distilling rose petals – typically from the Damask rose – with steam.
Through a lot of product testing and product analysis, but to be more specific, all toners featured in our list had to be:
– Cruelty free, either certified by PETA or via a cruelty free guarantee
– Vegan. While not all the brands are vegan, all the products featured here are
– Used by me. I have used them all so I can give some personal insight, rather than just regurgitating marketing materials from the brands themselves (although all of the marketing is truly excellent, which is why I bought them in the first place!)
– Affordable. We haven’t featured anything truly outrageous
– A mix: we have featured a mix of small, independent and large retailers
