Toner plays an essential role in any basic skin care routine, says Renee Rouleau, a Dallas-based aesthetician, in Marie Claire magazine. Not only does toner help clean potential acne-causing residue from your pores, it also makes moisturizer more effective so you can use a lighter-weight lotion that's less likely to clog your pores while getting the same results you'd get from a heavier skin-softening cream.

Kiehl's Photo-Age Corrector Activated Toner

If current or past breakouts have left your skin tone uneven with red patches, Real Simple magazine's beauty department recommends Kiehl's Photo-Age Corrector Activated Toner. Because it's milk-based rather than alcohol-based, it's gentle enough for even sensitive skin, and its high vitamin C content helps fade redness to brighten and even out your skin tone.

Boscia Clear Complexion Tonic

If you rely on toner to soak up oil throughout the day, you need a lightweight formula that won't dry out your skin. Elle magazine recommends Boscia Clear Complexion Tonic, which effectively removes pore-clogging oil and debris without stripping your skin's protective sebaceous layer. Removing the sebaceous layer may give you oil-free skin in the short-term, but in the long run it actually forces you skin to increase its oil production.

Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Clearing Astringent

Cosmopolitan magazine beauty blogger Andrea Lavinthal recommends Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Clearing Astringent on Cosmopolitan magazine's Sexy Beauty Secrets blog. Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Clearing Astringent contains salicylic acid, which cleans out your pores to prevent acne from forming. Lavinthal recommends limiting use to areas where oily skin is a problem -- like your nose, forehead and chin, for example -- so that you don't dry out the non-oily parts of your skin.

Sephora Face Soothing Toner

If you suspect that your skin's occasional acne flare-ups are due mainly to leftover makeup and dirt at the end of the day, Lavinthal recommends Sephora Face Soothing Toner. Its fairly gentle formula helps clear away any debris that regular washing might miss, and it's alcohol-free, so it won't dry out your skin.