I absolutely love REN and could not have been more excited to get my hands on the new Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic, since I’m a big fan of their Glycol Lactic mask from the same range. As soon as I got this bottle of fruity fragranced exfoliating acid, I trotted on home and got to work immediately; then I found it stung like a bitch so I promptly gave up on it, preparing to write a negative review. However, I gave it another chance again over the last week or so, and whilst I still think it’s a very strong product, it’s definitely something I’m much more into the second time around.
The REN Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic is a brilliant, pH balanced mix of cutting edge acids including my current favourite, Azelaic Acid, alongside Lactic Acid and Willow Bark, the latter of which is where Salicylic Acid comes from. It’s also got a gorgeous juicy, fruity fragrance that smells natural yet lovely and fresh. Finally, the bottle itself is a brilliant pump-action – so you place your cotton pad on the top, push down and the pad becomes soaked in the solution. As you’d expect, you use this as an exfoliating toner, which you can use either AM or PM – I’d say those with normal and/or hardy skin could use this in the AM, but sensitive souls would handle it better in the PM. The big thing for me, and my easily upset, redness-prone skin, is that I need to use this gently and give plenty of time for skin to settle down after cleansing; if I use it too soon after cleansing it stings a bit, although to be honest, it’s no big deal now I’ve started gently brushing my face with the pad and acknowledging the fact that it’s an acid toner and needs to be treated as such, whereas I’d be a bit more vigorous with a traditional, soothing toner. Immediately after use skin looks and feels a lot smoother and more refined, so the slight risk of stinging is a very small price to pay, and probably points to the fact that there are no weak, pointless acid percentages in the formula. In conclusion, ease yourself in gently if you’re prone to sensitivity but this is a very well-priced, impressively formulated acid toner that’ll likely impress even the most cynical skincare fan. It’s £25 here – link.
*PR Sample
