Toner Pad Roundup: Mixsoon, Mediheal, Torriden

I've nearly panned most of these. Though they all serve different purposes, I wanted to post a little comparison review. I primarily use them for daily mini-masking.

Skin type/Climate
For context, I have combo/dehydrated skin that is very sensitive to irritation. I live in an area with hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters.

Mixsoon Galactomyces Toner Pad

• Ingredients: Nothing really special here. Galactomyces ferment is pretty low on the ingredients list. Top ingredients are humectants + niacinamide

• Packaging: 60 pads. The little tweezers were constantly falling when I closed the box, rendering them useless. I had to constantly reach inside and contaminate the pads to grab them back out. The pads themselves are a nice thick material, like a typical cotton pad you find at a drugstore. One side is mildly exfoliating.

• Fragrance: None. Smells ever so slightly ferment-y

• Performance: Not brightening and hydration is just okay. I do like that because the pad is thick, the essence doesn't evaporate so quickly when mini-masking. Nothing special that I can't do with my own toner and cotton pads

• Overall: WNRP. Not brightening, okay hydration, nothing special.

Mediheal Watermide Moisture Pads

• Ingredients: Lots of humectants in this one but also quite a few oils and extracts.

• Packaging: 100 pads— I love the quantity. And because these are absolutely soaked in essence, I didn't have an issue with them drying out in the box. I like that the tweezers are long, but they're stiff to use and it's dfficult to separate pads. The pads are a silky texture, similar to a silky sheet mask. The box itself sometimes doesn't close properly and I've heard it can leak terribly. I haven't tested this and keep it right side up.

• Fragrance: I'm not sure how to describe the fragrance but there definitely is one. Not the biggest fan of it but I can tolerate it

• Performance: Hydration is great but they unfortunately do not last long at all when mini-masking. I feel like they dry up on my skin within minutes sadly.

• Overall: WNRP. Decent hydration but dries up quickly. Prefer to DIY my own.

Mediheal Madecassoside Blemish Pads

• Ingredients: Quite a few plant extracts and oils

• Packaging: 100 pads. Opinions are pretty much the same as the watermide ones. The pads are more of a thin gauze material and sometimes the loose threads are annoying

• Fragrance: Very strong herbal/earthy fragrance, like my asian parent's medicine cabinet (but in a good way). I personally love how it smells but I can see I being off-putting to some. Much stronger than how the sheet mask version smells

• Performance: Very soothing! Not as soothing as the sheet masks but they do have this lovely cooling effect. Like the watermide pads, they do dry up rather quickly when mini-masking. I prefer to use the sheet masks for face use instead. But I adore using these on my eyes! I cut them in half and put them on my eyelids when I nap or sleep. They help calm down irritation and puffiness from allergies (cause of said allergies featured in second picture) or when having a sad girl day. And they feel really nice when my eyes feel strained.

• Overall: RP. My indulgent aromatherapy spa treatment. I prefer the sheet masks, but love these specifically for my eyes!

Torriden Balanceful Cica Toner Pads

• Ingredients: I wanted gentle exfoliation and landed on this one because it has both PHA and LHA, and no other actives like BHA, AHA, vitamin c, etc.

• Packaging: 60 pads. The pads are your typical thick cotton pads from a drugstore. The exfoliating side is pretty rough imo. My skin was really not happy with it, even when used gently. I just use the normal side instead.

• Fragrance: None. The natural smell is faint and vaguely chemical in the way most AHA's and BHA's smell.

• Performance: My skin is very sensitive to irritation and can't tolerate actives very well. These have been helpful for more frequent but gentle maintenance of texture and sebaceous filaments. I do have to spot treat with something stronger for acne though. I use them every 1-2 days on my t-zone (cheeks can't tolerate it as well). I didn't realize that there is a toner version of this at the time of purchase. I would like to try that next, but the toner does have betaine salicylate and lactic acid in addition to the PHA and LHA. I'm worried it'll be too harsh for my skin. Would love to hear from anyone who's tried both! Or any other LHA + PHA products.

• Overall: RP…? Great for gentle chemical exfoliation and maintenance of texture and sebaceous filaments. Considering trying the toner version instead though.

After going through these, I vastly prefer DIYing my own for daily mini-masking.s performance-wise and cost-wise. Shout out to the unicharm silicot cotton pads for being soft, thin, and stretchable. They're still thicker than the mediheal toner pads though and last way longer on my face.

I think toner pads are excellent for lazy days or for those that prefer a more "all-in-one" quick step of cleaning, exfoliating, and hydration. The exfoliating ones also tend to be much gentler than regular chemical exfoliants, so those with sensitive skin may like them. But otherwise, I've satisfied my curiosity and won't be trying any new ones.