Item: Tea Tree Biome Cica Toner
Rating: 5
Author: yj*******

One-line summary: A soothing toner highly recommended for oily and sensitive skin types during summer. Advantages summary: - Provides a fresh finish even when used with other sticky or heavy ampoules and creams. - Noticed a soothing effect on small whiteheads and mild folliculitis. - Gentle and non-irritating, even for seborrheic dermatitis/contact dermatitis/hypersensitive skin. - Personally felt reduced oiliness and shine in the afternoon when used in the morning, compared to other toners. - Generous volume (320ml) compared to other toners. - Currently (as of 2020.05.19) available at a 50% discount for 10,000 won during the pre-launch event at the Mediheal Naver store. Skin type: I typically have combination dehydrated skin with super sensitive skin, and dry skin limited to winter. My skin is very sensitive and prone to blemishes, and even slight irritation can trigger contact dermatitis and seborrheic dermatitis. Texture and packaging: The Tea Tree Biome Blemish Cica Toner is a liquid type with a slight green tint, and it's a watery toner with no viscosity or stickiness. The transparent bottle allows you to see how much product is left, and since it's not a pump-type, I thought it would be easy to use up to the last drop. Texture & comparison with other toners: If you're familiar with watery toners, you might have used the Birch Juice toner or The Lab by Blanc Doux toner. However, this toner feels completely different despite being a watery toner. While the Birch/The Lab by Blanc Doux toners are immediately absorbed into the skin, leaving it moisturized with a smooth/silky feeling, this product feels like applying tap water. When I first used it, I was surprised by how it didn't feel soft when spreading on the skin, but rather stiff like tap water. It also absorbs a bit slower compared to other toners. Of course, it's much faster than ampoules or creams, but I felt it was slightly slower than other toners. However, I solved the application issue by changing the order of my skincare routine (I've written the skincare routine order in the tips section). Despite having extremely sensitive skin, I didn't feel any stinging or irritation when first applying it. The ingredients are very clean and gentle, so even with multiple applications, it felt less irritating than other skin toners. It felt comfortable and light on the skin when applied. I found it even gentler than The Lab by Blanc Doux toner. Hydration & soothing effect: This toner itself isn't as moisturizing as other toners. While many toners these days emphasize hydration with low molecular weight hyaluronic acid, this toner seems to focus on soothing effects, as suggested by its name "Tea Tree Biome Cica". I tried using it as a toner mask by soaking cotton pads, and while it wasn't great for hydration, it was good for soothing. The toner itself doesn't feel extremely moisturizing, so when left on the face, it felt dry rather than hydrating as it dried quickly. However, when I used it as a toner mask after completing my other skincare steps, the soothing effect was good. The next morning, I noticed that the red blemishes on my forehead had calmed down somewhat. It's been almost a week since I started using this toner, and I've felt that blemishes have decreased and the soothing effect is good, except for hormonal breakouts due to my menstrual cycle. Personal advantages of this product: It's refreshing. When I say refreshing, some readers might think, "Isn't that just a lack of hydration/oil? Isn't that a disadvantage?" But it's different from lacking hydration. This toner makes the finish refreshing. Even though toner is the first step in the skincare routine, even when you apply somewhat sticky and heavy ampoules and creams afterward, the finish remains refreshing. In my case, as it's getting warmer, I've been changing my skincare products. There were some products I wanted to keep using until summer because they were moisturizing yet satisfying. However, recently they started to feel heavy, and I was considering giving them up. But when I apply this toner before those products, the finish is not heavy at all, but refreshing and light! I was so amazed by this that I tried various combinations of this toner with other ampoules, creams, and masks. I consistently felt the same refreshing finish. This absolutely doesn't mean the finish is dry! It maintains the moisturizing effects of skincare while only reducing the heavy, sticky, or slippery oiliness, which is really great. Also, I consistently felt a general reduction in oiliness across my face since first using this toner. It seemed to slightly reduce shine from sebum production as well.

✔ Very stinging if it gets in your eyes. ✔ Not much help with exfoliation (personally didn't notice any exfoliating effect). ✔ Somewhat lacking in hydration for combination dehydrated and dry skin types. ✔ Not particularly easy to apply. ✔ Personally, I think it's unsuitable for use as an exfoliating toner for sensitive skin. I don't recommend using this toner as an exfoliating toner. The toner's finish is very refreshing, so it doesn't reduce friction with cotton pads when wiping the skin after soaking the pad. The texture when used as an exfoliating toner feels stiff, making it feel much more irritating than other watery toners. The product description suggests it's good as an exfoliating toner, so I tried it several times, but because it lacks viscosity and isn't particularly moisturizing, it hurt every time I wiped. My skin is extremely sensitive, so I'm familiar with the feeling of toner pads and exfoliating toners that might cause contact dermatitis. Using this toner as an exfoliating toner felt exactly like it would trigger contact dermatitis. For those with sensitive skin, I think using a toner with more viscosity and a smoother texture for exfoliating might be less irritating to the skin.

💚 Skincare Routine My basic routine always starts with toner, but after I started using this toner, I changed the order of my basic routine. When using this toner for the first time after cleansing, its unique tap water-like texture made it feel like it wasn't absorbing well and was difficult to apply. So, I changed the order to use an ampoule (Centella Calming Shot Ampoule) as the first step in my skincare routine. This way, the ampoule creates a soft and plush base on the skin, allowing the toner to apply more smoothly afterward. I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but it seemed to absorb better too. 💚 Application Method Perhaps due to this toner's unique texture, when I tried to use it like other toners by pouring it into my hands, most of it would drip to the floor with hardly any getting on my face. At first, I tried applying it multiple times, and even used more product, but it still just dripped to the floor with little remaining on my face... Strange, right? So, when I use this toner, I hold the bottle upside down with one hand and gently sprinkle it on my face, while using my other hand to immediately pat and absorb the toner as it runs down. Applying it this way reduces waste and allows me to feel the hydration on my skin better.