Face masks that fizz, foam and make you look like Papa Smurf. But what are Bubble Masks for exactly - and do they work? Susannah Taylor tried them out
Every so often a new skincare trend comes along and makes everyone think they need it in their lives. A few years ago it was self-heating face masks that warm up on the skin and are meant to open the pores making them more effective. Then there were overnight masks, meant to deeply nourish the skin and leave you with baby smooth skin come morning. Now comes the Bubble Mask – a face mask that fizzes and foams on the skin, claiming to leave it looking brighter and more radiant.
So are they just a gimmick or do they work? Well, actually I think they might. I tried Janjira’s Instant Brightening Bubble Mask, £24 and Skin Republic’s Bubble Purifying Charcoal Face Sheet Mask £5.49.
The application of the latter is quite an amusing experience where you apply a dark grey sheet mask that’s made with activated charcoal drenched in an oxygenating mask. When exposed to the air, the fruit acids start to bubble and foam and they should exfoliate your skin. Over the course of 20 minutes, the foam grows and grows to a few centimetres thick until you look like Hannibal Lecter crossed with a bearded lady before you wash it off. I had some seriously weird looks from my dog Maisie but I thought my skin definitely looked clearer and beautifully radiant afterwards.
What I’m slightly perplexed about, however, is the sheet aspect of it… .a lot of the foaming happens on the external side of the mask (eg most of the foam isn’t on the skin, although there was some underneath when I took it off), so surely it would be better just applying the product to your skin? Whatever, it does seem to work.
I haven’t tried Janjira products before (come to think of it I haven’t tried either brand before!) but Janjira is born out of Thailand and the brand combines Thai culture and their natural ingredients with modern skincare innovation and technology. All products are free from pulphates, Parabens and artificial colours, which sounds great. The application process is a bit less dramatic – you apply a few pumps of the gel to face and neck, which is infused with Vitamin C, B3 and brown algae (said to brighten the skin) and within seconds it starts to foam. The foam grows to about two to three millimetres thick and tickles the skin, which is actually quite a pleasant experience. After about three minutes, I washed it off and, yes, I think my skin definitely looked more luminous and glowing like I’d actually used an exfoliating scrub.
My verdict? I've surprised myself but, actually, I’m quite a fan. While bubble masks will no doubt make great selfies for Instagram, don’t dismiss them - they are also really quite effective.
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