We get it: You’re hesitant about adding another step to your already-stacked skin-care routine, but if it’s glass skin you’re after, you’re well-suited for Korean toner pads. For the uninitiated, “toners serve as both a treatment and a way to prep your skin for further products in your multistep skin-care routine,” founder of Soko Glam, Charlotte Cho previously told Vogue.
Vogue’s Favorite Korean Toner Pads
An easily misunderstood step, per Cho, the benefit of opting for a toner pad format is its sheer convenience. While liquid formulas require a separate cotton round (often absorbing more product than your skin does), toner pads come pre-soaked and ready to use—no extra tools required. Housed in sleek jars, often with their own mini tweezers for hygienic retrieval, these pads deliver the perfect dose of product with every swipe.
From excess oil and irritation to dull skin and anti-aging, Korean toner pads reflect K-beauty’s signature balance of skin-first tradition and cutting-edge innovation. Whether you’re after a quick refresh post-cleansing or a targeted 15-minute masking moment (yes, some formulas can double as mini sheet masks), toner pads offer a tailored approach to treating skin. Below, a look at eight formulas to consider, recommended by Vogue editors and the pros.
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Best for Blackheads: Medicube Zero Pore Pads
- Why We Love It: Medicube’s pore pads draw upon plant extracts like cypress leaf and skullcap to limit excess sebum and prevent future congestion, while willow bark extract and lactic acid clear out impurities and visibly tighten pores. Drawing upon traditional Korean rituals in the process to gently exfoliate skin, Glow Recipe co-founder Christine Chang previously told Vogue that “a common bathhouse tradition is to splash spoiled milk onto faces after cleansing as milk contains lactic acid, which helps smooth skin texture and brighten.”
- Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, salicylic acid, willow bark extract, hyaluronic acid, panthenol
- Best For: Enlarged pores, blackheads, oily skin
- Size: 70 pads