Masking: Does it work?

Some of you, literally like 3 people at most, may or may not have noticed that I didn’t exactly see through my ‘month of masking’ series for an entire month. Infact yesterday should have been the final day ending the series with a conclusion that I’m now sharing in this very post.

So why did this ‘experiment’ hault abruptly, and fall short of an entire month?

First of all, I got behind in reviewing them: this was inevitable, I already expected this to happen from the beginning date. Never did I aim to write and upload a review on or the day after using each mask; I planned to at least keep you up-to-date with my experience even if that meant sharing reviews and the final verdict a week or two after the actual month had passed. As long as all 30 masks had been discussed at some stage, I would be satisfied. So this isn’t exactly why I stopped but it did make me think about quitting as I didn’t like the irregularity.

The main point why I ended the test, was because my skin couldn’t handle it. My skin is too sensitive and I only managed to reach the half way/two week mark. One mask in particular, the Eleven Huesday mask that came in a syringe, really irriated my skin and I’m quite sure using different masks day after day since using ‘the syringe mask’ didn’t allow my skin to recover; thus causing further complications even if those other masks would usually agree with my skin. I should have ended the trial there and then, but hoped the extra hydration from further tested masks would counteract the negative effects caused by said mask: to a certain extent they did, however from previous bad reactions to skincare products I know that I should have kept my routine as basic as possible in order to speed up the healing process.

Have I been stupid?: Possibly, but this month of masking has enabled me to understand my skin type even further that I have learnt since using skincare from the age of 12. I feel like testing out sheet masks determined and confirmed which ingredients are suitable and unsuitable for my skin personally.

My main findings.

If you have hyper-sensitive/oily skin (I think I can fairly include acne prone skin within this group) take this information on board in regards to using sheet masks:

– Do not use a sheet mask everyday. Using one every other day or once every 3 days is much more sensible.

– Do not use a different mask every time, or at least don’t use masks that have an entirely different variation of ingredients to each other. Stick to plant or nature extracts that are gentle and don’t contain artificial fragrance, i.e. Green tea, aloe vera, bamboo, rice, milk, rose water, cica, honey, avocado, blueberry/other berries, pomegranate, etc. Thankfully its not a matter of not being able to use masks at all, and we still have plenty of options to chose from. Simply we should just be more aware and selective when it comes to ingredients/formulations. By common sense, you should stay away from citrus and acid based sheet masks altogether or at least use them once in a blue moon.

– If you want to play things even safer, narrow down your availability even more by alternating between just two or three masks that have the ingredients I just mentioned above. For example:

Monday = Green tea sheet mask

Wednesday = Rice sheet mask

Friday = Green tea mask again (same brand and version).

– Not only does a repetitive method make irritation less likely to occur, it ensures that we can see and feel long lasting effects that each sheet mask promises to provide. Using one particular mask once without consistency doesn’t do much other than provide hydration.

– Remember the 6~8 week turn over cycle: this period is how long it takes for our skin to get used to a new product. Occasionally our skin can worsen during the first few weeks of usage, so we stop using it and look for an alternative because we think its ineffective or harmful. Use a product properly for the full 6~8 weeks before deciding whether to continue with it or not. Of course if your skin is having a seriously bad reaction to something, stop using it immediately and consult with a Dermatologist.

I think we all get enticed by wanting to regularly try new sheet masks, and the same principle applies for any cosmetic, so we don’t give products enough time to do their jobs. Instead we just keep absorbing more and more chemicals that often do more harm than good; just sometimes we can’t see that. In conclusion, keep things as simple as possible and stick to a routine. A routine doesn’t just mean using a type of product frequently, e.g. a foam cleanser and a moisturiser, it means using the exact same set of products over and over again.

🥀

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