Facial Masques: Trick or Treat

Bring on the goodies, it’s Halloween!  The goodies include honey, oatmeal, eggs, milk, almond paste, cheese, yogurt, avocado, prunes, tea, strawberries, pineapple, gelatin, seaweed, apricots, carrots, cucumber – the list is endless.

But you don’t put these treats into children’s goody bags.  They go on your face.  When combined according to a recipe or purchased ready-made, applied to your face as a mask and allowed to dry, then rinsed or peeled off, the results are supposed to be delicious.  I wonder.

A masque may smell great, feel tingly, absorb excess oil, cleanse the surface skin, remove dead skin cells, smooth the skin, stimulate the circulation and give the complexion a rosy glow.  But a masque is strictly for dun.  Mild soap and a washcloth or cleansing grains will give you the same results, more efficiently and economically.

Historically, a mask symbolizes transformation.  Maybe this accounts for its popularity as a cosmetic means to transform the skin to a more youthful, aesthetically beautiful state.  Unfortunately, this transformation does not occur.

Let’s face it, the effects of a facials masque are psychological. As the masque dries, it tightens and pulls on the skin, making you think that something must be happening.  And something is, but whether it’s a trick or a treat you be the judge.

Masques are often praised for their moisturizing effect.  But this is something they do-least.  A masque cannot add moisture for any significant length of time, no longer that it remains on the face.  A lotion or cream fills that function.

Masques are said to “tone” and tighten the skin.  Actually, tension applied to the skin from the drying masques causes irritation and subsequent swelling in the small blood vessels just under the surface of the skin.  This, in turn, causes a plumping effect, making wrinkles slightly less noticeable for an hour or two.  Pores appear temporarily tightened.  But the effect is just that, temporary.

Used in moderation, masques are harmless to most people if the plumping effect is due solely to the mechanical tightening effect of the ingredients.  However, many of the rinse-off type masques plump the skin due to chemical irritants contained in the product.  Continued use can damage small blood vessels and should be avoided.  Any masque used too frequently or by persons with dry skin can be expected to cause excessive drying.

For many people, the cost of a masque and the time spent in preparation and use are doubly tricky.  There are products that take ten minutes to an hour to dry.

Commercial masques are made of clay, mud, wax, gum or synthetic rubber polymers.  Clay and mud masques are the most expensive, possibly due to their highly publicized and mysterious powers.  One masque was guaranteed to “vacuum away excess dirt and oil,” but exactly how a mudpack is going to “vacuum away” more mud boggles the mind.

The real value of a masque results from the period of enforced relaxation.  When your face is covered with pink, green or brown-gray gunk, you have little choice but to sit back and relax.  To make the most of this time, prop your feet, breathe deeply and think beautiful thoughts.  Worry lines may, indeed, “seem to disappear” when the masque is rinsed or peeled away.

The trick to maintaining a lovely, youthful looking skin lies in treating yourself to a lifetime of good nutrition, regular exercise, proper cleansing, moisture retaining lotion and protection from overexposure to the sun or cold.

Regardless of high status prices, protein additives or medication and promises to win the war on wrinkles, don’t expect any facial masque to have any lasting effect on your skin’s surface, texture, color, pore, size, moisture content, degree of cleanliness or anything else because like Halloween, masques are just for fun.