One of the brands I rely on most in treating clients and recommending home care is SkinCeuticals. Their products are straightforward, targeted and effective. Their Clarifying Clay Masque is no exception.

Here’s what their website has to say about it:

5% hydroxy acid blend gently exfoliates dead skin cells
Natural earth clays, kaolin and bentonite, decongest pores, lift impurities, and help remove excess oils
Zinc oxide soothes and heals the skin
Aloe provides anti-inflammatory properties
Chamomile calms and soothes the skin
Ideal for all skin types

Here’s how I use it:
I wash my face at the sink & leave it on for 5-8 minutes without letting it get dry and cracked.
[I know, that gives a lot of my oily clients pause as well but hear me out.
If you let it dry out to the point of cracking, it’s pulling too much oil from your skin too fast which will make your sebaceous glands freak out and make more oil to replace what’s just gone missing so quickly and you end up with even oilier skin.]
After this initial period, I hop into the shower, keep my face out of the water and do my shower routine which ends with the ceremonious rinsing of the clay masque.

The upsides:
Appearance
– It’s a lovely shade of grey. This may seem minor but I just can’t bring myself to love using a masque that isn’t fun to look at.
– The texture is super silky smooth and pretty thick.

Sensation
– There’s a cool, tingly feeling that stays with you for the duration (as long as you don’t let it get all dried out!)
– I do believe one can feel the clay “drawing” away impurities…

Results
– My skin feels silky soft and smooth afterwards. So much so that recently I used this masque and the next day saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. We hugged hello while kissing each other’s cheeks and she said “ooh, your skin is SO soft!”
– Pores? What pores?
– Blackheads? Where? What blackheads? (of course they weren’t ALL gone but A LOT of them were and ALL of the remaining ones were MUCH smaller)

The not so upsides:
– For those of us on a budget, its $42 price tag may be a bit steep but the jar will last you a pretty long time (six months? maybe a year?) if you use it appropriately.
– They tell you on the box that “it will not dry hard” but I have found that it cracks a little bit when not being steamed. Not a deal breaker, but still a little annoying.

All in all, I really like this masque. It does its job very well and I highly recommend it for combination and oily skin.