I was invited along to Liberty’s last week for the exclusive launch of the Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque. The newest offering from the brand is a multi-targeted face mask that promises to deep cleanse, detoxify, brighten and invigorate the skin and as suspected, is it charcoal-based. We are constantly informed on how pollution, and in particular city-living, can damage our skin and we are constantly battling to cleanse ourselves, inside and out from this pollution ; a key ingredient to help with this is Charcoal and this can be taken in numerous methods ; pills, drinks, and also within our skincare to detox and cleanse our largest organ ; the skin.
I have used a clay-type mask for as long as I can remember and will usually try and apply one every fortnight or so to give me a really good deep cleanse and draw out any conjestion and breakouts, which is pretty much a constant battle for me. I get hormonal breakouts once a month and then by the time they have cleared up perfectly, I have about 3 days of good skin and then BAM…..they come again. I can’t think of any face masks I have used which contain Charcoal like this one from Dermalogica so was interested to see what benefits it has for the skin.
Ingredients.
Activated Binchotan charcoal is the key ingredient in the Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque powerfully absorbs impurities that can sit & gather on the skin’s surface ; things such as sebum, toxins & grime. Binchotan Charcoal is derived from Japanese Oak and has multiple purifying and cleansing properties and can ADSORB (not absorb!) more than 1000x it’s weight in impurities. Other key ingredients include Sulphur which can treat acne, calm rosacea & soothe eczema so a fantastic ingredient for problematic skin. Volcanic ash, marine silt and bamboo extract add a very fine physical exfoliant element to the mask , which you can feel only so very slightly, and acids including phytic, lactic and mandelic are your chemical exfoliants to smooth, brighten and clean the pores. This mask really is jam-packed full of actives, and let’s not forget Kaolin (clay) which is a more common ingredient in these deep-cleansing, clay-type face masks. It seems to tick pretty much all boxes.
My Thoughts.
Ok, first up, this mask/masque is to be applied all over the face (avoiding the eye area) and left on for 7-10 minutes. Don’t be like me and leave it on for 20-25 minutes as it WILL possibly turn you very red like it did myself the first time I used it. That’ll teach me. In all serious-ness this is a very active treatment with all the exfoliants, acids and more, so stick to the time and all will be well. The second time I used it I left it on for under 10 minutes and my skin was fine, not red, and I was left with with the most smoothest, baby-soft, pore-perfect gorgeous skin ever! As I said before, there are tiny particles in it which you can barely feel but these will act as a decent exfoliant if you massage the product onto your skin as you apply. The mask does dry like a clay mask and leaves your skin feeling slightly tight, and you can rinse if off with warm water , followed by a face cloth. The Charcoal makes the product very dark in colour and also can turn pristine white bathrooms into a crime scene so be wary and be warned!
Dermalogica also taught me about ‘face-mapping‘ on the evening which incorporates analysing the skin on your face and then targeting different products/masks for the different area. For example, I get hormonal breakouts around my neck/chin and am relatively oily/combo on my lower face, yet I am dehydrated on my cheeks and forehead so in theory I should be using two masks for these different areas ; which actually kinda makes sense. I also love the Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque and this works well in combination with the charcoal.
What are your current favourite face masks? You can read more about this particular mask and more on the Dermalogica website.
