Where does this toner go in my routine?

Straight after cleansing, morning and evening, while the face is still damp. Anything thinner than a toner goes on before it, and anything richer goes on after. If you are adding it to a routine you already like, give it a week on its own first, so what you see is the Gluconolactone and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market toner or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Gluconolactone and all. We match this toner to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

What else is on the list besides Gluconolactone?

Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Streptococcus Thermophilus Ferment and Lactobacillus Ferment. The order they are printed in on this toner's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Gluconolactone sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Ceramide NP, Cholesterol and Phytosphingosine.

Biodance

Skin Refining Mild PHA Toner 150ml

Name: Biodance Skin Refining Mild PHA Toner 150ml
Brand: Biodance
SKU: 9810042673
Price: 42.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Skin Refining Mild PHA Toner 150ml is Biodance's toner, built around Gluconolactone for a routine step in a real skincare rotation that actually earns its place.

Reviewed by Nurcan Saglam, licensed dermo-cosmetic expert (Paris)

No reviews yet

$42.50

150 ml

$28.33 per 100 ml

Korean-market formula
Ships from California or direct from Korea
Korean barcode and batch code intact

Suited to: Congested skinUneven textureDry skinCompromised barrier

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Gluconolactone in a tonerRoutines that want Gluconolactone and Capryloyl Salicylic Acid in one stepFilling the toner step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Gluconolactone toner sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$42.50

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$38.25

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The Skin Refining Mild PHA Toner is a 150ml toner, used straight after cleansing, morning and evening, while the face is still damp. The exfoliant it is built around is Gluconolactone, named second on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Streptococcus Thermophilus Ferment and Lactobacillus Ferment, so the exfoliant is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Gluconolactone stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the toner format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the toner Biodance sells in Korea, Gluconolactone and all.

Key benefits

Gluconolactone, the exfoliant this toner is built around
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid on the same list, an exfoliant
Streptococcus Thermophilus Ferment and Lactobacillus Ferment on the same list, ferments
Ceramide NP on the same list, a barrier lipid
Cholesterol and Phytosphingosine further down the same list
Ceramide NG and Ceramide NS further down the same list

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 5

39 of 40 explained

Water solvent: Water is the base almost every serum, toner and cream is built on. It dissolves the water-loving ingredients and sets how light the finished texture feels. On an INCI list it is usually first, which only means it is the largest single ingredient by weight.
Gluconolactone exfoliant: Gluconolactone is a PHA, the gentlest exfoliant class. Its molecule is too large to penetrate quickly, so it smooths the surface without the sting of an AHA, and it is a humectant at the same time.
2,3-Butanediol humectant: 2,3-Butanediol is a fermentation-derived glycol. It hydrates and, like the other longer glycols, makes a formula harder for microbes to grow in.
Butylene Glycol humectant: Butylene Glycol is a small glycol that does two jobs at once: it holds water in the top layer of skin and it dissolves plant extracts and actives that plain water cannot. It also thins a formula, which is why watery Korean essences lean on it.
Tromethamine pH adjuster: Tromethamine neutralises acidic thickeners such as carbomer so they gel, and holds a formula near skin-friendly pH. It is used at a fraction of a percent.
Glycereth-26 humectant: Glycereth-26 is a modified glycerin that hydrates with far less stickiness than glycerin itself. It is a common way to load water into a formula that has to stay light.
Streptococcus Thermophilus Ferment ferment: Streptococcus Thermophilus Ferment is a yoghurt-culture ferment. It is used for its conditioning effect on the outer layer of skin.
Panthenol humectant: Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
Chlorella Vulgaris Extract plant extract: Chlorella Vulgaris is a freshwater green algae. Its extract carries proteins, chlorophyll and amino acids and is used as a conditioning ingredient.
Glucose humectant: Glucose is a simple sugar used as a humectant and as food for the ferment ingredients in the same formula. It hydrates mildly and adds a soft slip.
Fructooligosaccharides humectant: Fructooligosaccharides are short fructose chains used as humectants and as food for the skin's own resident microbes.
Fructose humectant: Fructose is a simple sugar used as a light humectant. It holds water in the outer layer and often arrives as part of a fruit or honey extract.

27 more explained

Sodium PCA humectant: Sodium PCA is one of the substances skin makes for itself to hold water, part of what dermatology calls the natural moisturising factor. Added to a formula it is a strong humectant that suits skin that dehydrates quickly.
Sodium Phytate chelator: Sodium Phytate is a rice-derived chelator used in place of EDTA. It ties up trace metals so the formula stays stable and its colour and scent hold.
1,2-Hexanediol humectant: 1,2-Hexanediol is a glycol used for two reasons: it holds water like glycerin, and it makes a formula harder for microbes to live in, so less traditional preservative is needed. Korean formulas use it heavily for that second reason.
Sodium Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is hyaluronic acid cut into much shorter fragments. The smaller the fragment, the further into the outer layer it can settle, which is why serums stack several sizes together instead of using one.
Pyrus Malus (Apple) Juice plant extract: Apple juice used in place of part of the water in a formula. It carries sugars and malic acid and is a dilute base ingredient rather than an active.
Cynanchum Atratum Extract plant extract: Cynanchum Atratum is a root used in Korean traditional practice. Its extract is used as a conditioning plant extract in formulas for reactive skin.
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative booster: Ethylhexylglycerin softens skin and boosts a preservative system, which is why it is nearly always sitting beside phenoxyethanol or 1,2-hexanediol. It also cuts down the odour bacteria produce, so it turns up in deodorising products.
Althaea Rosea Flower Extract plant extract: Althaea Rosea is hollyhock, a mallow relative rich in mucilage. Its flower extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned, slippery feel.
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid exfoliant: Capryloyl Salicylic Acid is salicylic acid with a fatty tail, sometimes sold as LHA. It stays nearer the surface than salicylic acid and works at a higher pH, so it exfoliates more evenly and more gently.
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein protein: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein is plant protein cut into water-soluble fragments. It forms a light conditioning film that holds water at the surface.
Maltodextrin film former: Maltodextrin is a starch-derived sugar chain used to carry powdered extracts and to form a light film. It also gives a soft, smoothing feel.
Hydrogenated Lecithin emulsifier: Hydrogenated Lecithin is lecithin with its unsaturated bonds filled in, which makes it far more stable. It emulsifies and is the standard shell for the liposomes that carry actives into the outer layer of skin.
Cetearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Cetearyl Alcohol is a waxy solid, not the drying kind of alcohol. It is a blend of cetyl and stearyl alcohols used to thicken a cream and keep oil and water from separating, and it softens skin as it does so.
Stearic Acid fatty acid: Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid from plant fats, and one of the three lipid classes skin's own barrier is built from. In a formula it thickens, stabilises the emulsion and can be turned into a soap-style cleanser by adding a base.
Linolenic Acid fatty acid: Linolenic Acid is an omega-3 fatty acid from seed oils. It is an emollient and part of the lipid mix skin uses in its own surface layer.
Sucrose humectant: Sucrose is table sugar, used here as a humectant. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and, in a scrub, doubles as the physical grain.
Lactobacillus Ferment ferment: Lactobacillus Ferment is the liquid left after lactobacillus bacteria have fermented a plant or milk substrate. It carries the small molecules the fermentation produced, including lactic acid and amino acids, and is used for the look of dull, uneven skin.
Ceramide NP barrier lipid: Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy.
Cholesterol barrier lipid: Cholesterol is the third of the three lipids the outer layer of skin is built from, with ceramides and fatty acids. Formulas that carry all three are following the ratio skin itself holds.
Phytosphingosine barrier lipid: Phytosphingosine is the backbone every ceramide is built on, and skin uses it in its own lipid layer. In a formula it works with ceramides and cholesterol and also keeps the product stable against microbes.
Ceramide NG barrier lipid: One of the ceramide types found between skin cells, also written ceramide 2. Ceramides are the lipid that fills the space between cells in the outer layer.
Ceramide NS barrier lipid: Ceramide NS is another of the ceramides skin makes for itself. It is used alongside NP and AP so a formula supplies a mixture rather than a single lipid.
Ceramide AP barrier lipid: Ceramide AP is a second cosmetic ceramide, distinguished by an extra hydroxyl group. Formulas that name several ceramides are copying the mix skin actually holds rather than relying on one.
Ceramide AS barrier lipid: Ceramide AS is a further member of the same lipid family. Its presence usually signals a formula built around a full ceramide profile rather than a single headline one.
Disodium EDTA chelator: EDTA is a chelator: it locks up trace metal ions from water and packaging that would otherwise turn a formula cloudy, off-colour or rancid. It does nothing to skin and appears at a fraction of a percent.
Ceramide EOP barrier lipid: Ceramide EOP is the ceramide with the longest tail, and in skin it acts as the rivet holding the lipid layers together. It is the third member of the standard cosmetic ceramide trio.

How to use

Start at three or four nights a week and build to nightly only if the skin stays comfortable.
Pat a coin sized pool over the face with your palms rather than sweeping it off with a pad.
Follow with a serum and moisturiser, since a refining step leaves the surface bare.
Do not use it on the same night as a stronger acid or a retinoid while either is new to you.

Worth knowing

Patch test this toner on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Gluconolactone on the list.
Gluconolactone and Salicylic Acid on this list makes this toner an exfoliating step, so do not stack it with another one on the same night.

Complete the routine

This itemBiodance Skin Refining Mild PHA Toner 150ml$42.50
The treatment step of this routineBiodance Skin Glow Vital Ampoule 30ml$65.00
Prep after cleansing, before the treatment stepBiodance Sea kelp Gel Toner Pads 140g/60ea$45.00

Total for 3 items$152.50

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Biodance, Korean-market original

Biodance Skin Refining Mild PHA Toner 150ml: a toner built around Gluconolactone, sourced as the authentic Korean-market formula and.

Verify your unit when it arrives

Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.

On the unit itself

The Korean-market barcode, unaltered from the retail package.
The manufacturer’s batch code, exactly as the maker printed it.

정품Genuine article, Korean-market stock

What professionals say

What skin-care professionals say about skin care, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Your skin barrier is basically your outer layer of the skin.
Melissa Piliang, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Pretty much every step of a Korean skin care routine is going to have some component of hydration.
Alok Vij, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic