Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner
SUMMARY OF REVIEWS
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner is used by some creators for body care, not face: Laureen Uy applies it to underarms, elbows, and knees for brightening and smoothness, and Kayla Ryan uses it on chest and back for acne maintenance. Aashi Adani (Indian skin tones specialist) found the smell unpleasant, like spoiled yogurt, and saw no exfoliation or improvement in acne scars or texture, calling it a normal milky toner she would not repurchase.
FULL REVIEWS
POSITIVE
- “It is so affordable”
- “I use it for everything for on my face for pigmentation”7:31–7:33
- “I use it on my back to get rid of back acne”
- “I put it on a cotton pad and I rub it in my armpits before I put my deodorant on. When I tell you the difference it makes, I don't sweat at all”7:48–7:51
- “This is like the most multi-purpose thing in my entire skincare collection and it's $7”8:11–8:14
- Source: Budget-friendly skincare alternatives to expensive products - Nov 24, 2025
- “I use The Ordinary Glycolic Acid Toner as like a deodorant prep”1:40–1:48
- “I know a lot of people use this as a deodorant on its own, but I like layering it and I do think it helps with odor, so I repurchased that”1:46–1:50
- Source: Empties January '26 | Products we've used up! - Jan 19, 2026
- “I actually don't use it on my face. I use it for other parts of my body”5:11–5:17
- “You can also put it on your underarms, elbows, knees, and it brightens it and leaves it super smooth”5:18–5:24
- Source: Current favorites: beauty, skincare, makeup, hair - Jun 6, 2026
- “I used to always use the glycolic acid from The Ordinary. I use that more for like my chest and back like maintenance for like chest acne and back acne”
- Source: How I cleared my skin long term - Jan 7, 2025
MIXED / NEGATIVE
- “7% is quite high for skin of color and I for glycolic acid specifically, I would recommend 5% or less”
- “I just wouldn't recommend this particular product for pigmentation”10:52–10:56
- “I would say no to this particular product”11:13–11:13
- Source: Best & worst dark mark serums - Oct 13, 2025
- “It smelt like bigda hua dahi and bigda hua chhaas. I can't explain that but every time I used it I just felt like I was putting something that has gone bad on my skin rather than like a luxurious indulgence into skin care it just didn't feel very nice”
- “In terms of changes it made to my skin I just feel like it didn't make any changes to my skin I don't think it you know exfoliated that well or help with acne scars or help with anything for that matter it just felt like a normal milky toner that I was using”
- “I would not pick this up again I'm gonna say bye to it”
- Source: 2025 product empties: buy or bye? - Dec 13, 2025
WHAT CREATORS SAY
- Consensus
- 3.4 / 5 from 5 creator reviewsGrailPeople ratings based on creator reviews.
- Good for
- Acne (2)
- ⚠ creators flagged issues with exfoliating (1)
Product details
Details
- Type
- exfoliating toner
- Finish
- —
- Shade
- —
- Key ingredients
- Glycolic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Rosa damascena flower water, Centaurea cyanus flower water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Triethanolamine, Aminomethyl Propanol
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