Murad Essential-C Toner

Murad

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Murad Essential-C Toner is a toner. Our analysis of its 41 ingredients (36 low-risk) rates it Excellent (95/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to dry skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Toners
Ingredients
41
Low-risk
36
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
United States

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 9/1
Good for dry skin
Glutamic Acid Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate Betaine Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Extract Sodium Polyaspartate Sorbitol Echinacea Purpurea Extract Butylene Glycol Sodium PCA
Caution for dry skin
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 0/1
Caution for oily/acne-prone skin
Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Extract
Sensitive Skin 2/19
Good for sensitive skin
Ascorbyl Palmitate Tocopheryl Acetate
Caution for sensitive skin
Glycine Glutamic Acid Lysine Serine Sorbitol Ascorbyl Palmitate Alanine Arginine Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract Butylene Glycol Threonine Proline Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A) Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil Citric Acid Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil Methylparaben Phenoxyethanol

Ingredients list

41 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (9)
All41 Skin Conditioning37 Fragrance17 Hair Conditioning13 Humectant10 Antistatic Agent10 Masking9 Film Forming4 Viscosity Controlling3
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
1
Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Distillate
1
A
Butylene Glycol
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Solvent, Viscositydecreasing Agent, Humectant, Masking, Viscosity Controlling)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
1
B
Sodium PCA
(Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Antistatic Agent, Skin Conditioning)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
1
B
Betaine
(Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Antistatic Agent, Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Sorbitol
(Flavoring Agent, Fragrance, Humectant, Plasticizer, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Glycine
(Buffering Agent, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Agent Miscellaneous, Antistatic Agent, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Alanine
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Masking)
1
A
Proline
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Serine
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Masking)
1
A
Threonine
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Hair Waving Or Straightening)
1
A
Arginine
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent, Masking)
1
A
Lysine
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Antistatic Agent)
1
A
Glutamic Acid
(Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Antistatic Agent)
1
Lysine Lauroyl Methionate
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Rice Amino Acids
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
3
Zinc Aspartate
(Cosmetic Biocide, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
(Flavoring Agent, Skin Conditioning, Humectant)
3
A
PEG-12 Dimethicone
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Phospholipids
(Skin Conditioning)
3
Tocopheryl Acetate
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
9
Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A) Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Ascorbyl Palmitate
(Antioxidant, Masking)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
Chitosan
(Film Forming, Hair Fixing)
1
Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Extract
(Skin Conditioning Agent Occlusive)
1
Echinacea Purpurea Extract
(Moisturising, Skin Conditioning, Tonic)
1
B
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Masking)
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
Sodium Polyaspartate
(Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Skin Conditioning)
3
B
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
(Fragrance, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Perfuming)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
3
A
Benzophenone-4
(Uv Absorber, Uv Filter)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
2
A
Citric Acid
(Chelating Agent, Fragrance, Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent, Masking)
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
Polyquaternium-4
(Antistatic Agent, Film Forming, Hair Fixing)
4
A
Phenoxyethanol
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
4
A
Methylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
1
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
2
B
Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil
(Fragrance, Masking, Skin Conditioning, Tonic)
Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Oil Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
3
B
Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil
(Fragrance, Masking, Skin Conditioning)
Ferula Galbaniflua (Galbanum) Resin Oil
1
Green 3

My Ingredient Notes

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Key ingredients

Butylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning, Humectant
Sodium PCA
Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Betaine
Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Sorbitol
Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Glycine
Skin Conditioning
Alanine
Skin Conditioning

Benefits

Good for dry skin

Concerns

Contains paraben
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A) — higher EWG
May not suit oily/acne-prone skin
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Distillate
Other
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1
Betaine
Hair conditioning, Humectant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B Hair conditioningHumectantAntistatic agentSkin conditioningViscosity controlling
Sorbitol
Flavoring agent, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Flavoring agentFragranceHumectantPlasticizerSkin conditioning
Glycine
Buffering agent, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Buffering agentFragranceHair conditioningSkin-conditioning agent -miscellaneousAntistatic agentSkin conditioning
Alanine
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningAntistatic agentMasking
Proline
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioning
Serine
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningAntistatic agentMasking
Threonine
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningAntistatic agentHair waving or straightening
Arginine
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningAntistatic agentMasking
Lysine
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningAntistatic agent
Glutamic Acid
Fragrance, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceHair conditioningHumectantAntistatic agent
Lysine Lauroyl Methionate
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioning
Rice Amino Acids
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Zinc Aspartate
Cosmetic biocide, Skin conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 Cosmetic biocideSkin conditioning
+ 14 more — see the full ingredients list above
Butylene Glycol
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSkin conditioningSolventViscositydecreasing agentHumectantMaskingViscosity controlling Good for Dry Skin
Sodium PCA
Hair conditioning, Humectant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B Hair conditioningHumectantAntistatic agentSkin conditioning Good for Dry Skin
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant, Skin conditioning
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 3 AntioxidantSkin conditioning Bad for Oily Skin
Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A)
Other
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 9 Good for Dry SkinFungal-acne trigger
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A AntioxidantMasking Fungal-acne trigger
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Excessively acidic, potentially irritatingRead moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B FragranceSkin conditioningMasking Bad for Sensitive Skin
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Fragrance, Emulsifying
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR B FragranceEmulsifyingSurfactantPerfuming Fungal-acne trigger
Citric Acid
Chelating agent, Fragrance
Skin irritation can occur at high concentrationRead moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A Chelating agentFragrancePh adjusterBuffering agentMasking Bad for Sensitive Skin
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Methylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil
Other
Excessively acidic, potentially irritatingRead moreShow less
EWG 1 Bad for Sensitive Skin
Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Oil
Other
Strong essential oil which can irritate skinRead moreShow less
EWG N/A Bad for Sensitive Skin

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Where it fits: Use right after cleansing, before serums.
  • 2 Morning only: Apply as the last step of your AM routine, after moisturiser, and reapply every ~2 hours of sun exposure.
  • 3 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Often avoided
Retinoids (Vitamin A) (Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A))

Topical retinoids (retinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl esters) are widely advised against in pregnancy as a precaution. The strongest evidence is for ORAL retinoids; topical absorption is low, but most clinicians err on the side of caution.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Retinoids (Vitamin A) 0.01–1%

Most studied between 0.1% and 1%. Higher is not automatically better — irritation climbs with dose, so a well-formulated lower strength is often the sweet spot.

Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A)

Vitamin C (ascorbic) 5–20%

L-ascorbic acid is usually used at 5–20% (around 10–15% is common). Above ~20% adds little and tends to irritate more; it also needs a low pH to work.

Ascorbyl Palmitate

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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