Review: Mizon Skin Turnaround Pore Control Peeling Toner

I've had awful luck in finding a good chemical exfoliant from Korean skincare brands. I've almost succumbed to just ordering a Paula's Choice AHA or BHA, until a redditor posted a list showing the pH of some Mizon toners. While the best one recommended by the boards is hard to purchase in the Philippines (or at least here in Mandaluyong due to customs duties), one of them was readily available from a local store, Suesh. And so, here's my experience with Mizon's Skin Turnaround Pore Control Peeling Toner.

Price and Availability: At 550 php  (12-13 USD) for 50 mL, it is a bit more expensive than Paula's Choice exfoliants. However, this toner is an easy find for me as Suesh has a branch at SM Megamall. As for other locations where there are no nearby Suesh branches, PC exfoliants might be easier since Lazada carries them.

Packaging: The dispensing pump works perfectly, and the box has an English ingredient list and instructions. The glass bottle is simple yet elegant - but if you're a klutz like me, you'll always feel like you might break the bottle!

Texture and Scent: The toner liquid is water-like clear and has no strong scent despite having fragrance as one of its ingredients. It dries pretty quick upon application. Oh, be sure to use a cotton pad instead of a cotton ball to save some product.

Ingredients: (COSDNA link) This toner has both AHA and BHA, in the form of glycolic acid and salicylic acid, respectively. Now for a brief description of the ingredients:

Water - not much to say, except most of our products have water in them, and pH measurements are primarily done in aqueous solutions.

Alcohol - this helps with the quick-to-absorb feel in products, but unfortunately, may cause drying of the skin. Alcohol helps other ingredients penetrate the skin, but it can also irritate the skin. A double-edged sword, in a way.

Glycerin - a humectant, which is an ingredient that can pull water from the deeper layers of the skin to hydrate the upper layers.

Sodium Lactate - according to Wikipedia, it is a "sodium salt of lactic acid". It is also a humectant.

Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil - an emollient, which is an ingredient that gives the skin a soft and smooth feel.

Glycolic Acid / Salicylic Acid - the main characters in charge of removing old skin cells to allow for the new ones to be exposed. Glycolic acid is an AHA, while salicylic acid is a BHA. Both of these group of compounds are the stars of chemical exfoliants, which when used correctly, can do wonders without the risk of injury to the skin from physical exfoliation. These toners must have the right pH of around 3-4 for them to work, though.

And based on this reddit user-contributed image, this toner is okay.
(From imgur)

Oh and a bit of a side note on AHAs and BHAs:
- use a sunscreen as AHAs can make your skin more sensitive to light
- BHAs are not really recommended for pregnant and lactating women

Finish / Effect: With all that alcohol content, I'm quite surprised it did not dry my skin out. In fact, I quite like the smooth feel of my skin ever since I've used this toner. Also, it made my pores look cleaner and smaller, as expected for BHAs. However, it did not do any significant improvement for my dark spots from pimples (aka PIH). I'm guessing it's not powerful enough for my skin.

Rating: Mizon's Pore Control Peeling Toner does control the pores, alright. It meets the required pH range, and with the exception of alcohol, has very good ingredients. While it is a bit more expensive than Paula's Choice exfoliants, this toner is still a good substitute to other hard to purchase toners out there. Personally, I like this toner, but the alcohol in it tempts me to try other products from other brands.

Value for money: 3/5
Ingredients: 4/5
Performance: 4/5
Overall: 3.6/5