I tested the Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA Miracle Toner for 30 days
My patron singer Santa Mariah, along with Tita Whitney, once sang that there can be miracles when you believe. TBQH, I immediately ignore any product that claims to be miraculous. But thanks to all the persuasive marketing and my insecurity of having adult acne, I volunteered my face to try the Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA Miracle Toner.
You’ve probably seen ads for the Miracle Toner on your Instagram or Facebook feeds, with its promises to give smoother, cleaner, and more radiant skin after 30 days. This contains alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, and poly hydroxy acids to exfoliate skin, and 2% niacinamide to brighten the complexion. It also claims to have 10,000 PPM (parts per million) of tea tree extract, which is a known pimple-fighting ingredient. It is also supposed to be moisturizing and is marketed as a low pH toner.
I have oily, acne-prone skin. I am currently battling adult acne, which is caused by stress and genetics. I also have a lot of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Both issues are currently being treated by my dermatologist, and I sought her approval to try the Miracle Toner before doing this trial.
Before the Miracle Toner trial
To ensure that whatever results I get are from the toner, I cut down on my skincare and replaced my derma-issued products (with my derma’s permission) with the Miracle Toner. So my routine consisted of an oil cleanser (only at night for makeup removal), the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser, the Miracle Toner, the In Her Element Rose Gel Serum Moisturizer/Petal Skin Rose Toning Essence, the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream, and sunscreen (only in the morning).
Once a week, I masked up with the In Her Element Petal Skin Rose Clay Mask. In the middle of the trial period, I ran out of moisturizer and used the toning essence in its place. I tested the Miracle Toner for no less than 30 days, using it as part of my AM and PM routine, without fail.
After Week 1
Week 1
First impression: Wow, this toner smells so much like tea tree! It’s not an irritating scent but it’s definitely a little bit stronger than the CosRX cleanser’s. Because of all the acids in the formulation, I anticipated drying and stinging. But that wasn’t the case - the toner actually felt very hydrating. It has a very watery texture with a bit of thickness.
I broke out the morning after I started using this. I’m not mad about it; after all, purging is a normal reaction with acid use. By the end of the week though, I noticed that I had breakouts where I don’t usually get them anymore: on my forehead near my hairline, and on my brow bone. I got a really painful pimple near my brow and didn’t experience any brightening so though it was honestly annoying, I continued with the trial.
Week 2
I started the week with a pop - six, that it is! Half a dozen pimples showed up on my forehead like an annoying headpiece. This to me was a clear sign of purging but I was dying inside since I don’t break out as much on my forehead. This was also my pre-period week so my breakouts are all over the place but I noticed that some of my breakouts looked a little less red.
After Week 2
After Week 3
Week 3
Sigh pie, more purging happened on my forehead and now appeared on the sides of my face as well! As I was applying foundation sometime midweek though, I noticed that my skin felt smoother on my forehead and my cheeks, at least on the pimple-free areas. The redness also seemed to have calmed down a little bit, but not very drastically.
After Week 4
Week 4
Den told me that she noticed my cheeks were smoother. Yay, so it wasn’t just in my head! I really shouldn’t but I kept touching my face. I was just so happy that my skin generally felt smoother. I also felt that the toner was helping with the breakouts I usually got on my jawline. I usually get cystic acne on that area, and while they were still present, they weren’t as big and painful as before I started using the Miracle Toner.
Just when I thought my purging had calmed down though, I broke out again on my final trial week. The purging has stopped on my forehead, but I now have pimples on my chin and on the sides of my mouth. But I’m pretty sure these are just from stress, lol.
Taking photos of my progress helped me realize the gradual brightening of the toner. It’s isn’t drastic so it wasn’t immediately obvious to me, but comparing to my first week of use, the redness has substantially gone down.
After 30 days: Applying makeup and covering blemishes is easier, thanks to a smoother texture
So what did I learn from using this toner? Maybe I shouldn’t totally say no to miracles. It did help a little bit with my acne, but I mostly found this effective in improving my skin texture! This reminded me of the results I experienced from using the CosRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol daily, which gave me smoother skin. However, the A-sol can be very drying so the Miracle Toner can be a good alternative to that.
Would I recommend the Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA Miracle Toner? I’m honestly still on the fence. I’m very happy about how this improved my skin’s texture but it’s not the do-all treatment that ads would have you believe. It also contains ingredients like peppermint oil and witch hazel which can irritate skin, so if you’re considering getting this, make sure to know what ingredients your skin likes and dislikes.
While this contains tea tree, I’m more comfortable recommending the toner as a chemical exfoliator rather than as an acne treatment. Note that my skin can mostly withstand using acids daily, so YMMV!
We purchased the Some By Mi AHA BHA PHA Miracle Toner for P990 at BeautyMNL but other online stores offer it as well. You can use the HiddenTag App to verify the authenticity of your Some By Mi products!
Have you tried the Miracle Toner? What’s your experience with it? Let us know in the comments!
Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Lens Esculenta (Lentil) Seed Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Swiftlet Nest Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Fructan, Allantoin, Adenosine, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Xylitol, Salicylic Acid, Lactobionic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Benzyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ethyl Hexanediol, Raspberry Ketone, Phenoxyethanol, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
