The Body Shop Tea Tree face mask

When it comes to skincare, face masks are quite a sporadic thing for me to use. I love my day to day products and try and manage the condition of my skin mostly through that. Face masks can be very potent and therefore aren’t part of my everyday skincare routine. I use them occasionally when I feel my skin needs a bit more of a pick me up. When my pores are especially clogged, or if it feels exceptionally dry, I like to go for a face mask to give my skin that must needed extra boost. I decided to put The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Face Mask to the test!

The Body Shop Skin Clearing Clay Mask with Purifying Tea Tree Oil

This is my first product from the tea tree line. The reason why I hadn’t tried any of these products before is because tea tree isn’t necessarily something that my skin needs. This line is especially formulated for people with oily, acne prone skin and my skin is anything but. Yet, I was still intrigued when I spotted this face mask in the store as I like face mask especially that can clean my pores. A jar of 100 ml retails for €13 and is therefore a more affordable option to try.

The Packaging

The jar this product comes in is pretty straightforward. It has a green color to tie in with the rest of the skincare line and even the product itself is a bright green shade. When you open the jar you are met with that typical tea tree smell but it is not too bad and doesn’t linger either.

The Product

This face mask is a clay mask which means this has a slightly thicker consistency, but this isn’t as tough to apply as other clay mask I’ve tried and love. Consistency wise this is more like a very thick cream, which is also visible in the swatch on the back of my hand.

What is funny about this product is that it takes quite a bit to apply before you get results. My skin lapped this stuff up and it kept disappearing as it kept on getting absorbed by my skin. I found it difficult to build up a nice even layer, but in the end I got there. I applied this using a cheap flat foundation brush as I always do with face masks.

I forgot to take before pictures, but my skin was actually quite gross the day I took these that I don’t think you’d want to see it. My pores were super clogged and I was going through bouts of mini break outs continuously until I started to use this. That’s why I decided to bring this out.

On the left you can see the mask after I first applied it. In the middle is my face after 15 minutes or so and on the right you can see my skin after I rinsed it all off. I use a gentle face cloth to take off face mask as I don’t want to aggravate my skin in the least bit. Any redness you see is from the mask, not from my method of cleansing.

The Results

It wasn’t difficult to take off and I like the overall results of this. However, this was a very intense mask. For the first 2 – 5 minutes this didn’t feel nice at all. It tingled but didn’t burn nor did it make my skin itch, which means I didn’t have an allergic reaction. It also didn’t dry down completely but left a very smooth feeling texture, which is something I had to get used to.

I do feel this mask truly did something for my skin though apart from turning it red in places. My skin felt super clean without feeling tight. That’s why I took the close ups. In the first picture you can sort of see little lumps and bumps on my nose? That was all gunk that the mask pulled out of my pores. Gross much, but as you can see my pores don’t look enlarged or dirty anymore after using this. It even pulled things to the surface I didn’t even know was there and I also felt it cleared up some of my milia.

The conclusion

Yes, this is a great mask. The Body Shop Tea Tree Mask is intense, but it definitely gets the job done. It may not suit my every skin needs, but this is definitely one I will use when I feel my skin is looking dull and needs a good clean. If your skin easily gets clogged pores and is generally more oily then I think this may be a great one to use on a more regular basis. On my dehydrated to normal skin however, it’s a bit too much of a good thing to be using this too often. A great mask nonetheless.

What is your favorite deep cleansing face mask?