Benton
Benton Deep Green Tea Toner 150ml
Half the bottle is green tea. To two decimal places.
502,200 ppm — 50.22% — printed as a footnote most people never read.
Watery, faintly green.
What this toner does
A 150 ml toner whose base is Camellia sinensis leaf water at a declared 50.22%, with the tea plant present in four forms and two willow barks. Seventeen ingredients.
A percentage you can actually check
Brands love the phrase "contains green tea". Benton prints the number: Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water (502,200 ppm). Parts per million divided by ten thousand gives you percent, so 502,200 ppm is 50.22% of the finished product.
The ingredient order agrees with it. Leaf water is first and plain water is second — the only way that happens is if the tea water genuinely outweighs everything else in the bottle.
Four parts of the same plant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water (1) is the steam distillate. Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (10) is the solvent extract of the same leaf — a different set of molecules, since the distillate carries only what travels with steam. Camellia Sinensis Seed Extract (11) comes from the seed, which is where the plant stores its oil and saponins. Camellia Sinensis Root Extract (12) is the rarest of the four; tea root is not a common cosmetic material at all.
The two willows, and what they are not
Salix Nigra (Black Willow) Bark Extract and Salix Alba (White Willow) Bark Extract sit at thirteen and fourteen.
Willow bark is sold across the industry as "natural BHA", and that is not accurate. Willow bark contains salicin, which is a precursor — it has to be converted to salicylic acid, and skin is not efficient at doing that. The amount of salicin in a cosmetic willow extract is also small.
Willow bark extract is a good ingredient. It is not a substitute for salicylic acid, and if you bought this expecting exfoliation you will not get it. What you will get is a toner with no acid in it at all, which for a lot of people is the better outcome.
Key ingredients
Ingredient · What it is, and what it is used for
- Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water
- Distillate of green tea leaf. First on the list, declared at 50.22% — this is the base of the product.
- Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
- Solvent extract of green tea leaf. Used to slow oxidation, in the formula and on skin; used to calm irritation.
- Camellia Sinensis Seed Extract
- Extract of the tea seed, where the plant holds its oil and saponins.
- Camellia Sinensis Root Extract
- Extract of tea root. Uncommon as a cosmetic ingredient.
- Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract
- Extract of black willow bark. Contains salicin — a precursor to salicylic acid, not the acid itself.
- Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract
- Extract of white willow bark.
- Centella Asiatica Extract
- Extract of Centella asiatica, whole plant. Used to calm irritation; used to slow oxidation. Eighth on this list.
- Houttuynia Cordata Extract
- Heartleaf extract. Used to calm the look of redness.
- Sodium Hyaluronate
- Sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. A material skin already contains, so it reads as its own; used to pull in water and hold it. Seventh on this list.
- Punica Granatum Fruit Extract
- Extract of pomegranate fruit.
- Betaine
- Amino acid derivative from sugar beet. Used to pull in water and hold it.
- Sodium Citrate
- Salt of citric acid. Sets the pH — it holds the pH steady.
How the formula works together
Seventeen ingredients, and every one of them is either the tea base, a humectant, a botanical or a buffer. There is no oil, no silicone, no thickener, no colour and no fragrance.
There is also no ingredient here whose only purpose is preservation. 1,2-Hexanediol and Pentylene Glycol are glycols that hold water and also inhibit microbial growth — the combination brands use when they want a label with no conventional preservative on it. That is a real formulation choice, and it is why the list is this short.
Who it is for
Labelled for all skin types. A stripped-back toner for skin that reacts to long ingredient lists — no fragrance, no essential oil, no alcohol, no acid. Good as a first layer, and good to keep using during a period when your skin will not tolerate anything active.
How to use it
- After cleansing, pour a little into your palms or onto a cotton pad.
- Spread evenly over the face and pat until absorbed.
- Layer two or three times on dry days.
- Follow with serum or lotion while skin is still damp.
Details
- Size
- 150 ml
- Made in
- Korea
- Green tea leaf water
- 502,200 ppm — 50.22%, as declared on the label
- Skin type
- All skin types
- Ingredients
- 17, published in full below
Full ingredient list
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water, Aqua (Water), Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Centella Asiatica Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Seed Extract, Camellia Sinensis Root Extract, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Betaine, Sodium Citrate
Footnoted on the label: Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water 502,200 ppm.
In label order, unedited.
Ships from Korea.
