Top 5 Face Toners For Different Budgets Including Aesop and Dermalogica

To tone or not to tone, that is the question. It's a hot debate in the beauty world, so we spoke to skin expert Emma Hobson, education manager Asia, Australia and NZ, for The International Dermal Institute, to find out the facts.

"Many people think it’s not important to use a toner and consider it a waste of money. The reason for this misconception is due to the traditional function of an old fashioned toner," she says.

"Toners originally were developed to 'remove' the mineral oil based cleansers. Since mineral oil cannot be washed off the skin and traditional cleansers were tissued off, a toner had to contain SD alcohol to remove the cleanser and mineral oil off the skin's surface. The issue that arose from this is that many people found the SD alcohol irritating and drying to their skin, so avoided using a toner."

So why should we use a toner these days? "New spritz toners were designed with skin function in mind; to boost the moisture content of the skin so reducing dehydration, to calm and freshen the skin with plant botanicals, to even out the skin’s surface porosity — meaning balancing out the dry patches — and to introduce water soluble active ingredients into the skin."

Mystery solved! Click through to find out our top five toner picks on every budget.