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Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner.

Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner
Toners
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About this product

A lightweight essence toner formulated with fermented centella asiatica, probiotics, panthenol and ceramides to hydrate and soothe the skin.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

84%

Yay

13 experts · Strong agreement
13Gurus
12Yay
0Mixed
1Nay
#4 in TonersSee the ranking →

What they liked

  • Absorbs deeply without sticky buildup
  • Lightweight enough to layer multiple times
  • Barrier ingredients in a non-heavy texture

What they flagged

    Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.

    What the gurus are saying

    This toner vanishes into skin while delivering a stacked ingredient list, and reviewers rave about how weightless it feels despite serious hydrating power. The fermented centella asiatica and probiotics earn consistent praise for soothing and calming, especially for those dealing with redness or using active treatments like tretinoin. One concern: a dermatologist who specializes in skin of color flagged it may not work as well for darker skin tones and suggests limiting use to two nights weekly if you have that skin type, though most other reviewers found it gentle enough to layer multiple times or use daily across all skin types.
    Synthesized from 13 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026

    Type

    TonersLiquid

    Key actives

    Formula notes

    Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

    Where to buy

    Opens a search for this product. Some links are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never sways a score or a verdict.

    More from Skin1004 34 products · Guru Score 90% → How it works Independent by design. Every take comes from a creator we have no relationship with. We do not ask anyone to review, and affiliate links never move a score.

    What the gurus are saying.

    Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

    All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
    ✓Yay
    "What Skin1004 always nails is lightweight formulas, and [...] this one [...] disappears into the skin so quickly while having a stacked ingredient list of beneficial properties. I absolutely love this one and it's become a core part of my skin care routine. I'd say I definitely prefer this ampoule over their normal Centella Asiatica essence, it's a superior formula. If you've been wanting to try Skin1004, I'd recommend starting with this one."
    ✓Yay
    "It had been so long since I used this kind of product that I forgot their amples are almost more like toners, it's in between a toner and a serum, [...] very watery but a nice, refreshing product. [...] To give you some quick thoughts, I like this. I feel like this ingredients list is truly the updated answer for what's in this type of ampoule from this company now that [...] Korea's regulations have changed."
    ✓Yay
    "It's basically got centella in there, which is a great antioxidant. It's great for your skin. It's hydrating, soothing. It also has a little bit of glucactylone, which makes it very mildly exfoliating. And then niacinamide, which is great for anti-acne and brightening skin up. I could say this is probably a great toner for acne-prone skin and oily skin as well. The affordability is wonderful."
    All 8 takes from No BS Beauty
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    "This one's nice, fragrance-free. It's got some nice ferments in there, probiotics, centella as well. [...] It's super lightweight, so you can use it with a cotton pad [...] or just pat it on. Wonderful product. No fragrance. Super affordable."
    SKIN 1004 - Madagascar Centella Probio-Cica Essence Toner Review & How to Use
    "The toner is nice, it's not a must-have. I enjoy using it and I will certainly finish it, but is it something I feel I need to repurchase at this point? Not really. It's very nice, it's versatile, but I just don't think it's something I have to have. There's a lot of toners that I've tested out that I am loving and have to have. This isn't one of them, but it's still really nice. It might be worth a good try, especially for super dry skin types, and it's pretty versatile."
    The Only Toners & Essences I've Repurchased - Fragrance Free & Affordable Favorites
    "It's basically got centella in there, which is a great antioxidant. It's great for your skin. It's hydrating, soothing. It also has a little bit of glucactylone, which makes it very mildly exfoliating. And then niacinamide, which is great for anti-acne and brightening skin up. I could say this is probably a great toner for acne-prone skin and oily skin as well. The affordability is wonderful."
    Skincare That Costs the Least Per Use - Most Affordable Products for Each Application
    "It's really affordable. If you don't use this with a cotton pad, it's about 10 drops to cover your whole face if you just pat it on. So it comes in at about 3 cents per use. [...] Really nice. I love this brand. They have a lot of great stuff."
    The Best 10 Affordable K-Beauty Skincare Product Favorites You Need to Try!
    "This is just a really nice toner you can use it with a cotton pad or you can pat it onto skin. It's 14 bucks, the bottle's big, [...] 7 oz so it's large, and it's just a really nice texture. It's not super watery but it's still enough where you can use it with a cotton pad. [...] It's got some viscosity to it, little bit of thickness to it, so you could pat it on or use it like a toner. [...] It's also great for sensitive skin. [...] We've got centella, panol mat, AAS aide, hyaluronic acid."
    My K-Beauty Skincare Favorites 🙌🏆💖 Best Korean Beauty Products Currently in My Routine
    "The Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner from the same line as the sunscreen"
    Favorite Ferments - What Ferment is Best for You? Why You Need Ferments in Your Skincare
    "My pick for Lactobacillus ferment is this, which is Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner, which is 14 bucks. It contains Lactobacillus, Centella, ferment, Panthenol, licorice, and niacinamide. This one's great for soothing skin, skin that's red, skin that's irritated, skin that's dry. I really went through this stuff fast, so I think it's my second bottle of it because I really enjoyed it. This brand has a lot of good stuff. They tend to be fragrance-free."
    The Best 10/10 K-Beauty Toners & Essences 🙌 Favorite Toners & Essences That Work For All Skin Types
    "At 13 bucks we've got the Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Probio-Cica Essence Toner. [...] It's got Centella, it's got Panthenol, it's got licorice root. It's a really lovely product. The moisturizer version of this one is also really nice, so it's thick but it's nice. The ampul is also really nice and the toner is a winner."
    ✓Yay
    "I love it because the pad is so thin, you can keep it in [...] the shower and wipe your whole face with it when you get out, then use it as a quick sheet mask while you're drying your hair, it stays on well and feels cooling. It also has centella in it, [...] so anyone with oily combo skin who gets red easily, especially in tropical weather, it's great for cooling the skin down. Why not, great."
    Top Pick: skin1004 product
    ✓Yay
    "In this case, it is centella asiatica that they are fermenting. [...] This toner is a little thicker. I like it for the winter months when it's colder and I want my skin to feel a little more nourished. It's still non-tacky, still lightweight enough so I can layer it easily. It also features some panthenol and some ceramides that are a recurring theme in my skincare routine [...] because I use Tretinoin for my adult acne that makes my skin prone to irritation and a disrupted barrier."
    All 2 takes from Doctor Anne
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    "In this case, it is centella asiatica that they are fermenting. [...] This toner is a little thicker. I like it for the winter months when it's colder and I want my skin to feel a little more nourished. It's still non-tacky, still lightweight enough so I can layer it easily. It also features some panthenol and some ceramides that are a recurring theme in my skincare routine [...] because I use Tretinoin for my adult acne that makes my skin prone to irritation and a disrupted barrier."
    Summer Skincare for Aging Skin: My Low Effort, High Impact Routine | Doctor Anne
    "If I use Tretinoin, I use a light layer of the SKIN1004 Centella Asiatica Ampoule for lightweight hydration. [...] The Ampoule really feels like nothing on the skin."
    ✓Nay
    "This was not made for skin of color. So this is not a Dr. V approved product. However, for Caucasian skin or like just skin that's people not watching my channel probably this product is actually going to be really great for them. This is going to be really great for Korean skin. [...] If you really want to use it, and I do like it, use it two nights a week maximum, and use it at night time, not daytime."
    ✓Yay
    "This toner is the lightest in this line but it's still very very hydrating, so it could still be considered sort of like a bouncy serum. It is, and it's centella based, so that's the thing with this, very soothing, hydrating, and you see it's rich and bouncy but it's nice."
    ✓Yay
    "I get that deep brush of hydration down into my skin which I really really appreciate but then that little plumping gel right up at the top gives me that bouncy feeling that I absolutely love. This is another way to keep your moisture barrier healthy in all seasons because you know your moisture barrier is what helps to hold hydration in place."
    All 3 takes from Kelly Driscoll
    Barrier Care for Cold Weather Skincare Routine
    "I get that deep brush of hydration down into my skin which I really really appreciate but then that little plumping gel right up at the top gives me that bouncy feeling that I absolutely love. This is another way to keep your moisture barrier healthy in all seasons because you know your moisture barrier is what helps to hold hydration in place."
    A Tale of 2 Ceramides | Torriden Solid-In + SKIN1004 Probio-Cica Lines
    "It feels really really good, and it's layerable because it doesn't have a super thick texture, it doesn't build up sticky on the skin. If you want to do two, three, four, five, seven layers if you will, I like to stick to like two to three to really hydrate and plump up the skin, and you can do that without getting a sticky finish. It just feels really good, and I would say that this toner would work for all skin types."
    Good, Better, Best Skincare Empties!
    "It's hydrating, yes, ingredients are good, yes. I love the Probios line, I think everything in it is super duper solid. There's just something about this toner that it just didn't rise into the best for me. [...] I think this is a really solid product I would have no problems using this again. This is a toner that it's like light and watery but it's got that little bit of bounce to it. [...] There's just a little slip, a little bit of body, a little bit of plumpness that's super duper nice."
    ✓Yay
    "I really like them, [...] they have complementary ingredients that are good for the skin barrier and also help with discoloration and skin tone. I did feel like overall my skin tone appeared more even while I was using these, though it's hard to say if it was all from these or the sunscreen or a combination. [...] Now that I've finished them, I would definitely use them again."
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    All 3 takes from Dr Dray
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    "I'm still using the Madagascar [centella] hay alua"
    Dermatologist Reviews New Korean Skincare Worth Buying
    "As a standalone product, this is really nice if you want to on a very gentle and slow level support daily exfoliation. [...] Maybe it's a little slow. You get some dull, rough skin texture, but you don't want anything too aggressive. You want some soothing, barrier supportive ingredients, and you're looking for a product to really prep the skin for the rest of your skincare routine."
    I Finished These Skincare Products... Here's My Verdict
    "I really like them, [...] they have complementary ingredients that are good for the skin barrier and also help with discoloration and skin tone. I did feel like overall my skin tone appeared more even while I was using these, though it's hard to say if it was all from these or the sunscreen or a combination. [...] Now that I've finished them, I would definitely use them again."
    ✓Yay
    "This has TECA, titrated extract of Centella asiatica, standardized so the actives are at consistent concentrations. The texture is really lightweight and watery, not sticky at all, and I generally can't stand things that are heavy or sticky on my skin during the day, but I found this nice to use during the day as well as at night. I didn't have to use a lot of it to get a soothing and hydrating effect, and that meant it stayed lightweight and I could layer it with a lot of other products."
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    ✓Yay
    "This is an essence toner that strengthens the skin, it helps retain the moisture levels, and it's suitable for all skin types. After using this, my skin feels so incredibly soft. Like even putting on a moisturizer or a serum felt like a really soft experience."
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    ✓Yay
    "The centella face mask [...] texture is so cool, it's almost a mix of like a hydrogel and one of the cotton sheet masks. This is so brilliant and the ingredients just soak into skin and calm them down so much. I absolutely love this. [...] What I absolutely love about SKIN1004 is that this brand does centella like nobody else. This product alone has 50 percent centella, most products have like five to ten percent. They load it up with this and it is amazing."
    Sponsored
    All 3 takes from Cassandra Bankson
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    "This is one of my favorite toners. If you have not tried this, this is so good. This is the Centella Toning Toner from Skin1004, and this has one of the highest concentrations of centella that I've ever found. Centella is an amazing antioxidant. It is absolutely wonderful and hydrating to the skin. I love this."
    7 Best K Beauty Products For Skin Inflammation
    "I could literally take a bath in this stuff. I just absolutely love this. Especially if your skin gets flushed, if you get red really easily, if your skin has a hard time with sebum regulation, meaning you get way too dry or way too oily, you use this as a toner underneath your moisturizer, and then your moisturizer or your serum steps actually penetrate deeper because of this. [...] This has Centella Asiatica extract or gotu kola at 84%, which is like the highest that I know."
    You Voted: Best K Beauty Skincare of 2022
    "The centella face mask [...] texture is so cool, it's almost a mix of like a hydrogel and one of the cotton sheet masks. This is so brilliant and the ingredients just soak into skin and calm them down so much. I absolutely love this. [...] What I absolutely love about SKIN1004 is that this brand does centella like nobody else. This product alone has 50 percent centella, most products have like five to ten percent. They load it up with this and it is amazing."
    ✓Yay
    "This centella goes through a very strict four-step process when it comes to sourcing and extracting centella in order to keep it as pure and potent as possible. [...] What I like about this is how lightweight it is. It feels like water. [...] It's a little bit tricky because you kind of put it on your hand and then you're like, careful so it doesn't spill anywhere, but it's so lightweight. It's got that instantly calming and soothing effect that a lot of centella products have."
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    What the evidence says.

    Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

    Ceramides

    Ceramides are part of the skin's own barrier, and moisturisers built around them have evidence for holding water in and settling the tightness and flaking that come with a damaged barrier.

    Source: DermNet

    Humectants and emollients

    Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

    Source: DermNet

    Frequently asked.

    What is Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner?

    A lightweight essence toner formulated with fermented centella asiatica, probiotics, panthenol and ceramides to hydrate and soothe the skin.

    Is Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner worth it?

    Mostly yes. 12 of the 13 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 84%.

    What is Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner's Guru Score?

    Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner holds a Guru Score of 84%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 13 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

    Who is Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner best for?

    Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence Toner is generally suited to dry skin and sensitive skin.

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