You don’t have to be rich or win the genetic lottery to have amazing skin. Sure, the easiest way to give your skin a stunning glow might be through a dermatologist or aesthetician, but you might be shocked by what a simple yet consistent skin care regimen can do. Bonus points if that regimen includes skin care masks.
How do you put your beauty budget to best use and make sure your masks are treating your skin right? Follow these dos and don’ts.
Do Time Your Masks Strategically
Timing is a massive part of your skincare routine. Deciding which products to use in the morning vs. at night, and the order in which to use them is half the battle. That holds for skin care masks too. The trick is finding the best time in your routine to allow them to work their best.
This depends on the type of mask you’re using. For example, a cleansing mask is an excellent choice for the day after you exfoliate because the exfoliation will let it reach deeper into your skin. A resurfacing mask, on the other hand, may be too harsh to use that soon after you exfoliate.
Don’t Restrict Yourself to Skin Care Masks
Masks are a skincare treatment most commonly designed for facial use. After all, that is the part of our skin that most of us are most concerned about. But if you only use facial masks, you’re missing out.
Take some time to try out this beauty treatment in other areas, like your feet or hands. These work in similar ways to face masks because they’re concentrated products that you apply and leave on for a certain amount of time before removing. Masks can help you achieve younger-looking hands and soft, smooth feet just as well as they can for your face.
To be clear, you should not take your face mask and apply it elsewhere. Look for a mask that is designed for the area you want to target.
Do Choose Based on Your Skin Type
You might have a friend who raves about a certain beauty treatment they’ve found and how much it has helped their skin. That’s fantastic, and recommendations from friends are always appreciated, but masks, like any other product, are all designed with certain skin types and needs in mind.
Rather than based on a recommendation from a friend, look into what the mask claims to do and what skin types it is designed for. You may find that you need a hydrating mask for dry skin, an anti-aging mask for sensitive skin, or a different type depending on your skin concerns.
Don’t Trust Every DIY Recipe You Find Online
Let’s have a chat about DIY skincare. The trend toward more natural skincare is booming, and I’m all for it! However, a mask fashioned of household staples is not the greatest way to accomplish this.
DIY masks usually aren’t designed by skincare scientists and dermatologists but by influencers and beauty enthusiasts who mean well but don’t have in-depth knowledge of the chemistry in their hands. Some ingredients they suggest might not be safe to put on your skin, and others might be safe on their own but interact poorly when put together. You also don’t know if the recipe you find is appropriate for your skin type because it hasn’t been researched.
This isn’t to say that all DIY skincare mask recipes are unsafe or potentially irritable, but it does indicate that they’re not worth the risk, no matter how many people rave about them. Instead, use professionally prepared skin masks.
Do Use Masks on (and with) a Clean Slate
Sometimes it’s the simplest mistakes that people overlook in their skincare routine, like cleansing. Always cleanse your face before applying a mask or skin care treatment. This clears away oils, sweat, and other debris that can block the mask from reaching deep into your skin.
While nearly every mask will tell you in the instructions to cleanse your skin first, they don’t tell you to wash your hands, and that’s equally important. Applying with unwashed hands could transfer dirt, oils, and more onto your face and counteract the restorative effects.
Don’t Assume More = Better
This is true for not only masks but all skincare products: more isn’t necessarily better. Your mask should come with instructions on how often to use it, and you should use that as your maximum. If you overuse them, such as by using them daily instead of weekly, they can irritate your skin or dry it out.
This also applies to the quantity of time you wear your mask. If the package says to leave it on for 10 minutes, you won’t double the effect by leaving it on for 20 minutes; you might be harming your skin instead.
Do Follow Your Mask with Moisturizer
As you’ve probably read in these blogs a hundred times, skin care will vary considerably from person to person, including what you need, when you need it, and so on. But one rule that is as close to universal as it gets is to finish your skincare routine with a moisturizer.
Moisturiser keeps in the hydration provided by your skin care products and helps in the rebuilding of your skin’s natural protective barrier. When you use a mask, always finish your routine with a moisturizer (yes, even if it’s a hydrating mask).
Getting The Most Out of Your Mask
Skin care masks can be a fantastic way to give your skin more concentrated nourishment and focus on a specific skin care goal without professional skin treatments. With the dos and don’ts above, you can make sure you’re squeezing every last drop of beauty out of those treatment masks.
