Help!! Mud mask gone WRONG

by Kathleen
(Elgin, IL, US)

Hi, my name's Kathleen and I have a date later this evening so I thought it would be smart to freshen up my skin. I washed my face and used this mud mask, it said to wait until it was dry then rinse off with warm water.

After a few minutes the mask began to feel hot on my face and when I was laying down I could feel my heart beat in my face (if that makes any sense at all)

I rinsed off the mask and now my cheeks and nose are RED like a sunburn, help me please! How can I make the redness go down in about 3 hours?

Please help me!

~Kathleen.

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Our reply

Hi Kathleen, I am SO sorry that it was not possible for us to respond to your message at the time that you wrote to us. We became inundated with help requests and rather than provide short and not very helpful replies, we saved our messages in the hopes that people in the future who may have similar questions will not have to go through the same terrible problems that you did.

Yes, when you have sensitive skin, even one irritating ingredient in a mud mask can create a huge breakout. So, the first suggestion I have, if you've done a mud mask and are getting a terrible reaction, is to immediately remove the mask and put cool, damp cloths on your face. Drink some water (it helps to cool the body and speed the removal of toxins) and then leave your skin alone and let it recover.

I know that's not very popular as we're trained by our consumer culture to want to put lots of lotions and creams on our face, but the truth is, that we don't really need to use a ton of products on our skin. Less is more, especially when you have sensitive skin.

Tips for Choosing a Mud Mask for Sensitive Skin

Now once your skin has recovered and you decide you'd like to try another mud mask for your sensitive skin, here are some guidelines for choosing one that will not make your skin break out.

• Choose a mud mask that contains a small amount of ingredients ... that way you are less likely to react to one of them.



• Choose facial masks that contain less toxic skincare ingredients which will be less irritating for your skin.



• Choose masks that use a smaller amount of botanicals and plant based ingredients. The reason for this is that plants have wonderful medicinal properties, however these can also cause reactions for sensitive skin.



• Always do a skin test first on the
  inside of your elbow or wrist, to see if your skin can tolerate the facial mask. Getting a rash on your arm is definitely less embarrassing than getting one on your face!



• Leave your facial mask on for a shorter amount of time. Sometimes even five minutes is plenty, even if you use a good ***z-cleure-facial-mask-for-sensitive-skin.shtml***.



• Be careful of trying new products right before important events!

Facials Masks I've Tried for Sensitive Skin

I too experience breakouts with many facial masks for sensitive skin. When my skin is really sensitive I just use a little organic yogurt for a facial mask until my skin is less reactive. I have found that leaving a mask on for a shorter time helps to minimize breakouts.

• I use the mud mask from the ***z-cleure-essentials-pack.shtml*** (it comes with a very gentle facial scrub) which is quite good, and perhaps the gentlest and least irritating of all the masks I've tried. Still, I have gotten breakouts from this if I leave it on for more than 10 minutes. This mask deep cleans your pores and provides a noticeable lift for your face, and is fragrance free. I have seen the most dramatic benefit from this mask, especially when used with their ***z-cleure-exfoliating-scrub.shtml***.



• I just recently tried the Xtend Life Deep Active Cleansing Mask which is refreshingly unlike many other mud masks I've tried. It cleanses and purifies your pores gently and I found it to be completely non-irritating even after leaving it on longer than I expected.
  
  This cleansing mask is especially good for use in the wintertime or in a dry climate, as it will not dry your skin. I tried it during the hot, humid summertime and it still worked well although I think it could be a little oily if you have oily skin and live in a humid climate.
  
  This mud mask is practically invisible so it doesn't turn your face green ( which is less scarey to husbands, wives or family members!!) and it is less drying than other masks, and leaves a moist and fresh face. This contains no added fragrances.
  
  I found it very gentle, and it did not cause my skin to break out. It was also not drying, and it has a wonderful, delicious consistency that goes on creamy and smooth and yet refreshing.



• There are many mud masks that contain some bioactive plant based ingredients and essential oils, and so you will definitely need to do a skin test before trying any of these. My skin can tolerate some essential oils, however some people have allergies to plant ingredients.

What facial masks have you tried that work well for your sensitive skin?