Face Masks For Wintertime

It’s coming to the cold time of year again, which means your skin is likely to start getting dry soon. The skincare routine that you have perfected all through summer starts to fall behind, or even worse, starts irritating your already wind-battered skin. You need hydrating and relaxation- and quick! For combating dryness and irritation in the cooler months, adding a weekly face mask is the way to go.

Using a facemask regularly can help clean out your pores, removing any dirt or impurities that stubbornly sit on the surface of your skin. Face masks work because they keep the product against your skin for longer than a cleanser or a wash- recommended wear time for a face usually falls between ten and twenty minutes. Therefore, ingredients in the face mask- Vitamin C or salicylic acid, for example- will better penetrate your skin for a refreshed and brightened appearance. Depending on the ingredients, face masks can hydrate and moisturize your skin, remove excess oils, and reduce the appearance of pores. Also, it feels good, which should be reason enough to give them a try!

Our first masks on this list are the clay masks from the Australian-based brand Mask Me. Based and created in Brisbane (our hometown!), Mask Me is a new skincare brand that focuses on natural Australian ingredients that let you find your natural beauty. Mask Me focuses on simple but effective formulas with carefully chosen ingredients, all while being 100% vegan and not testing on animals.

Their current signature product is the Australian green olive clay mask, featuring coffee seed extract for a nutrient-rich formula that heals and hydrates. The olive extract is full of vitamins A and E, super-moisturizers that help reduce dryness and dehydration, while the coffee seed brightens and firms skin while improving texture. Creamy and easy to apply, this is a perfect mask for skin that is dry, dehydrated, and dull.

Mask Me also has a pink clay mask that is just as rejuvenating. Pink clay is rich in Silica, perfect for dry skin as it helps improve your skin’s elasticity and cell renewal. This pink clay mask also features Australian Kakadu plum, rich with vitamins C and E that plumps skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines while moisturising, as well as folic acid and carotenoids, to rejuvenate skin cells as well as brighten and soothe.

Both of Mask Me’s items are clay masks. Mud and clay masks soak up oils and have a slight exfoliating effect, leaving your skin feeling smooth and clean. They are perfect for people with more oily and textured skin, as they settle into fine lines and pores for a deep clean. A fantastic clay mask is L’Oréal’s purifying and mattifying Pure Clay mask. This mask, along with the rest of L’Oréal’s Pure Clay range, contains three different natural clays: Kaolin, concentrated with silicates to absorb impurities and excess oil, Montmorillonite to purify and re-balance the skin, reducing imperfections, and Ghassoul, able to absorb impurities and oils without irritating, leaving skin smooth, fresh, and radiant. The added Eucalyptus deeply cleanses and mattifies skin while giving the mask a calming scent. The soothing nature of this mask means that it can be applied more often, up to three times a week as opposed to once. However, listen to your skin and patch test first to be sure frequent application will not bother you.

If you're after something for skin oiliness and impurities there is the Argan Oil mud maskfrom 7th Heaven. This mask features hydrating Moroccan argan oil for supple skin, antioxidant-rich acai berries and firming rosehip oil. These ingredients combine to create a face mask that is deeply cleansing, balances your oil levels, and brightens your tired skin to leave you looking fresh and glowing. The argan oil mask is best for combination and oily skin, and the tube has up to twelve uses. 7th Heaven is also a proudly cruelty-free company, and this particular mask is also vegan.

For those with sensitive skin, the gentle exfoliation of a mud mask can be irritating more than refreshing. If this is you, sheet masks are a better option. Unlike mud masks, sheet masks allow you to have the product directly against your skin for an extended time without needing the product to dry, which is when masks usually start irritating sensitive skin. Sheet masks are often hydrating and can be anti-inflammatory if kept in the fridge, and are perfect for irritable skin.

Garnier has some of the most popular and well-liked sheet masks. We have a whole range of Garnier masks in, but there are some I consider my favourites. One is the Hydra-Bomb Green Tea Mask, a perfect mask for dehydrated and oily-prone skin. Enriched with hyaluronic acid for hydration and firming and green tea for soothing and protection, this mask is infused with the quantity of one bottle of serum for intense skincare in just 15 minutes. This mask is intensely hydrating and rebalancing in the short term but can also give you overall skin improvement and pore minimization in the long term, especially if used regularly.

For another 15-minute wonder treatment, there is Garnier's Pure Charcoal Tissue Mask. This mask offers a double purifying and hydrating efficacy that clears skin without drying it out. Its striking black tissue is infused with charcoal, a centuries-old beauty remedy known for its excellent absorbing properties, to draw out stubborn dirt, oil and impurities from the skin. Enriched with Black Algae extract, LHA and Hyaluronic Acid to purify, refine pores and refine skin texture, while leaving skin mattified and hydrated, it is suitable for all skin types, even sensitive skin.

For an intense skin-care option, there is StiVectin’s Advance Resurfacing Mask. This mask contains micro-encapsulated Glycolic Acid, the 'holy grail' of skincare acids, for a gentle yet effective exfoliation for brighter skin with a more even tone and texture. This gently exfoliating mask can improve your skin in as little as 5 minutes, revealing a more radiant and glowing complexion with minimal irritation. Cruelty-free, paraben-free and vegan-friendly, and was awarded Best New Beauty 2018 by The Beauty Authority.

Written by Miranda