Best face mask for combination skin? Also that will help to get rid of whiteheads!!!

[MariekeBT]

Hi @mimiivanakis,

@lylysa made some really great recommendations! I have combination skin and acne, so I'd also love to recommend the First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Purifying Mask With Red Clay and SEPHORA COLLECTION Mud Mask Purifying & Mattifying. I love using the First Aid Beauty one when I have a lot of acne popping up since for me it really helps to reduce them. I have a breakout on my chin right now and this mask is really making a difference! I like using the Sephora Collection one at the end of the week when my skin really feels tired and needs a detox. I feel like it's really helped me with my oily t-zone. (: 

[lylysa]

Hi, mimiivanakis!

For a mask to help get rid of and tackle whiteheads, opt for formulas that contain sulfur. Sulfur serves as a drying agent to quickly handle the pustular "head" of the blemish. 

Peter Thomas Roth's Therapeutic Sulfur Masque, Origins' Out of Trouble Mask, Kate Somerville's EradiKate Mask Foam Treatment, and Dr. Dennis Gross' Clarifying Colloidal Sulfur Mask are all quality formulas that can be spot-applied to areas with whiteheads to combat them quickly. Avoid applying on areas that may not be affected to prevent overwhelming skin that may not be experiencing blemishes.

The PTR formula utilizes 10% sulfur with clay to further help draw out oil and impurities along with healing zinc, soothing aloe, and hydrating sodium hyaluronate. The Origins formula also blends sulfur with clay to give a one-two punch on detoxifying skin while also incorporating oil-regulating and sebum-dissolving salicylic acid and camphor to calm skin and purify. The Kate Somerville mask uses 5% sulfur in a foam-activated formula to help break down congestion at skin's surface with healing oat extract and soothing and hydrating honey. The Dr. Dennis Gross formula is another mask that combines 5% sulfur and clay with brightening licorice, repairative retinol, and willow bark (which is a natural source of salicylic acid).

If you would also like to tackle whiteheads via spot treatment which can be used more readily versus a mask, try Kate Somerville's EradiKate. This dual-phase treatment uses 10% sulfur to shrink down whiteheads, absorb sebum with zinc, ease with camphor, even skin's texture with alpha hydroxy acids, and regulates oil with salicylic acid.

For options that can cater to calming and conditioning skin and blemishes and can be applied all over, try Sephora's Green Tea Sheet Mask:

Green tea is a natural source of anti-oxidants, which protects skin from free radical damage that can be brought on by environmental aggressors. Chinese herb and willow bark extracts aid in purifying skin of excess oil to keep skin balanced and healthy while mushroom and broccoli extracts heal and soothe skin.

You might also consider this two-part mask from Karuna. Their Skin Clarifying Duo contains blemish-fighting patches that are applied specifically to blemishes on the skin while a sheet mask can worn over the face as a whole.

The concentrated blemish dot patches contain willow herb and tea tree extract (the later of which is used for its antibacterial properties), witch hazel (a natural astringent that tightens pore tissue to regulate oil release), and alpha hydroxy acids to smooth and improve skin's surface and quality. The mask contains shiso leaf extract which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties to treat blemishes in a gentle manner. Sodium hyaluronate and honey work together to hydrate skin, niacinamide and peptides heal and repair, and aloe serves to condition.