Skincare: Sheet Masks

Sheet masks have started to appear everywhere due to the rise of Asian inspired beauty products within the Western market. It started with only higher end brands introducing them to us and slowly the trend has diffused down into drugstore skincare. With so many company's offering their take on sheet masks it can be easy to get sucked into a trend so what does a sheet mask really do to your skin and are they really any good?

After trying quite a few different sheet masks i have found it hard to see the benefits of using them, for the most part they cause a massive spot outbreak on my face. I have tried some more expensive ones and also tried some drugstore alternatives and the results are always the same.

Sheet Masks are designed to brighten and moisturise with most containing key ingredients such as vitamins, amino acids and minerals which are required for healthy looking skin. This makes them great for a instant hit of hydration but there are so many problems with them.

Lets start with skin types, if you have acne prone skin these aren't going to be any good for you because they are packed with moisture and underneath that mask it is just helping bacteria to grow. The likelihood is your going to get a break out from it, which i find whenever i use them. Also they do not cleanse or exfoliate the skin so you need to make sure you do this thoroughly before you use them or you are going to have a build up of dirt and bacteria. That is the main reason i love a mask such as the Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask because you can really feel the difference to your skin after, with sheet masks i can rarely tell a difference. The only people who are going to see a massive change with a sheet mask is going to be the people who have particularly dry skin.

Aside from your skin type, the main problem with sheets masks is the principle of one size fits all because this isn't the case. I must admit i am a relatively small person and my face fits my smaller stature so when applying a sheet masks i have to fold it up so many different ways to try and fit my face to the eye and mouth holes. The eye holes are never big enough for my eyes and the gap between the nose and the mouth always ends up hanging into my mouth which dampens my experience some what when i end up tasting the serum. The Hydraluron masks from Indeed Labs are the worst for this, i don't know who they created these masks for but they are huge! They make me look ridiculous because they just don't fit at all.

Sometimes the amount of serum packed on the masks can make them quite unpleasant. The Garnier Moisture Bomb mask is slathered in serum to the point where it is basically dripping which makes you wonder how on earth your skin would ever take it all in. The Sephora ones are much better in this regard, they don't feel too slimy and they sit nicely on the face without feeling like it might slide off.  

This already puts me off and makes me regret not picking a simple charcoal mask and these feelings are matched when i have a break out a few days later. So far the Sephora sheet masks have been my favourite and i would potentially use these again if i could buy them easily. 

I can see the appeal of sheet masks and why they have become so big in the beauty world however i believe there only real use should be when your skin NEEDS a super hydration boost, like when you are on a plane or if you have been poorly. These sheet masks are prefect for travel, yes you might scare everyone on the plane around you but this is practically what these masks were made for. They are easy to transport, they give you the super hydration that the planes air con systems sucks out of your skin and you don't need to wash anything off. If it is just your pamper night at home i would stick to something like the Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask or one of the Glamglow masks.

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