The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution for dry skin
Glycolic Acid
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Tasmannia Lanceolata Leaf Extract Fruit
Average
- AverageDry Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
Works for dry skin; other toners fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with dry skin: flakiness, tightness, dehydration, fine lines, and wrinkles. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate exfoliation due to glycolic acid, which can be beneficial for smoothing texture but may cause dryness for your dry skin, even with glycerin present.
- While Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water and Rosa Damascena Flower Water offer soothing benefits, the primary exfoliating function of this formula is not directly aligned with addressing your dry or flaky skin concerns.
- The product is safe for your dry skin as it lacks harsh ingredients and contains soothing components.
How to apply
- Use your exfoliating toner as part of your PM routine once a week to start. If your skin is happy, you can slowly use it more often.
- Apply this exfoliating toner right after your cleanser and before your moisturizer. This keeps your skin care steps in the right order.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the exfoliating toner into your skin with your hands. Let it soak in for a minute before the next step.
- Put the exfoliating toner on clean and dry skin to help it work best. Avoid rubbing so your face stays calm and happy.
- Always do a patch test before your first use and avoid the sensitive eye area.
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 15.0k+ reviewsThis product is widely praised as a "holy grail" multi-purpose exfoliant that delivers smoother, brighter skin and effectively treats texture issues like keratosis pilaris and dandruff. While the vast majority of users love its affordability and versatility for both face and body, it is potent; a significant minority experience stinging, irritation, or a damaged skin barrier if used too frequently or on sensitive skin. This summary is based on a very large amount of data and should definitely be taken into account.
Highlights
Improves texture & glow Mostly Mentioned
- “glass skin effect”
- “bumps gone overnight”
- “instant glow”
- “baby soft face”
Unbeatable value Mostly Mentioned
- “lasts forever”
- “huge bottle for price”
- “best budget toner”
- “bang for buck”
Versatile body application Mostly Mentioned
- “eliminated armpit odor”
- “cleared my dandruff”
- “smoothed strawberry legs”
- “softened cracked heels”
Fades acne & marks Often Mentioned
- “faded dark spots”
- “dried up pimples”
- “reduced hormonal acne”
- “cleared blackheads”
Irritation and stinging Sometimes Noted
- “burns upon application”
- “face turned red”
- “stung badly”
- “itchy sensation”
Unpleasant finish Sometimes Noted
- “sticky residue”
- “feels tacky”
- “greasy film”
- “takes long to dry”
Caused breakouts Rarely Noted
- “gave me cystic acne”
- “tiny bumps appeared”
- “broke me out”
- “worsened my texture”
Too harsh/damaging Rarely Noted
- “ruined moisture barrier”
- “caused chemical burn”
- “dried out skin”
- “skin started peeling”
Sources: lovi.care, sephora.com, ulta.com, theordinary.com, influenster.com, amazon.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toner work for dry skin?
This toner works moderately well for dry skin because it smooths texture with glycolic acid, but it may cause dryness despite containing glycerin and soothing aloe. A product of this type needs hydrating ingredients like sodium hyaluronate and ceramides to nourish dry skin while gently exfoliating it.
Which ingredients make this toner a good fit for dry skin?
The soothing aloe and rose flower water help calm dry skin, but this toner needs added moisturizing ingredients like sodium hyaluronate and ceramides to properly hydrate and nourish dry areas.
What does Glycolic Acid do for dry skin?
Glycolic acid helps smooth and soften dry skin by speeding up the shedding of older surface cells. Because it can also cause the skin to lose more moisture, dry skin needs extra hydrating ingredients like glycerin or hyaluronic acid alongside it to keep the skin comfortable.
What does Aloe Vera Leaf Water do for dry skin?
Aloe Vera Leaf Water helps boost hydration in dry skin by increasing water content in the outer skin layer. It is unlikely to disrupt the skin barrier while providing these moisturizing benefits.
Where does this toner go in a skincare routine for dry skin?
This toner goes in your evening routine as a treatment step once a week, though people who tolerate it well and see good results can carefully use it more often. It helps smooth texture, but dry skin needs products that provide deep hydration and soothing ingredients to protect against dryness.
Can I use this toner with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this toner in your routine, but apply it only on nights when you are not using retinol to help prevent excessive dryness on your dry skin. This product of this type needs gentle exfoliating acids paired with soothing, moisture-attracting ingredients to keep dry skin calm and smooth.
How often should I use this toner?
Start using this toner just once a week in the evening, as this type of product can dry out your dry skin even though it has soothing ingredients. If your skin handles it well, you may carefully use it more often over time. To better fit your dry skin, a product of this type needs extra hydrating ingredients like glycerin and soothing plant extracts.
Can this toner clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for dry skin?
This toner is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for your dry skin, though some users report irritation and stinging. To better care for dry skin, this type of product needs extra hydrating ingredients and gentle smoothers that lock in moisture.
Is this toner fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
A mixture of Panax ginseng and Crataegus pinnatifida prevented skin aging by improving procollagen type I expression, diminishing matrix metalloproteinase-1 secretion, reducing skin roughness and photodamage scores, and decreasing loss of skin moisture in human dermal fibroblasts and healthy human skin.
Journal of Ginseng Research, 2017Repeated short-contact 70% glycolic acid peels provided superior results in atrophic acne scars compared to daily low-strength glycolic acid cream or placebo in 58 women over 24 weeks.
International Journal of Dermatology, 2000Serial glycolic acid peels combined with a modified Kligman formula significantly reduced facial PIH severity in Indian patients compared to the modified Kligman formula alone.
Dermatologic Surgery, 2017A cream combining propolis, tea tree oil, and Aloe vera reduced erythema scars, acne severity index, and total lesion count better than erythromycin cream in sixty patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris compared to placebo.
Clinical Pharmacology, 2018Topical aloe vera gel significantly accelerated split-thickness skin graft donor-site healing compared to placebo in 12 patients, but showed no significant difference in pain relief.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2018Topical application of Aloe vera cream reduced postoperative pain at rest and during defecation, accelerated wound healing at two weeks, and decreased analgesic requirements in patients after open hemorrhoidectomy compared to placebo.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2010Enzyme-modified ginseng extract cream significantly reduced the global photo-damage score and various roughness measures including total roughness, smoothness depth, and arithmetic roughness average compared to placebo in 23 human subjects.
Rejuvenation Research, 2015A red ginseng hydrogel formulation with 1,2-hexanediol promoted selective growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis and decreased Cutibacterium acnes in 20 female subjects.
Journal of Ginseng Research, 2022A 1% fermented black ginseng cream significantly reduced eye wrinkles and brightened skin color in twenty-three human subjects compared to control cream and baseline.
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part A, 2020Treatment with a rose extract activated newly identified skin olfactory receptors and prevented epinephrine-induced skin stress responses in epidermal keratinocytes and human skin explants, while clinically decreasing the appearance of under-eye dark circles in stressed women.
Molecules, 2020Rose petal extract improves stratum corneum moisture levels in humans by upregulating HAS2 expression via the GLK-MAP2K-MAPK signaling pathway.
BioFactors, 2023Rosa gallica petal extract (RPE) exerts skin whitening by attenuating tyrosinase activity and melanin accumulation and exhibits anti-wrinkle activity by suppressing MMP-1 levels in human cells.
Journal of Medicinal Food, 2020Topical Tasmannia lanceolata extract reduced skin roughness, increased firmness, dermal density, and thickness of stabilized stretch marks compared to placebo in 29 women over 8 weeks, alongside increased pro-collagen I, elastin, and TGF-beta concentrations in ex vivo human skin explants.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021
Why other toners fit dry skin better
Topical application of a 6% green tea extract formulation increased skin moisture, enhanced skin elasticity, and improved skin microrelief by reducing roughness in 24 volunteers compared to vehicle and control over 30 days.
Dermatologic Therapy, 2013Gluconolactone treatment significantly increased facial skin hydration in 16 healthy women, with no significant differences between 10% and 30% solutions.
Skin Research and Technology, 2021
Ingredients
Water, Glycolic Acid, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Triethanolamine, Aminomethyl Propanol, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Tasmannia Lanceolata Leaf Extract Fruit, Aspartic Acid, Alanine, Glycine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Pca, Sodium Pca, Sodium Lactate, Fructose, Glucose, Sucrose, Urea, Hexyl Nicotinate, Dextrin, Citric Acid, Polysorbate 20, Gellan Gum, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Chloride, Hexylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.