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The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner — or as long-time fans will remember it, the ‘Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution’ — has been around for years and still sparks heated debate online. Is it meant to help with acne treatment? Is it actually useful for your body? And why are so many people using it on their underarms and even on their feet?

Let me share my thoughts after years of using in today’s review.

What The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner claims

A daily glycolic acid toner that smooths skin texture, evens tone, and enhances luminosity.

Facts about The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner

Prize and size

There are two different sizes available, 100 ml for 9,30 € and a bigger bottle with 240 ml for 13,90 € on the website here. Both come in a bottle with a screw open nozzle you might be familiar with from scalp products.

Texture and smell

It isn’t completely see through, but has the color of white tea or diluted apple juice and a very watery texture. Straight out of the bottle there is a hint of something musky, but that is very faint and dissipates quickly.

How to use The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner

There are many different ways The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner is used, and for all of them the twist-cap is great. You can control how much you get out of it by how much you open the cap and the small opening means you won’t end up spilling product everywhere.

When used on my face, I would cleanse and then pour some toner into my palms and distribute it all over, sparing the eyes and the lips. After letting it sink in – there is minimal tackiness directly after application that goes away quickly – I would then continue with my regular routine. Yes, you could apply it with cotton pads, but I don’t really use them as I find they absorb too much product.

Despite being called a daily exfoliant on the website, I personally used it only 2–3 times a week. Especially during the winter, when my skin tends to be more sensitive, I found that was the right balance for me. The lower concentration means it might be suitable for daily use, but as I use prescription Tretinoin, that would have been too much for me. Depending on the rest of your routine, using it daily or multiple times a week might work though. (More info: 5 ways to repair your damaged skin barrier)

Now what about the other ways this is used – a few of them “off-label”, so not according to what the brand recommends – this toner is used for?

Some people, and the twist cap works great for that, use it as scalp exfoliant before washing their hair. Scalp products are everywhere right now, and if you look at their main ingredients, you will find some looking pretty similar to this one, but often way more expensive. The Ordinary actually recommends using this toner for this purpose on their website, so I don’t think there is any harm in trying if it works for you.

Another way recommended by the brand is using it on rough and textured areas of the body, think Keratosis Pilaris, dry patches or even ingrown hairs after hair removal, basically body exfoliation with glycolic acid. Now if Glycolic Acid is actually the best acid available for that or if Salicylic or Lactic would be better depends on your individual skin and concern, but I find it to be quite good for stubborn texture – applied a few times a week right after showering and before moisturizer will do the trick for me. Don’t use it to treat your whole body repeatedly at once, but for dedicated areas. (More info: How to best deal with Keratosis pilaris)

Once of these dedicated areas not explicitly mentioned on the website are your feet. Sandal season is here and no one wants dry and cracked heels. Now there are these peeling foot masks that will give you feet like a baby, but these need a few weeks to get the whole effect and make you peel horribly for a few days. Not painful, but really not pretty to look at. Applying this one right after showering won’t give you an immediate effect either, but after a two to three weeks the skin on your heels will look noticeably better without that whole messy flaking beforehand.

The last way I want to mention, and – full disclosure – the one I don’t do myself is putting it underneath your arm pits. That has two effects: One, you reduce body odor because the altered pH will affect the bacteria in your arm pits – sweat itself doesn’t stink, it starts to smell if it has been sitting on the skin and the bacteria did break it down. And two, you might lighten dark armpits due to the regular exfoliation there. (More info: How to deal with hyperpigmentation on the body)

Why don’t I do it? Because for me my antiperspirant is enough to stop me from smelling and I don’t have pigmented arm pits, that isn’t really an issue for my skin type. Before you try underarm exfoliation with glycolic acid though, a word of warning: Your arm pits are damp and the skin is touching, meaning you have a damp and occluded environment you put this toner into. That increases the risk of irritation quite a bit compared to your face or other body parts, so be careful! Irritated and inflamed underarms are not fun to deal with!

Did I miss anything? If yes, add it in the comments below.

Ingredients of The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner

Aqua (Water) solv, Glycolic Acid exf|buff, Rosa Damascena Flower, Water solv, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Water so, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Propanediol solv|h, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Triethanolamine buff 0 2, Aminomethyl Propanol buff, Panax Ginseng Root Extract aox|emo, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract aox|so, Aspartic Acid sii, Alanine sii, Glycine sii, Serine sii, Valine sii, Isoleucine sii, Proline sii, Threonine sii, Histidine sii|h, Phenylalanine sii, Glutamic Acid h, Arginine sii, Pca sii|h, Sodium PCA sii|h 0 0, Sodium Lactate buff|h, Fructose h, Glucose h, Sucrose h|so, Urea sii|h, Hexyl Nicotinate emo, Dextrin vc|h, Citric Acid buff, Polysorbate 20 emu|surf 0 0, Gellan Gum vc, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate chel, Sodium Chloride vc, Hexylene Glycol solv|emu|perf|surf 0–1 0–2, Potassium Sorbate pres, Sodium Benzoate pres, 1,2-Hexanediol solv, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo

Hover the mouse over an ingredient for short explanation. Read more on INCIDecoder.
The main player here surely is the Glycolic Acid, coming second on the ingredient list. If you are familiar with acids, you know their efficacy often depends on the pH that in this case is on the lower side with 3.6 according to the brand, which is good. (More info: The benefits of exfoliating acids in skincare explained)

Then you have a few humectants, both in the form of Glycerin as well as several different Natural Moisturizing Factors like Urea and Sodium PCA and sugars. (More info: The benefits of Natural Moisturizing Factors in skincare explained)

You will notice a few plant extracts, used for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and then a whole list of amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of peptides and serve different functions in the skin, but mainly help again with hydration and healing.

All in all quite a straight forward formula with not much extra fluff.

More info: How to read the ingredient list in your skincare products

Does it live up to its claims?

Yes.

If you use it daily depends on your skin and the rest of your routine, but you certainly could if you wanted to.

How does it compare to…

Good Molecules Glycolic Exfoliating Toner

Along the same lines than The Ordinary, Good Molecules offers a gentle Glycolic Acid Toner at a low concentration – 3.5% compared to 7%, and at a pH of 4. The packaging is obviously different, which will make the Good Molecules version harder to use on your scalp, but for gentle everyday exfoliation without the risk of overdoing it, it will work great as well.

You can read my full review of the Good Molecules Exfoliating Toner here.

pixi Glow Tonic

The OG gentle Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Toner everyone in the blogging world was going on about. And with reason, as pixis version was quite refreshing in its gentleness back then. Now it is one among many, and the slightly higher pH of 5 and the added plant extracts might not be everyones cup of tea. It still holds a special place in my heart though.

You can read my full review of the pixi Glow Tonic here.

e.l.f. Blemish Breakthrough Triple Acid Resurfacing Serum

I wanted to mention this one not because it is a similar product, but because the percentage might lead you to believe that these are comparable products. They are not. e.l.f. mixes different acids, mainly Salicylic, but also a Polyhydroxy Acid and Tranexamic Acid. It is much more targeted at blemishes and the pigmentation these blemishes leave behind than on texture and general exfoliation.

You can read my full review of the e.l.f. Blemish Breakthrough Tiple Acid Resurfacing Serum here.

Alpha-H Liquid Gold

This is the original one, not the recent release called Midnight Reboot, and it is a good example that the pH of a product will largely influence the perceived intensity. See, the one from Alpha-H is only a 5% solution, but it is much stronger than the one from The Ordinary. I wouldn’t dream of using it daily! The reason is that it has a pH of 2.8, which is on its own quite irritating already. It was one of the first Glycolic Acid exfoliants I used and will forever hold a special place in my heart due to the drastic effect it had on my skin.

You can read my full review of the Alpha-H Liquid Gold here.

Would I repurchase and which skin types do I recommend The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner to?

I have been using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner for years now, both on my face for gentle exfoliation as well as on my body in one of the many different ways possible. While it won’t give you the same drastic results as The Ordinary Peeling Solution will, it is much harder to overdo and will work great against texture with regular use. Some people recommend it against acne, but while it will help with leftover texture and medication, it wouldn’t be my first choice for that. For me this is a great one against texture and a good supporting act against stubborn hyperpigmentation, and due to its versatility a valuable addition to your skincare stash.

Shop The Ordinary skincare here

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