Blemish Busting Face Masks

I've really been battling with my skin over the last few weeks due to quitting birth control pills and have been relying heavily on my blemish busting gels, treatments and face masks from my skincare stash to help get it back under control. The products I'm using at the moment are definitely helping to calm and clear so I thought I'd share some of the masks I'm currently using. 

 First up is Elemis Deep Clean Purifying Face Mask. The lovely Miss A of Beauty Boudoir very kindly sent me some sachets of the mask to try a couple of months ago and after giving them a go, I decided to purchase some more. The mask is clay based and contains goji berry extract and frankincense oil to draw out impurities and refine skin. It feels like your typical clay mask when it's on and feels as though it's actually sucking out impurities and excess oil as it dries (nice). After leaving it on for ten minutes and rinsing off, my skin feels lovely and clean, fresh and soft. Blemishes also look and feel less angry and inflamed and the product seems to help them dry up more quickly than usual. My only complaint with the mask is that it's only sold in sachets. They cost £15.00 for six (three of the clay mask & three of a Moisture Quenching Face Mask) and while I do get two uses out of each, I'd much rather purchase a tube of just the Purifying mask.

 Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask. I was sent this a couple of months ago to try and was actually quite surprised at how much I liked it. It's described as a fast-acting ‘minute’ mask which is designed to revitalise and stimulate dull skin and contains a mix of purifying white clay, witch hazel and aloe vera. What I like about it and what makes it different to other masks I use is the fact that it only has to be left on for a minute or two. I've actually been using this in the morning and love how the fresh scent and cooling sensation really wake me up and also how clean and fresh it leaves my skin feeling. It doesn't promise to help with blemishes, but I definitely feel as though it calms, helps to dry spots and reduces redness. it costs £13.00 for a 50ml pump bottle.

Dr Sebagh Deep Exfoliating Mask. I've been using this for years because it's fantastic stuff. It's a mask aimed at exfoliating the dead layers of skin for faster cell turnover and reducing pigmentation, acne scars and melasma, and at the same time reducing sensitivity and redness. The key ingredients are Lactic acid, Azelaic Acid and Palmitoyl pentapeptide-3. It's designed to clean and exfoliate pores, to moisturise skin and contains anti bacterial ingredients. I only use this once a week because it's pretty strong stuff (expect some tingling!), but it really does help to refine skin texture and dry up blemishes as well as prevent acne scars and fade existing ones. It's pretty expensive stuff at £50.00 a tub, but it does last for ages because such a small amount is needed with each use. The results I get this from this mask also make it well worth the hefty price.

Dermalogica Sebum Clearing Mask is another clay mask that's designed to clear congested skin and absorb excess oil. It contains Kaolin and Bentonite clay, Niacinamide, Zinc and Salicylic Acid. It feels lovely and cooling and soothing, but also feels incredibly deep cleaning. After using, my skin feels soft and fresh, blemishes look calmer and my skin seems to stay matte for longer. I've only actually used this a few times so I can't comment on it's effectiveness at actually clearing spots, but it definitely seems to be helping them. I'm already noticing less blocked pores and as well as looking less angry, spots also seem to be drying and healing more quickly after using this. It costs around £28.00 for a 75ml tube.

And last, but definitely not least is the good old aspirin mask. I wont bother writing too much on this one because I'm sure almost everyone has tried this at some point, or at least heard of it. I know a lot of people like to mix various different things with their aspirin, but I just mix a couple of soluble tablets with a little bit of water, apply the mix and leave it on for around ten minutes. The mask leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth and looking more even. It also helps to dry and heal spots and even helps to reduce scarring. It's by far the cheapest mask I'm using and one of the most effective!

What are your favourite blemish busting face masks?