Sheet Masks, are they worth looking like a serial killer for, for killer skin? YES!
Whilst the masks may have you looking a little creepy to start off with, you usually aren’t popping one on at your work desk and instead you get to do so in the privacy of your own home, so for all the good skin feels and skin hydration they provide then we think it’s a fair trade-off.
Although props to you if you do pop them on at your work desk, self-care comes first!
Let’s start with the basics, a sheet mask is a face mask made from material that is drenched in serum. You place the sheet mask onto your face ensuring it’s clean and then gently pat dry your face before applying the mask to the skin.
Once the face mask is on, sit back and relax for as long as you like but only if it’s a bio-cellulose mask but we’ll get to that later.
The sheet masks are kept between two layers of mesh to stop the mask from sticking together.
Ideally, the mask is on for 10-20 minutes, letting the skin absorb all the serum. The serum is absorbed by the skin in much higher doses than if you were to apply it directly onto your face. This is due to the mask creating a barrier to seal in all the goodness and it allows the skin to be saturated with all the active ingredients and be absorbed better than directly applying.
Sheet masks usually contain a higher concentration of active ingredients than regular serums, so for more efficacious skincare, you’ll want to mask regularly.
Sheet masks can come in a few different materials such as cotton, hydrogel, microfibre and even foil. At Good Living Only we’ve developed masks made with Bio-Cellulose technology which is a natural fibre made from coconut pulp and is able to absorb liquid that is more than 1000 times the mask's own weight, making them super magnets for hydration.
Using the same structure as the cellulose that is found within our skin’s epidermis layer the masks have a strong connection with our own skin, essentially mirroring our skin.
This is where the term ‘acting like a second skin’ comes into play when referring to bio-cellulose material and why bio-cellulose is dubbed the golden standard when it comes to sheet mask materials.
Bio-cellulose masks allow you to leave them on for as long as you would like whereas with cotton masks the longer you leave them on they can start to have the reverse effect known as reverse osmosis.
Once the cotton sheet dries out it starts to reabsorb moisture from the skin and if left on for too long it can take back more moisture than what was there to begin with, leaving your skin less hydrated than when you started.
More info on bio-cellulose can be found here.
So now you know the difference in sheet mask types let’s move on to the ingredients. One of the benefits of sheet masks is they can be infused with just about any skincare ingredient. Any serum with different ingredients to target a range of skin concerns.
From hydration, relaxation, brightening, soothing and even acne-prone skin bio-cellulose sheet masks can help all skin types.
So it depends on what the mask is trying to target and from there the ingredients should reflect the issue they claim to help.
Always best to do your own research on the ingredients listed, whilst the industry is moving in a more ingredient-conscious way it’s not regulated so be sure you know what’s going on your face and into your body where you can.
Our full ingredient list can be found here.
Did you know the bio-cellulose material is so incredible at hydrating your skin, some other sheet masks in the market are made just from the bio-cellulose material and infused with only water!
Hot Tip: whilst they will hydrate your skin you may want to check the ingredients list for more than just water before you shell out your hard-earned pennies for those ones.
We’ve gone a step further and infused our masks with all of these skin-loving active ingredients:
Collagen
Niacinimide
Hyaluronic Acid
Red Algae Extract
Australian Kakadu Plum