Sep 28th 2020
Face Masks. Two simple words, yet so many options:
Leave-on masks, wash-off masks; moisturizing face masks, acne/oil-reducing face masks; and so on. All this buzz may leave you wondering, what are face masks, and can this all be worth it?!
Wander down any grocery, pharmacy or beauty store skin care aisle and notice all the various types of face masks. Some look like lotions, some look like face paint, and some look like something you’d wear on Halloween. If you’re like me, you wonder—why are there so many face mask options? How do you use them?
So, I sat down with SeeMe Beauty’s skin care ingredient guru, Kristin for a 1:1 on Face Masks.
Rachel: Ok, Kristin, I need some help here. Admittedly, I have always wondered about face masks, and have tried so many different kinds, but I never really understood what I was doing, why I should use them, and do they really make a difference?
Kristin: (chuckles) Yea, I hear you. There *are* a lot of options for face masks—it’s not surprising you would ask.
Rachel: Thanks. So, help me out here—what are masks, and how should you use them?
Kristin: Truly, there are so many types of masks, we could spend an entire conversation on that, but let’s focus on a few common ways that they can be different than a serum or moisturizer:
- More effective ingredients
- Detoxing Ingredients
- Occluding layers (what is that?!)
Rachel: Sounds good. Ok, let’s start off with more effective ingredients—how are these different than the powerful ingredients that can be found in serums or moisturizers? Are they not the same?
Kristin: Um, It’s not necessarily that the ingredients are different, but serums and moisturizers need to be formulated to stay on your skin for hours or even days, safely and without irritation. Masks, however, can be formulated with more concentrated or different combinations of ingredients that can be more effective because you leave them on your skin for a time and then remove them.
Rachel: That makes sense! So, there really is a reason to have more than just a moisturizer in your skincare routine! So what about Detoxing Ingredients then?
Kristin: well, there are many different ways to detox our skin but clay based ingredients can be really useful for this because they work in multiple ways. One way that they are commonly used is to mix them with water or oil and then let them rest on the skin. As they dry, or sometimes just by their absorbent nature, they can pull dirt and oil from the skin. They can also be used for polishing the skin gently with their platelet structure.
Rachel: ok, let me guess…the new SeeMe Beauty Mask has clay in it?
Kristin: Ha, guilty. For the SeeMe Beauty Mask, we chose Kaolin clay which is a rock-star ingredient for its gentle polishing of the skin’s surface. As women age, their skin becomes thinner, so any ingredients we want to use do need to be gentle and still effective. Kaolin clay does just that.
We then pair Kaolin clay with a bit of Salicylic Acid (Beta Hydroxy Acid). Salicylic acid works on reducing the “glue” element of skin that holds onto dead skin cells. Pairing the kaolin clay and salicylic acid with our SeeMe Complex results in a powerhouse mask that is exceptionally good on skin that has been impacted by the loss of estrogen.
Rachel: Cool. Wow, that makes complete sense. My skin is completely different now that I’m in my 40’s. I thought my products had changed, but maybe it is my skin that is changing! But what about these masks that come in sheets that look like Halloween masks? They can be so odd looking, do they really do something different?
Kristin: Great question! These masks can also do a couple of things, and can be great for your skin. With some of these treatment masks, the ingredients are a souped up version of their treatment serums that can be absorbed and should not be rinsed off. But the cool thing is that when they are delivered onto your skin, and then the paper or plastic film is left on top of the ingredients for a period of time, it can help keep the ingredients from evaporating and in some cases it can help the ingredients go deeper into your skin. It’s a process known as occlusion.
Rachel: So it’s not just that the mask is there to deliver the ingredients to all of the parts of your skin, it is also enhancing how the ingredients work?
Kristin: Yes, for many well formulated products, this is exactly the case. Occlusion doesn’t always need a paper or plastic film to happen though. It can also be done with a well formulated mask that uses oils or fats to create a barrier of sorts over your skin. Delivering the ingredients and then sealing them in to do their work!
Rachel: Wow, thank you Kristin. This has been really informative for me. And hopefully helps other women that may have the same questions. Knowing we have experts like you helping to develop the SeeMe products is awesome. It definitely gives me confidence that the products we are making are actually doing what we say they will.
Kristin: Happy to chat anytime! And, yes, we definitely made SeeMe from a researched, scientific perspective. We hope it works for many people, but remember—every person is different and nothing is perfect for everyone. But if you are a woman experiencing estrogen loss, and your skin care isn’t working the same as it used to, you may want to try SeeMe Beauty.