Korea’s Hottest New Toning Trends

Today, we’re exploring Korea’s hottest new toning trends and how to do them.

There has been an explosion in the popularity of toning in Korean skincare over the last few years, spawning a variety of different ways to tone your face.

Toning In Korea

Toning your skin properly is all the rage in Korea right now, with a range of different methods for various different skin types, as well as new categories of products for them. Toner is known by various names in Korea, including “Skin”, “Toner”, “Softener” and even “Booster”.

This year’s hottest toning trends are:

1. The 7 Skins Method;

2. The DDak To Method;

3. The Chap To Method

Method 1: The 7 Skins Method

This is probably the most well-known of the three, having been in vogue in Korea since 2018. We’ve previously discussed the 7 Skins method, as well as the best Korean toners to use for it. However, the 7 Skins Method has had a few minor twists in 2020:

• People are doing it with either an essence or toner; and
• 7 Skins is replacing sheet masking = this is known as a ‘Mini Pack’.

A mini pack is the process of applying your toner to ultra-thin and absorbent cotton pads, which you place over your face for 10 minutes. This is done to replace your sheet mask.

The cotton pads used for the Mini Pack are super thin – they’re not the ones you use to remove makeup in other countries (i.e. cotton rounds). Instead, these are special pads designed specifically for the 7 skins method. The popularity of the 7 Skins Method has also resulted in the boom in ‘mist’ type products in K-Beauty.

Mist Toners have become much more common, and that’s largely thanks to everyone doing the 7 skins method. Misting makes it even easier to apply several layers of toner, and mist toners are perfect for people with sensitive skin, as they involve much less friction on the skin because you don’t need to use your hands.

Method 2: The Ddak To Method

This is a new toner method that’s quickly gaining popularity in Korea. It is perfect for people with lacklustre skin in need of gentle exfoliation. As a quick guide to which skin types are best suited to it:

Oily Skin = Great

Dry Skin = Okay

Sensitive Skin = Bad

How it’s Different to 7 Skins: The Ddak To method is about exfoliation and removing grime, which is different from the 7 Skins Method, as it focuses solely on hydration.

Ddak Da means “to wipe” in Korean, which is where this method gets itss name from – you are wiping the toner over your face, hence Ddak (wiping) To (as in Toner).

The Ddak To Method involves using your toner as another step in cleansing, to remove debris and gently exfoliate the skin. To try it, after cleansing your face leave your face wet and don’t wipe the water off it.

Soak a cotton pad with a gentle, pH balanced toner and really gently massage this all over your face, following the natural grain of your skin. This method has a double function of cleansing and hydrating the skin at the same time.

What Toners To Use:

Water-type toners need to be used for the Ddak To method.Try:

Jelly Ko Dewy Glaze Toner - This incredibly hydrating moisturiser will leave you with that dewy, glassy, perfect skin you've been dreaming of. Containing Birch Sap and 3 types of Hyaluronic Acid, as well as Chinaberry plant extract. Oh, and it's also Vegan and Cruelty Free. Divine. 

iUNIK Tea Tree Relief Toner – a dual-function toner that’s perfect for sensitive skin, containing star calming ingredients tea tree (67%), centella asiatica (20%) and portulaca extract to moisturise and nourish while keeping skin clean and clear.

Isntree Green Tea Fresh Toner – Perfect for oily and combination skin types, this toner uses natural, EWG “green grade” ingredients to balance and nourish the complexion. The formula is 100% vegan and cruelty free and has a pH of 5.8, making it perfect for the 7 skins method.

Method 3: "The Chap To Method"

The Chap To Method involves applying a really thick toner in your hand and then gently patting and pressing it into the skin to help absorption.

The name “Chap To” comes from the sound you make as you pat the toner into your skin – “Chap Chap”. “To” stands for “Toner” = Put them together and you’ve got “Chap To”! To try it, after cleansing pour your toner into your hand.

Gently pat it into your skin using a light ‘tap, tap’ (or “Chap Chap”) motion. At the last step, press your palms into your face softly until the last of the toner is absorbed. Once you’re done, you can move onto your next steps of skincare, including essence, serum and moisturiser.

What Toners To Use:

You’ll need a thick-type toner for this one.

Try products containing ceramides, creams and beta glucan in them.

We love Laneige’s Cream Skin Refiner for this method and Dr Jart’s Ceramidin Liquid.

Which of Korea’s hottest new toning trends are you excited to try out? Let us know in the comments.

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