Back in 2010, when Glamglow launched, who would have ever guessed a few years later the world and instagram would be flooded with mud masks! Just to think 10-15 years ago, it was pretty difficult to get an exciting mask from any retail brand even “clinical brands” and now, WOW!
So why do we love these mud masks so much:
Usually for that moment you wash your face and your skin feels so super clean, tight, your pores appear smaller and those pesky blemishes usually look a little subtle and over time die a slow death. So it’s not hard to not fall in love with these instant effects.
So let’s look at the famous SUPERMUD which got most blemish prone skins I know excited all those years back.
SUPERMUD
What made this mud exciting for blemish prone skins like me, was how it combined a whole list of acids (usually reserved to acid treatments) into a pore sucking charcoal and clay mask. These were AHAs/BHAs & PHAs – (Tartaric Acid, Pyruvic Acid, Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid). We all know how amazing these acids can be in retexturizing and resurfacing the skin, with BHA/Salicylic acid being able to penetrate pores to dislodge oil and sebum. Yet at the same time, this mask also has the rather more potent Charcoal and the milder Kaolin to absorb impurities, purifying and clarifying the skin. It also contains botanicals that work to calm and soothe the skin counteracting the aggressive effects of the acids like Aloe Vera, Licorice, Cucumber, Comfrey, Calendula. (NOTE: it does include essential oils and Fragrance) .
The only Iffy part back then was probably the price, since it is about $59 (USD) (1.7 oz/ 50 g (however since we have seen far more premium options launch so it isn’t too bad in comparison). Who is it ideally suitable for Great for oily, acne prone and congested skin. I would not use this on any compromised, sensitive or dry skin.
Personal experience:
I would leave this on for about 12 mins or so and only use this around my nose and chin, since I did feel it was a little strong for other areas of my face, leaving them feeling extremely dry and parched.
When using this mask around my nose, I always notice
On the affordable skincare side (as recommended by @skinintrovert),
I decided to see if Body Shop’s – Himalayan Charcoal Mask would fair better. In other words, a clay mask with good purifying effects without the overstepping of moisture from the skin.
The Himalayan Charcoal mask utilizes a mixture of clays and charcoal to purify the skin-
*Bamboo Charcoal from the Himalayas to absorb impurities and excess oil as well as gently exfoliating the skin,
*Kaolin, Moroccan Lava
*Shea butter, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil,
*Antibacterial/antifungal Tea Tree oil that works across skin conditions with excellent p.
*Botanicals to
The Himalayan Charcoal Mask for me seemed to perform in between the Youth Mud and Super Mud from Glamglow (since it also has Green Tea leaves in the mask the sensorial experience is also very similar to the Youth Mud Mask). It has the good brightening facial effects of Youth mud but at the same time also has the potent blemish fighting capacity of Supermud, just without the acids (which can be
PROS:
These masks work really well on mopping excess sebum, impurities
CONS:
Now for me, the biggest damper on both of these masks is how they always seem to dry out in the pot before I have even had a chance to completely finish them. They are also extremely drying on my face, something which I am not a huge fan of. Which basically means hosing my face down with lots of
Do you prefer T-Zone or select area masking or the whole face?
