Over the past few years, the black charcoal mask has risen in popularity. This craze has spawned hundreds of DIY recipes and are both sold with ingredients that amount to black glue! On YouTube this mask has become a “torture challenge”, causing many to lose eyebrows, tears, skin, and can create horrified faces while struggling to peel the mask off their face. An at-home facial should be a relaxing experience, not a painful one. The real questions are: Is this really good for the skin? Does it make a difference?

While I do agree charcoal is good for the skin, in this form the benefits are minimal; it acts as an added color to an overly adhesive product that strips the skin. Using this mask once will not do much harm or good, and your skin will feel smoother, but, if this at-home mask is used too often it can cause long-term issues. After peeling off the mask your skin will be irritated and can be exposed to micro-organisms without any protection. When your skin does not have protection from the world you will develop a dry film on the outer layer of your skin and you can form cysts deep under the skin which may lead you to having an aggressive type of acne, cystic acne.

A peel-off face mask can be fun if you can peel off the mask all in one piece, and look at everything that came off your face that stuck to the mask. But, if you want to use an at-home mask, it is better to use a mask that has longer lasting properties and can appeal to your individual skin needs.  Check out our masks to find the one that works best for your skin, click here. Wiping off the mask may not be as dramatic as ripping one off but it will give you true benefits without having to go to a spa.