How to match the right face mask to your skin type, according to top expert
Imagine a sea of ingredients being thrown at your face, and that’s exactly what your skin barrier is fighting against every day. Wind, rain, greasy food, out-of-date make-up products – our skin literally covers our bodies, yet it never crosses our minds to look after it.
It’s why we’ve chatted with the experts at Lush to help understand what our skin needs, and how we can get it into our system. Lisa Wong, global retail product, brand, and service trainer for Lush, explains: ‘I’m Lisa and I’m a Global Retail Product, Brand and Service Trainer for Lush. I’ve been in Lush for over 19 years, with the last 10 dedicated to training and supporting our teams on all things product knowledge, bringing our founders’ and product inventors’ stories to our staff. Over the years, I have developed a deep passion for skincare, helping people understand their skin so that they can feel confident in their skin.’
Setting aside time to look after your skin care is incredibly important, shares Lisa: ‘Your skin deserves love and attention – it’s the body’s largest organ and, along with its microbiome, your first line of defence against the world. Taking time to care for it isn’t just about looks; it’s an act of self-kindness. A good skincare ritual helps you slow down, breathe, and reconnect with yourself.’
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Are there any ingredients I should be avoiding?
Experimenting with the products that you put on your face can often leave your bank account and complexion paying the price for trying to take care of yourself. And why bother trying a new product when you have the fear of a breakout or bad reaction? Chances are that if this has happened to you before, you may have been drawn in by a facemask that contains ingredients that don’t have the healing effects that your face needs and may be accidentally working against your self-care efforts.
If you’re worried about needing to avoid certain ingredients that may flare up your skin, it doesn’t have to be intimidating to try a new product, as Lisa shares: ‘At Lush, we use ingredients that work in synergy with each other and work in balance with the skin. For those skin types that are prone to sensitivity, it can often feel like many ingredients need to be avoided, such as ‘fragrance-free’. At Lush, we like to use ingredients for their benefits to both skin and holistic wellbeing, and we’ve carried out testing on sensitivity to ensure they are gentle and suitable for a wide range of skin needs.
‘It’s always best to have a skincare consultation in store, so an advisor can understand your skin in detail and identify which ingredients will best support it and which to avoid. Everyone’s skin is unique, and many factors can influence how it reacts. Through an on-face demo, you can relax and try the products directly on your face or hands, or take home samples to ensure the products and ingredients truly work for you before you commit to purchasing them.’
What are the most common types of facemasks?
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the variety of facemasks on the market. You might be looking for a product to achieve that certain moisturising or exfoliating effect, but you have no idea if the product you’ve picked will even do the job.
‘It’s always best to understand your skin’s unique needs before choosing any products,’ explains Lisa. ‘A great place to start is with a skincare consultation, where an advisor can ask tailored questions to get to know your skin and recommend what will truly work for you. Some people love a luxurious, multi-step routine, while others prefer to keep things simple. It’s all about listening to your skin and giving it what it needs at the moment.’
The great news is that there are lots of products on the market that can work with the texture that you’re most comfortable with:
- Clay – A clay mask is applied onto wet skin before quickly firming as it dries out on your face, leaving your skin feeling firmer and younger.
- Liquid peel – It might sound a bit odd, but a liquid peel mask is the facemask that is meant to be taken off straight away. This cleansing mask will feel like rubbing a gel onto your face as it makes dead skin peel away, giving you a fresh exfoliation to elevate any mid-week self-care.
- Cream – A cream mask can feel quite similar to applying a moisturiser. They’re lightweight, easy to apply, and should leave you with minimal texture discomfort.
- Sheet – Sheet masks may be the image that comes to mind when someone first says ‘facemask’ to you, because they look a bit strange to apply. This material is prearranged into a facemask shape, soaked in serums and moisturisers that will kickstart once you arrange it into formation.
- Overnight – This easy-to-apply, hard-to-spot facemask is intended for daily use. Just apply a thin layer to the skin before you go to bed and wash it off in the morning during your regular skincare routine.
- Charcoal – Unsurprisingly, taking a deep earthy tone, charcoal masks will solidify on your skin and firm up to leave your skin feeling strong and restored.
- Light / UV – Light masks will project UV rays onto your face to provide your skin with that clear, glowing effect. Although they can be a pricey investment, finding the right one for you might be the trick to achieving that glow that your skin has been missing.
- Bubble – When a bubble mask comes into contact with the air, it’ll foam up and give your skin a cleansing glow.
Lush’s products can be a great place to start your skincare, self-care adventure, Lisa shares: ‘Our face masks are made with fresh, natural ingredients chosen for their active energy and multi-benefits.
‘We formulate them to use little or no synthetic preservatives, so those fresh ingredients can deliver maximum impact with minimal interference to the skin's microbiome. Our skin will go through different stages, be it from extrinsic factors like the weather or intrinsic factors such as hormonal changes, and we have a whole range of face masks to help.’
Based on your skin profile, we’ve debunked what ingredients and products will and won’t work, so you can feel good in your own skin.
Dry Skin
Red, flaky, and irritated skin can feel like a battle to control, particularly during flare-ups in harsh, cold weather.
Lisa says: ‘For these colder months when skin might need a little more hydration, look out for humectant ingredients like glycerin and honey in our Coconut Shie fresh face mask contains glycerin and fresh coconut for some silky moisture.’
The best ingredients you should be looking for in your skincare routine are hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and aloe vera. Hyaluronic acid is a critical ingredient in boosting hydration as it holds over x1000 its weight in water, aiding in moisturising and combating the appearance of wrinkles. Glycerin helps to channel water from the air into your skin barrier to prevent dryness throughout the day, and aloe vera soothes inflamed skin and reduces irritancy that dryness may cause. Hydrating gel or cream masks are what you should look to buy.
Lush’s matcha facemask is packed with glycerin and spirulina to help supercharge your skin, including jojoba oil to balance and condition your skin to leave it smooth, shining, and lemon scented.
Matcha facemask, 75g, Lush, £12.00
Oily Skin
Skin produces natural oils that protect us from everyday harm, acting as our first line of defence for the day ahead. When our skin is producing too much oil, this can leave us acne-prone and feeling our skin isn’t as firm or hydrated as it should be.
If you have oily skin, the best ingredients you need to use are salicylic acid, bentonite clay, charcoal, and tea tree oil. Salicylic acid helps to exfoliate and draw out the oil in your pores to unclog your skin and discourage oil production. Clay and charcoal hold similar properties in absorbing and drying onto skin, working to remove blackheads and reduce the appearance of any blemishes. Tea tree oil is the anti-inflammatory ingredient that’s packed with antioxidants to prevent acne breakouts and make sure that your skin maintains the right balance of natural oils. Facemasks with a clay or charcoal base should be your first choice.
The Body Shop's Charcoal Pore-Minimising Mask absorbs excess oil, leaving your face feeling matte and cleansed. The charcoal ingredient is fantastic for unclogging and minimising pores, and will exfoliate your skin to reduce blackheads. Plus, with a gentle, revitalising tingle, you’ll feel this mask working.
The Body Shop Charcoal Pore-Minimising Mask, 75g, Amazon, £20.00
Combination Skin
When your skin holds a mix of needs, finding the right mask can feel near impossible. Do you use a dry mask on your t-zone, and an oil-preventative charcoal mask across your face and mouth? To get a balanced complexion, you shouldn’t have to be using your face as a palette for trialling different expensive products.
Lisa says: ‘If you’re looking for a calming and soothing face mask, rose has been known for its calming properties and soothing redness on the skin. Rosy Cheeks fresh face mask contains rose in two forms: petal infusion and oil, as well as calamine for extra soothing power’.
For combination skin, the best ingredients you should apply are hyaluronic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, and vitamin C. Hyaluronic acid and salicylic acid will target the dryness on your face, whereas lactic acid will exfoliate your pores to unclog any oil detected, while vitamin C boosts the skin barrier by protecting against harmful UV rays. Balancing or multi-masking facemasks will be the best format to work with your skin.
Lush’s rosy cheeks facemask is built with fragrant rose petals to restore the skin barrier, packed into a deodorising and cleansing clay.
Rosy Cheeks facemask, 75g, Lush, £10.00
Sensitive Skin
You may be experiencing a breakout, or a red flare-up after reacting to the wrong product that left your face paying the cost. Lisa says: ‘Got some breakouts on the loose? Garlic and tea tree have antiseptic and antibacterial benefits to cleanse and reduce inflammation – Cosmetic Warrior face mask contains these powerful yet gentle ingredients.’
The key ingredients you’ll want to incorporate into your skincare for that calming and neutralising effect will be Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, as they hydrate and replump the texture of skin that can easily react to new products. Soothing and calming masks are the best format for you.
Lush’s mask of magnanimity facemask combines sweet-scented vanilla and cooling mint leaves to leave an antimicrobial, soothing effect on the skin that will leave you feeling and looking refreshed.
Mask of Magnanimity facemask, 315g, Lush, £22.00
Damaged Skin
It’s completely understandable if your skin needs some heavy TLC. It’s often a major part of our lives that we completely ignore in our daily routines, but an evening taking some time to look after the health of your skin barrier can leave you looking and feeling great in no time.
Lisa says: ‘Lastly, if your skin needs some glow, exfoliating ingredients help slough away any dead skin on the surface, revealing fresh, dewy skin. We like to use physical skin-beneficial exfoliants, as you can control the consistency, pressure, and feel of the ingredient on the skin. Great ones in our masks are charcoal, oats, and ground almonds. For a super polish, we use ground white rice in Don’t Look At Me fresh face mask, as well as lemon juice for that extra enzymic cleanse.’
When you’re working with damaged skin, returning to the staple ingredients that boost healthy and strong skin growth is what you should be prioritising. Hyaluronic acid and glycerin will both encourage moisturisation, while aloe vera will soothe any pain or discomfort that your skin may be causing. Any facemask that promotes detoxifying or anti-bacterial properties should be your go-to.
Lush’s don’t look at me facemask includes fragrant citrus notes of grapefruit, lemon, and neroli to help uplift your skin, mixed into a clay texture to add extra cleansing and deodorising properties.
Don’t Look At Me facemask, 75g, Lush, £12.00
What seasonal changes do I need to protect my skin against?
Autumn & Winter – As cold air is harsher on our face, it’s important to give our skin’s barrier some extra care and ensure it’s not dehydrated. Make sure to moisturise routinely and drink plenty of water to prevent dryness, and potentially invest in a humidifier to tackle the dry air at home. Using a lip balm to tackle dry lips can also help lock in moisture, and taking vitamin D supplements to support your immune system can reenergise your routine during the lack of sunlight.
Spring & Summer – As relaxing as sitting in the sun may be, protecting your skin against harsh UV rays is critical to minimising your risk of skin cancer. Make sure your moisturiser has added SPF, and opt for aloe vera to soothe sunburn.
How to get the most out of your facemask
If you try out a facemask and it doesn’t rejuvenate your skin instantly, it might not be because it doesn’t work for you, but you may not be using it correctly. To see the effects of a facemask, you should be adding it to your skincare routine twice a week, taking care to leave the mask on for the full duration recommended on the packet. Typically, that ranges from 10-15 minutes, which can be the perfect amount of time to enjoy a cup of tea.
Herbal teas can offer great remedies to hydrate and reduce redness in your complexion, serving as a refreshing and soothing element to your skincare routine. Why not try a green tea, which has been found to improve skin texture, reduce acne, and combat UV and solar damage to the skin barrier?
If you’re using a sheet mask, make sure that you’re squeezing as much serum out of the packaging as possible to get your money’s worth in hydration. Use the serum across your neck, shoulders, hands – wherever possible to add that extra hit of moisture to boost your skin barrier. If you’ve got a jade roller, roll the facemask onto your face to make sure that it’s getting strong, equal coverage of all of your pores. And if you add the packet of your facemask into a bowl of lukewarm water before application, it can be easier to apply and help to open up your pores for deep-impact benefits.
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