Let's Talk: Masking
Masks are essential to skincare. They pack a huge punch for your skin and deliver ingredients and treatments that aren't necessarily good to put on your skin every day during your normal routines. Targeting specific concerns, masks aim to treat or prevent things like acne, deep pore cleansing, brightening and the list goes on. On a normal week, I try to do a mask every day but at least every other day. I never use a mask more than once a week, other than my honey mask. So, I've amassed quite a large collection of masks that all do different things for me and below I've listed five of my ride-or-dies.
1.
Keihl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask - This mask digs deep into your pores and gets all the dirt and impurities out. For me, it helps to treat acne by disinfecting my skin and clearing the dirt from the area by getting in deep below the skin.
2.
Mario Badescu Whitening Mask - It sounds scary, but this doesn't bleach your face. At first, that's what I thought but this mask aids in the process of lightening dark spots caused by acne scars, sun damage, and hyperpigmentation. It's worked pretty well and dries down really quickly so I've been using it religiously to help lighten spots on my chin and forehead as well as the darkness around my nose.
3.
Mario Badescu Silver Powder - Though not really a traditional "mask", Silver Powder is...well, a powder. It's a loose, iridescent powder in a jar. To use, you dampen a cotton ball or pad with water and dip it into the powder. I then press it into the areas around my nose, between my eyebrows, and on my chin where I have the most noticeable pores. It works well to get out the nasty stuff, but I'm not 100 percent sure yet.
4.
L'Oreal Purity & Mattify, Eucalyptus Clay Mask - I'm not dying over this mask. It kind of burns or tingles a little bit, but I feel like it does help with oil control which is why I've continued using it. However, during the winter months my skin is far less oily so I've decreased my use of this.
5.
Aztec Clay and Apple Cider Vinegar - This one is painful. I buy bulk tubs of powdered clay and mix with equal parts apple cider vinegar. I don't even remember why, but my mom does this and got me on it. Overall, it makes my skin smooth and helps to calm breakouts and tighten pores so I keep using it. It leaves my face really red after, kind of like a massively bad sunburn. It's a cute look.
And that's it! Masks are really important for me because they help tackle specific areas my everyday cleansers and creams aren't handling. It also helps me mentallys because the whole process of doing one mask takes between 20-30 minutes, and that time is completely dedicated to me and I can't do too much else. If I'm particularly stressed, I do three to five masks back-to-back.
xLogan