Clay Masques and Why You Must Use Them

I have been using the Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque for about 3 years now. I started using it upon the recommendation of a Sales Assistant at Ken's Apothecary in Empire Shopping Gallery in Malaysia. I had actually been gifted the mini tube version of the masque when I was an undergrad in Canada. This was during the heyday of my most severe acne breakouts and it did NOT work. I was told to put it on my blemishes, leave it overnight and it would help? It didn't.

Fast forward to 2 years later and my early twenties acne having self was ready to give it another go.

How I use it now is a little differently than before in the following 2 ways:

1) I actually use it as a masque - twice a week for about 30 minutes or so. The instructions say 10-15 minutes but WHATEVER. I wash my face with cleanser and then I use put a thin layer of the masque on. I wash it off with water and generally if I'm going to sleep I'll just apply moisturizer or if I'm going out I'll use my toner, moisturizer followed by the rest of the products I usually use on my face. I do this as a deep cleaning routine for my pores.

2) Then I also use it as spot treatment when I get those especially stubborn ball type acne - you know the - I don't know what the hell is going to happen to you acne. I just cover them with a big goop of the masque - I try and form a little mountain of clay and leave it there the whole night. My reasoning behind doing this is that the clay just cools it down.

In number 2) I just described a process similar to what didn't work during my undergrad and the thing is if you're expecting a quick fix this is not it - fosho. BUT if you're willing to just let your face calm down and use the masque I find that it really does. It's what I call an LTC (Long-Term Cure)

The bi-weekly masque flushes out the impurities and the spot treatment just calms the spot down. Takes a few days for the spot to really go but it does work.

So try it! Alternative masques that are less expensive could be Kiehl's Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Masque.