I have been using the Obagi Nu-Derm Toner for almost 1 year now, and love the way it helps to remove dead skin from my face. When I wash my face with the Obagi cleaner, I think that it is clean until I take a cotton pad, moisten it with the Nu-Derm Toner and watch the dead skin come off onto the pad. Afterwards my face feels much smoother and looks so much brighter and cleaner. I thought that any toner might do the same thing as long as I used the same cleaner, so I switched for a couple of days, and it didn't work. No dead skin appeared on my cotton pad. I think the Nu-Derm Toner must bind and attract the dirt and dead skin causing it to rub off on the cotton pad. It even helps removing excess make-up that I thought I had washed off of my face. I think it is great and I will never stop using it.