In the ever-evolving skincare industry, there's a constant influx of information that isn't always the easiest to make sense of. On any given day, you can find dozens of articles praising so-called miracle ingredients, ones presenting the latest and greatest in anti-aging, and everything in between. But there are some topics in this realm that continue to spark debate among skincare professionals, editors, and enthusiasts. One such topic is sheet masks. Do they work? Are they a complete scam? What's the deal?
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A simple Twitter search will turn up endless threads of impassioned debates on this practice that gained popularity in the U.S. as Korean and other Asian beauty regimens took hold stateside. While these skin-prioritizing communities have touted the benefits of sheet masking for generations, there are skeptics out there who think sheet masks do little more than let product sit on top of your skin. Some of the commonly noted benefits of sheet masks are hydration and improved product absorption, but some actually believe that when left on too long, these masks can actually pull moisture out of your skin.
Just like with any other skincare practice out there, there will always be opposing schools of thought on their efficacy. But for this editor, sheet masks have been a true godsend that leaves my sometimes-dehydrated skin hydrated, plump, and glowy. I fully subscribe to the power of sheet masks! For those who agree, or those who want to experience firsthand what all the fuss is about, check out this edit of the 18 best sheet masks in the game.
Charlotte Tilbury
Instant Magic Facial Dry Sheet Mask
SHOP NOWMost photogenic feature: This mask, worn above by actress January Jones, features ear hooks that keep it in place so you're not relegated to lying down while it does its magic. Not only is it effective, but it also low-key looks like the disguise a movie villain would wear before wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting group of campers.
Key benefits: Unlike most other sheet masks, this one is dry. Instead of coming soaked in a water- or glycerin-based serum, the dry textile is imprinted with active ingredients that burst onto the skin.
Glamglow
BubbleSheet Oxygenating Deep Cleanse Mask
SHOP NOWMost photogenic feature: Upon application, a face-forming foam layer erupts into a sea of microbubbles over the mask.
Key benefits: The green tea and amino acid infused bubbles deeply cleanse the skin to help even out complexion and refine the look of pores.
Estée Lauder
Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery PowerFoil Mask (4 Count)
SHOP NOWMost photogenic features: The outward-facing side of this mask is a luxe, metallic silver hue. It looks like a cross between kitchen foil and a superhero disguise.
Key benefits: The silver backing on this sheet mask is said to encourage even more intensive hydration by creating a protective barrier on the skin that allows ingredients to sink faster and more deeply into the skin.
Sulwahoo
First Care Activating Sheet Mask (5 Count)
SHOP NOWMost photogenic features: This cellulose mask is a light-gold hue and looks soft and glittery on the skin.
Key benefits: The silky gossamer mask clings closely to the skin to make sure the brand's famed herbal First Care Activating Serum is able to soak thoroughly into the skin.
SK-II
Facial Treatment Mask (6 Count)
SHOP NOWMost photogenic features: If you're going to wear a bougie SK-II sheet mask, it's your right to share such luxury with the internet.
Key benefits: SK-II's signature fermented-yeast concoction, Pitera, is the hero ingredient here. The cotton mask is soaked in the stuff and leaves the skin supple and hydrated.
Dr. Jart+
Clearing Solution Sheet Mask
SHOP NOWNotable active ingredients: Glutathione, niacinamide, salicylic acid, tea tree leaf
Key benefits: This mask goes to work on breakouts with antioxidants that soothe and brighten, as well as salicylic acid and tea tree extract which clarify and absorb excess oil.
Skin Inc.
Soothe-n-Purify Black Gold Mask
SHOP NOWNotable active ingredients: Vitamin C
Key benefits: This mask comes in two separate pieces'one for the top half of your face and one for the bottom half'for a better fit to aid in product absorption. Another benefit of this configuration is that you can mix and match with the brand's other treatment masks to tailor your experience depending on what each zone of your face might need at any given time.
Farmacy
Brightening Coconut Gel Sheet Mask
SHOP NOWNotable active ingredients: Coconut water, purple broccoli, plant-based collagen
Key benefits: Deep hydration, improved radiance, and plumping are all on the list of side effects this mask aims to impart.
Neogen
Super Hydra Capsule Mask (5 count)
SHOP NOWNotable active ingredient: Hyaluronic acid
Key benefits: Hydration is the name of the game here. This kit comes complete with a concentrated ampoule as well as a serum to layer before applying the mask itself. Three different sizes of HA are employed to deliver hydration to every layer of the skin.
Dr. Jart+
Hydration Lover Rubber Mask
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SHOP NOWNotable active ingredients: Pro keratin complex, hyaluronic acid
Key benefits: This two-piece rubber mask comes with a gel serum chock-full of skin-building proteins and hyaluronic acid to improve collagen synthesis and moisture retention. The thick, pliable mask binds well to the contours of the face, ensuring optimal product absorption.
Erno Laszlo
Exfoliate & Detox Hydrogel Mask
SHOP NOWNotable active ingredients: AHA, charcoal, glutathione
Key benefits: This exfoliating, detoxifying mask gently removes dead skin cells and draws out impurities from the surface of the skin as well as from within its cell structure. The result is glowing, healthy-looking skin that's better equipped for collagen synthesis.
La Mer
Treatment Lotion Hydrating Mask
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.4/5 (Sephora)
Key benefits: Reviewers agree that this mask is pure luxury. It's soaked in La Mer's beloved The Treatment Lotion ($155) and is said to visibly plump, hydrate, and nurture even the driest, most irritable skin types. If you've had any interest in investing in the famed treatment lotion, this is a great entry point to give it a try at a much lower price.
Mediheal
N.M.F Intensive Hydrating Mask (5 count)
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.7/5 (Amazon)
Key benefits: This mask employs a proprietary blend of organic humectants, lipids, amino acids and sugars that mimics the compounds our skin naturally produces to keep itself moisturized.
Benton
Aloe Soothing Mask Pack (10 Count)
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.1/5 (Amazon)
Key benefits: K-beauty enthusiasts aren't new to Benton, and the brand's sheet masks are among the most beloved of its offerings. This one brings in polysaccharides via camellia sinensis leaf water and aloe vera to soothe and refresh the skin.
Dew Cel
Private Care Mask (5 count)
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.5/5 (Amazon)
Key benefits: This two-piece mask comes with a pre-treatment ampoule pad that gently sloughs off dead skin cells. The two-piece mask is ultra formfitting to ensure that its rich formula of niacinamide, edelweiss plant stem cells, adenosine, green tea, and black bean extract can effectively penetrate.
Dr. Althea
Breathable Squalane Silk Mask (5 count)
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.8/5 (Amazon)
Key benefits: This mask is formulated with skin-loving ingredients like squalane, niacinamide, and adenosine to promote bright, elastic skin.
Tatcha
Luminous Dewy Skin Sheet Mask
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.4/5 (Sephora)
Key benefits: Tatcha fans agree this sheet mask is a game changer. It delivers natural vitamin E, polyphenols, and squalene via rice germ oil and helps the skin retain moisture via Okinawa red algae, sweet marjoram, and wild thyme.
Hada Labo
Anti-Aging Facial Sheet Mask (4 count)
SHOP NOWAverage rating: 4.5/5 (Amazon)
Key benefits: J-beauty powerhouse Hada Labo is beloved for its affordable and effective skincare offerings, and its sheet masks are among the best sellers. They contain a potent serum of hydrolyzed marine collagen, hyaluronic acid, and soy protein that leaves the skin visibly plump and smooth after just one use.
Up next, my skin is kind of perfect right now thanks to this exact 30-day routine.
This article was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.
Hydration is the only promise a sheet mask can keep, though even that might be a reach, according to chemist Michelle Wong, PhD, who runs the skin-care blog Lab Muffin. Despite claims you might read on the packaging, 'sheet masks will not cure anything,' said Wong, who is transparent when she reviews gifted samples or uses affiliate links, samples, and sponsored content on her site.
But that doesn't mean they aren't pampering. Long popular in South Korea, sheet masks are no longer the stuff of specialty stores. Now you can grab them at Sephora, Urban Outfitters, and even Trader Joe's. Dr. Dendy Engelman, a Manhattan cosmetic dermatologist, said that nearly every skin-care brand has at least one such mask in its line: 'It seems like we've maxed out.'
Nevertheless, Engelman is a fan. 'I sheet mask all the time,' she said. 'At the office after a procedure, in the bathtub with my kids, I'll even pop on a sheet mask and some sunglasses before I get in my car. It's a cost-effective, painless beauty splurge to look forward to.'
Sheet masks are single-use veils, most often fashioned out of paper or cotton, that are soaked in serum. Most have eye, nose, and mouth cutouts, so that you can see and breathe while wearing them. You can find sheet masks containing all manner of compounds, from snail mucin to gold leaf. They're not all created equal, though: Engelman and Wong recommend looking for masks containing glycerin, hyaluronic acid (sometimes listed in its salt form as sodium hyaluronate), or some combination of those ingredients, which are proven to be effective humectants, ingredients that draw water from the air to add moisture. The dermatologist and chemist both suggest skipping masks that contain drying alcohols such as ethanol or isopropyl alcohol, which are typically added to produce a cooling effect and are listed as ingredients.
Despite what the experts say about the effectiveness of sheet masks, those who continue to reach for sheet masks know it's about the experience. You could easily slather on a hyaluronic acid serum with your fingertips, but there's something about the ritual of smoothing on a premoistened sheet, luxuriating in the spa-like effect for 15 to 30 minutes, and maybe snapping a selfie or two that truly elevates the process. It's why people keep using sheet masks even if they might not do a heck of a lot.
To find sheet masks worth buying, we tested nine top-rated, best-selling options containing glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or their derivatives; none have drying alcohols. We also tested an ultra-popular reusable silicone cover, which is meant to help seal a sheet mask (or anything else you apply beneath it) to your face.
We enlisted a panel of six intrepid reviewers'four women and two men, with various face shapes and skin types'who used all nine sheet masks over a period of three weeks. That's roughly one mask every two days. The panelists, who were unaware which masks they were testing because we'd taped over the packaging beyond recognition, wore each option while lounging, working at their desks, or, in the case of one busy parent, baking cupcakes. No one knew whether they were reviewing a $42 sheet mask (La Mer's The Hydrating Facial) or a $2 one (such as Mediheal's N.M.F Intensive Hydrating Mask). Apart from trying the various sheet masks, the panelists went about their skin-care routines as usual.
For each mask, the reviewers rated, on a 1 to 5 scale, several attributes: the ease of application (how quickly they could get it on without making a mess), the scent (how pleasant the serum smelled), the staying power (whether the mask remained put or dried out quickly), and the post-mask feel of their skin (how good their face looked or felt). Note that because sheet masks are more about personal indulgence than skin transformation, we did not attempt to assess their efficacy.
Sheet masks we testedOf the nine we tested, we wound up with a top two, and seven that couldn't quite match them. Panelists rated SK-II's Pitera Facial Treatment Mask ($16) the best fitting overall and liked the post-mask feel of the pricey La Mer, but neither mask was rated highly enough to justify its cost compared with others we tested. An inexpensive drugstore option, Neutrogena's Hydro Boost Hydrating 100% Hydrogel Mask ($4), scored as well as the La Mer in post-mask feel, though it was more prone to slippage. Testers said they would not buy the Tonymoly I'm Aloe Sheet Mask ($3), the Sephora Collection Rose Face Mask ($6), or the Karuna Hydrating+ Face Mask ($7). The Mediheal mask, too, earned middling scores.
One of the most Instagrammable sheet masks our panel tested, this 'rubber' option from Dr. Jart stays put, just like its now-discontinued predecessor, the Hydration Lover Rubber Mask. Included with the mask, which one reviewer said made them look 'like a cast member of the Blue Man Group,' is a lightly scented face cream containing sodium hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid, and additional glycerin. (You apply the cream before affixing the rubber-like mask.) 'It was the only one I could sip coffee while wearing, and my skin felt nice after,' said a reviewer with combination oily-dry skin.
Although the mask itself lacks staying power, reviewers rated the post-mask feel of this budget option from My Beauty Diary as highly as they did that of the Dr. Jart mask. 'My skin somehow drank up all the mask juice,' said a reviewer with dry skin, 'even though it was extremely drippy and difficult to stay put.' For best results, you should sit mostly still while wearing this mask, which fit nearly all our panelist's faces well enough.
One last tip if you're experiencing slippage: Consider a reusable silicone cover. We tried one from Daiso ($5); a reviewer found that it helped seal the My Beauty Diary mask to their face. The cover can be useful 'not just to help with occlusion while using disposable sheet masks,' said Wong, 'but also with standalone serums.'
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