Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner
Summary of Reviews
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner is a versatile, affordable body exfoliant that several creators use on underarms, feet, and back acne, with Marlena Stell noting it reduces sweating when applied before deodorant. Dr. Vanita Rattan (1.2M subs) advises against it for pigmentation on skin of color, recommending 5% or less, while Aashi Adani found it ineffective and unpleasant-smelling. Best for body use rather than face, especially for sensitive skin, which Trisha Gupta says should avoid it.
Full Reviews
Positive
- “And my god, this has made my legs so incredibly smooth, well exfoliated, and just evened out”18:45–18:50
- “And the effect has been truly, truly magical on my body”18:59–19:05
- “It's also very affordable. And you get a ton of product, too”19:04–19:07
- “I've seen such amazing results”
- Source: July Favorites: Makeup, Skincare, and More - Aug 11, 2026
- “Y'all know how me and this product get down. It is so good. And it's a multi-use product”27:14–27:18
- “I will use literally for Eva, especially just to like do my underarms because it like replaces deodorant essentially for me”27:22–27:27
- “I really, really, really, really like this stuff”27:32–27:35
- Source: Empties: Products I Finished and My Honest Thoughts - Aug 9, 2026
- “Baby, put this all over your body”2:58–3:02
- “I put this underneath my arms. I put it on the heels of my feet. I don't play”3:00–3:06
- “It makes your feet so soft”3:17–3:20
- Source: My current favorites: makeup, skin, hair, and body care - Jun 9, 2026
- “I use it underneath my underarms and my booty crack as an astringent like a deodorant”20:17–20:21
- “They say it also helps to lighten your underarms”20:23–20:26
- “I personally haven't noticed that”20:24–20:27
- “I repurchase this with my own money every single time I run out”20:39–20:43
- “10 out of 10 recommend”
- Source: Beauty empties: what's worth your money and what's not - Dec 14, 2025
- “The girls be using this toner from, I'm not kidding, the tip of their heads to the bottom of their toes”9:38–9:42
- “Glycolic acid is really good for helping your cells to turn over more quickly or rapidly”9:55–10:03
- “It works to reveal more even, glowy skin over time”10:03–10:09
- “I have been using this for a very long time is under my underarms to help with evenness”10:06–10:14
- “I'm pretty happy with how even my underarms are starting to look. They used to be a lot darker”10:16–10:21
- “This cleans that bacteria right on out. Knocks it right on out. So it makes it a lot more difficult for you to be smelly”11:06–11:13
- “I also have started putting this on my feet cuz allegedly it makes your feet softer almost immediately”11:17–11:24
- “I do think that this is a really good multi-purpose item”11:40–11:44
- Source: Affordable body care favorites for glowy skin - Jun 28, 2026
- “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
- “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
- “Cheap as chips”
- “This is the epitome of unsexy skincare that bloody works”15:31–15:38
- “Glycolic acid is for uneven skin tone, hyperpigmentation, texture”15:27–15:31
- “Glycolic acid doubles up as a fantastic deodorant”16:52–16:59
- Source: Body exfoliation 101: AHA, BHA, scrubs and everything in between - Jun 21, 2026
- “It's a really good product. But it has to be used very carefully”7:04–7:10
- “After applying this, try not to go out in the sun the next day or apply too much sunscreen. If you have to go out in the sun, apply it only at night”7:12–7:17
- “If you have sensitive skin then you should avoid it”7:17–7:21
- “Honestly I love this product and I used it but it is not your everyday use product. Once a week and twice a week is fine”7:19–7:26
- Source: Current favorites for July - Aug 8, 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
- “Some product examples in this category are The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. This is super affordable, effective, super versatile as well”15:06–15:13
- Source: Best Anti-Aging Ingredients Ranked by a Dermatologist - 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
- 4 / 5 from 10 creator reviewsGrailPeople ratings based on creator reviews.
- Good for
- Hyperpigmentation (3) · Acne (2)
- Features
- Exfoliating (4) · Multitasking (4)
- Value
- Value for money (4)
- ⚠ creators flagged issues with exfoliating (1)
- ⚠ fiddly to use (1)
- ⚠ may not suit sensitive skin (1)
Product details
Details
- Type
- exfoliating toner
- Finish
- —
- Shade
- —
- Key ingredients
- glycolic acid
Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission.
Links