Skincare trends come and go faster than the seasons, but one product that has stood the test of time is peel-off masks. With their ability to slough away the dirt and debris from the surface of your skin, it's easy to understand why they're so a-peeling! Nowadays, more brands, like Glamglow, Dr Jart+ and Pixi, are starting to release their take on peel-off masks, which means there will undoubtedly be one for you.
It can be hard to decipher which mask will work best for you, so we've created this buying guide to help you better understand your skin type and the ingredients to look out for. we'll also show you our top ten favourite peel-off masks in the UK available from Amazon, Boots and John Lewis. We've also partnered with Dermatologist Felipe Partarrieu to review and fact-check the article so we can deliver you the best information.
Quick List - Top Peel-Off Masks
Dr. Jart+
Seriously Hydrating Mask With Fun Cocktail Shaker Applicator
Elizabeth Arden
A Luxury Detox you can do at Home
Felipe Partarrieu is a dermatologist, who is GMC registered with a full licence to practise in the UK. Specialising in cosmeceuticals, facial skin care, and hair disorders, we worked with Felipe to bring you top quality information to help you make informed buying decisions and understand more about what goes onto your skin.
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Felipe Partarrieu is a final year dermatology resident, who is GMC registered with a full licence to practise in the UK. Specialising in cosmeceuticals, facial skin care, and hair disorders, we worked with Felipe to bring you top quality information to help you make informed buying decisions and understand more about what goes onto your skin.
Everyone’s skin requires a certain level of oil to keep skin looking plump and moisturised and prevent it drying out and becoming irritated. But those with an oily disposition produce an excessive amount of oil leading to a persistent and greasy appearance. If left untreated, oily skin can start to clog and enlarge pores, leading to blackheads and various forms of acne.
Those with oily skin should look for ingredients that will strip the skin of its excess oils while cleansing out the pores to prevent acne, such as clay-based and tea tree oil-infused masks. But make sure to also look for things that will put back some moisture to avoid over-drying the skin!
Looking for a face mask that'll target acne? Take a look at the best Face Masks for Acne.
Dry skin tends to feel tight and tends to crack and flake often. As such, you should look for ingredients that provide and retain moisture while gently exfoliating the skin's surface.
Ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides are great for putting back and locking moisture into your skin while looking for fruit extracts in peel-off masks will help to slough away any of the dead skin cells on the skin's outer layer.
Glycerin is also a highly effective ingredient that works by drawing moisture from the air. It works especially when combined with Shea butter, another moisturising ingredient that contains high concentrations of fatty acids that are good for softening the skin.
As you age, skin will start to lose its resilience and elasticity due to the decrease in oil secretion. Skin will also start to stretch and sag leading to fine lines and wrinkles and becoming more reactive to the sun, causing skin pigmentation known as 'sunspots'.
Like dry skin, look for ingredients like aloe that help to retain as much moisture to ensure your skin stays looking plump and healthy! But also things like liquorice root and vitamin C because they will brighten and tone the skin to reduce the signs of ageing.
Want to target signs of ageing around the eye area? Take a look at the best Under-Eye Masks.
Sensitive skin is very reactive to products like soaps, fragrances, detergents, and in this case, skincare. With this skin type, you will notice skin reddening, itching and dryness when the skin is irritated; but this will usually go down after the irritant is removed or the skin is treated. You must exercise caution when using peel-off masks as they may aggravate sensitive skin further.
Look for masks that do not contain any irritating ingredients like alcohols and essential oils. However, some naturally occurring ingredients like marshmallow root that will soothe and moisturise are beneficial. Not all alcohols are bad. Simple alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol and denatured alcohol), primarily used as solvents and antibacterials, can dry out the skin if applied repeatedly or in large quantities.
On the other hand, fatty alcohols (Cetearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol and isostearyl alcohol) have emollient and occlusive characteristics, helping to keep the skin hydrated, making them beneficial for dry skin. Therefore, it's important to distinguish between the different types of alcohol and their effect on the skin.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Origins GinZing Peel-Off Mask to Refine and Refresh | ![]() | 10 Minute Spa Experience in a Tube | |
2 | PIXI T-Zone Peel Off Mask | ![]() | Peel-off Mask From a Cult Favourite Skincare Company | |
3 | Dr. Jart+ Shake and Shot Rubber Hydro Mask | ![]() | Seriously Hydrating Mask With Fun Cocktail Shaker Applicator | |
4 | Elizabeth Arden PREVAGE City Smart Double Action Detox Peel Off Mask | ![]() | A Luxury Detox you can do at Home | |
5 | Soap & Glory What a Peeling! De-Clog Mask | ![]() | De-clog Your Pores With Kaolin Clay and Vitamin C | |
6 | Shiseido WASO Satocane Pore Purifying Scrub Mask | ![]() | Japanese Peel-off Mask With Sugarcane | |
7 | Montagne Jeunesse 7th Heaven Passion Peel Off Mask | ![]() | A Quick Fix Mask for Blackheads With Vitamin E | |
8 | Glamglow Gravitymud Firming Treatment | ![]() | Lifting and Firming Mask for Brighter Looking Skin | |
9 | Rodial Glamoxy Snake Mask | ![]() | Peel-off Mask Inspired by the Effects of Snake Venom | |
10 | First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Purifying Mask | ![]() | Harness the Power of Red Clay for Radiant Skin |
All this mask needs is 10 minutes to work its magic to clear away all the dirt and debris from the surface of the skin, whilst also delivering an acid exfoliation from fruit extract to really get all that deep-set rubbish blocking your pores.
If that wasn't enough for you, after all that deep cleansing, Origins went that one step further to add ginseng and caffeine extract to aid skin's resilience and help it look refreshed. Its metallic finish also makes it selfie-worthy as well! And who doesn't want something that works wonders and looks great while doing so?
By now you have probably heard of Pixi beauty and their line of affordable yet high-quality skincare. This mask will give your skin that weekly boost it needs to stay on top form. Gentle enough to be used twice a week or more if needed, where other masks will only suggest once a week making a great addition to your routine.
Using a blend of natural ingredients, this mask is rich in antioxidants that will work together with your skincare routine to help absorb all that goodness so you'll be glowing from the inside, out.
You can tell just by the name that this is a fun mask to use. But don't let the baby face on the lid put you off because this mask uses a cocktail of vitamins and amino acids to help boost and strengthen the skin's moisture barrier.
This rubber modelling mask will penetrate the skin deeper than a sheet mask can to ensure the nutrients are well absorbed; and much like a cocktail, you add the sachets into the cup, give it a shake and just apply it straight onto the skin. Fun and very effective for a reasonable price and they have other options in this range targeting different skin concerns for you to try out!
This is a luxury mask for those whose skin needs a deep detox from the city air. This isn't to say that if you aren't from the city that you can't use it though! Whatever the concern, Elizabeth Arden has got you covered. Using a blend of powerful antioxidants, this mask helps to fight off skin-damaging free radicals that can be found in the air and even just the natural metabolic process.
This mask isn't just skin-deep, the ingredients it uses penetrates the skin's surface to not only give an instantly visible effect but goes deeper to help promote the natural process of the skin's detoxification cycle.
Packed into two neat capsules for the perfect amount each time, soap & glory have made this a great product to throw into your travel kit. These little pods are jam-packed with vitamin C to boost your complexion while the white willow bark and kaolin clay will take care of those clogged pores.
If you have fairly sensitive skin, you should give this mask a miss as users have reported some pulling is needed to remove the mask. But this is great news for those who really want that satisfyingly deep cleanse to reveal fresh-looking skin.
This mask uses antioxidant-rich satokibi sugarcane to detox your skin from deep within its surface. This mineral-infused mask will overhaul your complexion by reducing excess oil and the prominence of your pores while also giving you that healthy glow we all crave.
However, this mask does have a thick consistency making it quite messy to apply, and some users report that it doesn't dry in the stated five minutes. We recommended using a silicone or rubber applicator to apply the product for this mask.
It's only fitting that this mask from 7th heaven comes in at 7th place! Considering its very affordable price, this is a great mask to buy on your way home from work for a quick pick me up. Using vitamin E and a mixture of passion flower, pomegranate and raspberry it'll clear out your pores and remove all the dead skin cells from the surface of your skin.
While the effects are instant and very satisfying, you may find them to be quite superficial and short-lived, but for only £1 it's a nice quick fix.
Glamglow first really burst onto the skincare scene with its supermud mask which was an instant hit! Now they have come up with gravitymud. Using liquorice and marshmallow extract it helps skin to look and feel firmer and give an instant lifting effect and to top it off, a very Instagram-worthy chrome finish.
You might feel that for its price to expect more effects to come from it. After all, many users of peel-off masks want to see the deep cleansing results on the mask but with this one, you may not get that satisfaction.
This mask is definitely a stand out for its unique use of peptides that were inspired by the effects of snake venom. Together with a mixture of kaolin french clay and liquorice extract, this peel-off mask reduces the look of wrinkles whilst cleansing the pores of impurities and brightening skin tone.
While these ingredients are a fantastic combination for giving your skin the deep cleanse it deserves, you may find that there are other peel-off masks that offer similar ingredients for a lower price point.
Who knew that red clay was highly effective at removing skin impurities, and regulating excess sebum? This purifying mask also contains liquorice root and vitamin C to brighten your skin and keep it extra healthy.
Applying this mask can be messy, but once you've removed it twenty minutes later, there's no doubt that you'll notice your skin looks more radiant and smoother than it did before. That said, this is an expensive cream, and you may wish to consider more affordable options.
Incorporating a peel-off mask into your skincare routine can really boost your complexion. By gently removing the top layer of skin, it removes any dead skin cells and clears out pores to reveal a smoother, more balanced complexion.
Most, if not all peel-off masks also use vitamins, fruit or plant-based extracts that act as antioxidants to really nourish already damaged skin and help to strengthen it against further damage. An extra added bonus of these masks comes from its peeling nature that will gently uproot the peach fuzz along with the dirt and debris that causes dullness to uncover a more radiant and polished complexion.
Peel-off masks come in single-use, tube and pot form, which can affect how you might apply the mask. While you are free to apply the mask with your fingers, you must make sure that you properly cleanse your hands and face as there is a chance of cross-contamination using this method.
Some of the masks do come with a small applicator making it easier to scoop out the product and apply it to the skin. In this case, you should make sure to wash the applicator after every use. You may also find that peel-off masks that come in tubes are quite thick, so investing in a silicone brush is a good idea for ease of application and reduced bacteria transfer.
Written and researched by Yasmin Mitake
No. 1: Origins|GinZing Peel-Off Mask to Refine and Refresh
No. 2: PIXI|T-Zone Peel Off Mask
No. 3: Dr. Jart+|Shake and Shot Rubber Hydro Mask
No. 4: Elizabeth Arden|PREVAGE City Smart Double Action Detox Peel Off Mask
No. 5: Soap & Glory|What a Peeling! De-Clog Mask
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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