5 Types of Face Masks & How to Choose the Best One for Your Skin Type!
Face Masks 101: Find the Perfect One for Your Skin Type
Face masks come in all shapes and sizes, and we say—the more, the merrier! 🎭 They’re one of our favorite ways to relax, de-stress, and bond (hello, girls’ night!).
But with so many options, choosing the right face mask can feel overwhelming. Don’t worry—we’re here to simplify things and help you find the perfect mask based on your skin type, concerns, and routine. Whether you need hydration, detoxification, or a radiant glow, there's a face mask made just for you!
Ready to discover your skin’s new best friend? Let’s dive in!
Choosing a Face Mask
The way we see it, face masks be broken down into the 5 main types below. Each has unique benefits and together they address a wide array of skin concerns. To make things slightly more complex, there are also different formulas/application methods to choose between and this might also impact your final purchase decision (based on convenience, formula texture, or ease of use!). Your mask can come in any of these formats (note: it’s possible there are other types we aren’t aware of):
-Sheet Mask (10-20 minutes)
-Face Mask (5 mins to an hour)
-Night Masks (leave on treatments)
You can use this as a guide to help you find the best mask for your skin!
Benefits / Skincare Concern
Every face mask targets a different skincare concern and promises a different set of benefits. You’ll choose a mask according to the concern you have. Many of them can address multiple concerns as well, so don’t worry too much. Most fall into one of the following categories.
Hydrating Mask
Most popular type of face mask that can never hurt to add to your routine. This one will often involve hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, glycerin, and a combination of antioxidants to benefit all skin types and concerns.
Skincare Concern: Dehydrated, imbalanced skin (overly active oil production), pH balancing, environmental stresses like pollution, and sun damage.
2. Anti-Aging
These usually combine ingredients found in hydrating masks with an active ingredient that’s concentrated and low-density for deeper penetration into the skin. Look for masks that use collagen, vitamin C, retinol, AHA, anti-oxidants, and hyaluronic acid as ingredients.
Skincare Concern: loss of elasticity, dehydration,n and lack of 'glow'; fine lines; uneven skin tone (dark spots).
3. Soothing/Calming
Reduce redness and use ingredients like birch, aloe, honey, avocado, oatmeal, and green tea.
Skincare Concern: Rosacea, redness, sensitivity.
4. Clarifying / Purifying
Decongest the skin, unclog pores, minimize pores, remove sebum, and bring blemishes to the surface. This will usually involve a drying ingredient like clay or charcoal to pull our impurities.
Skincare Concern: Oily and acne-prone skin
5. Exfoliating/Resurfacing
Chemical exfoliation usually involves a stronger active ingredient that can cause the skin to peel and shed away the top layer of the skin. This can be irritating to sensitive skin, so just be careful. Ask your aesthetician if you want to experiment with acids/treatment masks like this. Ingredients can include very strong vitamin C, retinol, and AHAs.
Skincare Concern: Scars, dark spots, uneven skin texture, and acne are all concerns that this can help with. A peel/chemical exfoliant can be helpful for acne and mature skin.