This Gentle Toner Helped Fade My Dark Spots and Smooth My Texture

Hyperpigmentation is one of my biggest skin-care concerns. I used to constantly exfoliate my skin, before realizing I was making things worse in the long run. I was over-exfoliating, which caused irritation breakouts to form that led to more dark spots — it was truly a never-ending cycle, and I felt defeated. I finally decided to remove all exfoliators from my routine to truly let my skin's barrier repair itself and get back to its balanced state.

Once my skin barrier was repaired and I felt confident enough to integrate gentle chemical exfoliants back into my skin-care routine, Eadem's Cashmere Peel Toner ($42) came into my life. After looking at the ingredients and learning you're only supposed to use it three times a week at most, I knew it was the best way to slowly bring exfoliants back into my skin-care routine, and hopefully see progress in fading my dark spots.

Although the Cashmere Peel Toner looks milky and serum-like at first, the formula thins out as you blend it into the skin. It absorbs quickly as well, so I'm able to layer on other products and serums to target my skin's needs. I kept my routine pretty gentle to test out the effectiveness of this toner and to make sure my skin didn't react to too many products.

After using the Cashmere Peel Toner for about a month, I noticed a significant improvement in my skin's texture. It's a lot smoother with less irritation breakouts and dry patches. I also noticed that my skin looked more even-toned and brighter. Although not as evident from the before-and-after picture, I noticed that slowly but surely my dark spots were fading too, and with continued use, I'll hopefully see more progress.

The brand suggests saturating a cotton pad with the toner solution, and sweeping it over the face and neck as a first step after cleansing the skin. Because of its milky consistency, I like to add a few drops to my hand and massage the formula into my skin directly, like a hydrating essence. If you want a gentle form of physical exfoliation, you can use a cotton pad to help sweep off the dead skin cells. It's also a great way to use the excess solution on other parts of your body, like the underarms or anywhere else you're prone to dark spots or ingrown hairs.

After trying both methods, I preferred to use my hands to cut out the extra step and waste cotton pads. Plus, if your skin doesn't respond well to friction and rubbing, patting the product onto the skin with your hands is probably the best course of action to prevent further irritation. The brand also recommends using the Cashmere Peel Toner no more than three times a week, preferably at night. It also warned against using the formula extra sensitive skin that is peeling, itchy, or compromised.

If you have extra sensitive skin or your skin needs time to adjust to new products, the brand suggests starting off using it once a week and then slowly building your way up to more frequent use. Although the formula balances actives and skin-calming ingredients, you might be tempted to use it daily for faster results, but it's best to stick to the three-times-a-week schedule to prevent irritation breakouts.

You can use the Cashmere Peel Toner in conjunction with other dark spot-fading solutions like vitamin C serums, retinol, or other gentle serums with alpha arbutin. It's better to have a calming routine that won't disrupt the skin barrier and cause more breakouts and dark spots. Patience is the key to success with this product.

The Eadem Cashmere Peel Gentle Exfoliating AHA Toner is available at Sephora and the brand's site.

Rating:
★★★★

Anvita Reddy is an assistant editor for POPSUGAR Shopping. She has a passion for products and is an avid reviewer of everything including furniture, mattresses, home gadgets, cookware, tech, and more. Having dealt with acne as a teenager and into adulthood, her expertise lies in beauty. She has tried and tested plenty of skin care, makeup, hair care, and countless other beauty products.