Mask Monday: Double Masking



Today for Mask Monday, we are dipping our toes into the trend of double masking. As long time readers would know, I firmly believe that facial masks are a cornerstone of my skincare routine, rather than simply a pampering luxury. And if you haven't added facial masks into your routine already, you couldn't have picked a better time, with almost every skincare brand  on the market going pretty mask crazy.

For the past few months, I have been pretty much firmly on the sheet mask bandwagon, just because they are so. damn. easy. Come on, sheet masks are the ultimate busy mum solution - tear open pack, slap on face, relax for 15 minutes while watching Netflix, pat in, go to bed.  Really just too easy. But perhaps too simple. Don't get me wrong, a sheet mask is a great fix, and wonderful for deeply hydrating your skin, but often, that is not all your skin needs, which brings me to the double masking that I tried last night.

Double Masking, like most beauty trends, seems to have come out of the Korean beauty scene, and can refer to two different techniques. The first type, which I used last night, is applying two different types of masks, on different parts of the face, at the same time. The second type is where you actually layer two different masks on on top of the other, which can be great if you want to use a highly active mask but are not sure your skin is up to it. For this method, which I plan to try in the future, layer your more active mask first, then apply a soothing/nourishing mask directly over the top.

Double masking, two places, same time




This technique is perfect for when you face is feeling somewhat unbalanced, or when different parts of your face has different needs. Obviously perfect for combination skin, but can be adapted for any type of skin that is feeling out of whack. Lately,  due to changes in medication, I have been feeling somewhat congested through the T zone and right across my chin/jaw area, so I wanted to utilize a purifying mask, but was concerned that it might be too drying for my cheeks that tend to be dehydrated.


On my T zone and chin, I used Sukin Super Greens Detoxifying Clay Masque, which combines a host of "super greens" with avocado, baobab and kaolin and betonite clays. In hindsight, I do feel I could have used this all over my face, as it was a very different clay mask to the ones I have used in the past. While it is a detoxing clay mask, it doesn't *feel* like one on the skin - it doesn't dry and crack like the ones of old - and while my skin felt clean once removed, it didn't feel dry or dehydrated at all, but rather, supple and nourished.


On my cheeks and under my eyes, I spread Dermalogica's Skin Hydrating Masque, a milky gel chock a block full of hydrating ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, squalene and glycerin. This is a pretty basic mask, (I don't mean that in a bad way!) with no spa-like fragrance or hi-tech ingredients, but it does what it says it does, and that is why I love it. PS: This mask is *amazing* for travel - on our last overseas trip which involved 17 hours of travel (one way!) I applied on clean skin every few hours, and I credit this mask with saving my skin from the dehydration dry cabin air usually causes.

So there you have my take on the double masking trend. Have you tried it? I would love to read your mask combos in the comments.

  




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