Amidst the universe’s mysteries – who was Jack the Ripper, what about Nessie, how and why was Stonehenge built, where is Excalibur, is there a yeti? – is another one I tried to solve: do face masks work?!
From time to time you see someone with rich girl skin, and, when pressed, they casually reply that they do a face mask every day. I like a face mask as much as the next skincare junkie, and love the overnight kind (I mainly ditched sheet masks). I do overnight masks maybe twice a week. But I usually credit them with only two main properties: hydration and soothing. So I used them for one week straight to see if my skin would be transformed at the end of the week, and also tried a few different masks in the process.
My method
I’d do my usual PM routine (cleansing oil, cosrx Galactomyces toner, cosrx brightening essence with either added retinol or azelaic acid – review – mixed in, Stratia Liquid Gold moisturiser – review), add a mask and see what has happened in the morning when I woke up. I measured my hydration and oil levels with a skin analyser (in depth how to and review) on three spots in my face and got to work. Brief recap on the data the skin analyser delivers:
In spring and autumn, your face’s moisture levels should be between 35-55%.
My review of the skin analyser
During summer, they should be between 40-60% (keep in mind, it gets HOT there in summer – these aren’t Mid-/Northern European levels), and during winter it’s between 30-50%.
Oil levels between 23-33% are considered normal.
Day 1
Usual PM routine, sans mask: hydration level average – 36,3. Oil level average – 24,3. Not bad, not stellar. Generally, when my hydration level goes above 40, my oil levels dramatically decrease: which, for me, proves the point that the drier my skin, the more oil it produces (and, in the end, more oiliness leads to impurities).
Day 2
I used a sheet mask I got from YesStyle as a goodie: Look at me Sweet Honey Bear Face Mask. I didn’t think anything of it (it smelled a bit cheaply of artificial honey and the actual honey level was almost non-existent), and actually didn’t enjoy using it – the fit was all over the place, and it nearly seemed to sting a bit. So imagine my surprise when my hydration level next morning were a nice 40,4, and my oil level 27. I didn’t suspect that.
Day 3
A mask combo I do once a week regularly: The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution (review), washed off and then topped with cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask (review). I usually pair the rather potent TO peeling mask with the super soothing overnight mask, and hydration level the next morning told me why: a whopping 50,3, while oil level were an excellent 21,5.
Day 4
I used the hilariously expensive Sulwhasoo Radiance Energy Mask, and the results clocked in marginally better than YesStyle’s cheapie sheet mask. Not exactly impressed. Hydration level: 41,3, oil level: 27,5. Hmpf.
Day 5
Where I used an oldie but goodie, and one that I used on many, many longhaul flights to fight off transepidermal water loss: Laneige’s OG Water Sleeping Mask. I should’ve used cosrx’s rice mask for those, because the results weren’t particularly great: hydration 39,2; oil 26,2.
Day 6
When I thought to give another Laneige mask a chance: their new Cica Sleeping Mask. Yeah, even worse: hydration 38,6; oil 25,8. Otherwise rather unremarkable apart from the fact that it doesn’t has a gel-like texture like most overnight masks, but looks and feels rather creamy (similarly to Sulwhasoo’s, in fact).
Day 7
I still have a few of my absolute favourite sheet masks around, the Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Mask, and of course I wanted to know if they’re up to task (they do have excellent brightening properties, but those, sadly, can’t be measured reliably). Imagine my soul crushing despair when, for the second time during this experiment, my trust was betrayed: hydration level 38,3; oil level 25,6.
Day 8
Time to bring out the really, really big guns: Shangpree’s Gold Premium Modelling Mask. I had this when I was at the Shangpree Spa in Seoul.) This has both a calming AND brightening effect that’s insane (sadly, pics in front of my bathroom mirror at 11PM didn’t show one bit of that magic), but my hydration/oil levels respectively were a bit sad the next morning: 37,3 and 24,9.
Tentative conclusion: this doesn’t work
The attentive reader maybe has realised at this point that my hydration levels have been falling ever since I used the TO/cosrx combo. Because I wondered why, I was determined to check two variables: my pillowcase and my moisturiser. I had been sleeping on a simple cotton pillowcase and changed that to a silk one (review). Also, Stratia’s Liquid Gold rather famously lacks occlusives, so I added some in the form of a simple overnight mask.
Day 9
Regular PM routine with Paula’s Choice Super Hydrate Overnight Mask (SHOM) on top. Hydration: 37,7 and oil 25,2. I’m a bit underwhelmed. It’s not bad, but also – not stellar? It’s something I could live with from day to day (and, in fact, not far from the numbers when I started this experiment), but given that my oil levels are much better when my hydration level is above 40, it’s a bit disappointing.
Day 10
Regular PM routine with Paula’s Choice SHOM on top AND sleeping on a silk pillowcase: Hydration 38,7 and oil 25,8. Sooooooo, apparently the silk pillow does, in fact, help a bit with transepidermal water loss!
Conclusion: do face masks work?!
My working thesis was that I could up my hydration level somehow by using one mask every day, no matter if it was an overnight mask or sheet mask. I thought that my hydration level would peak after a few days and stay that way.
IT DIDN’T. Instead, my hydration level fell from day to day after a short and dramatic rise after the combined use from TO and cosrx rice. (Before ANY of you now go and use that combo every day: don’t. The rice mask does its job on its own as well.)
My hydration level at the beginning of the experiment was 36,3 – after one week of continuously using masks it was 37,7. That 1,4 rise wouldn’t call for a daily use of masks for me.
The secret winner
On the other hand, the big winner here was cosrx’s overnight rice mask: I suppose using that once or twice a week will give my skin the hydration boost I want. Other masks gave a very short hydration boost that didn’t last the night. I’ve to say, though, that my skin after ten days of masks looks rather well, with a nice even (for me!) skin tone and a bit of glow.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
Love your reviews , thanks for sharing