Published: May 30, 2025
It’s no secret that regular exfoliation is essential if you want healthy-looking skin. However, while most people have an exfoliant as part of their skincare routines, exfoliating masks aren’t utilized in quite the same way. Many would say that these products are highly underrated, with an exfoliating mask capable of really transforming the complexion.
Wondering if you should be using an exfoliating mask too? Chances are, the answer is yes. Keep reading as Avinichi explains why.
The Importance of Exfoliating Your Skin
Why all the fuss about exfoliation? Although this is something that your skin naturally does itself, the rate at which it does so slows down with age. We’re not just talking about the later stages in life either – cell renewal begins to decline once you’re in your 20s. This essentially means that your skin won’t be shedding its dead skin cells quite as efficiently anymore. Instead, they’ll start to build up on your skin’s surface, clogging your pores and leading to dullness, breakouts, and more. Exfoliation clears these cells away to allow the newer and fresher skin cells beneath to show through.
This pretty much immediately gives the skin a brighter and more radiant appearance. It also leaves the skin feeling much smoother and softer to the touch. Your pores will look smaller too and you won’t need to worry about breakouts quite so much.
Another reason to exfoliate is that it can help to enhance the absorption of other skincare products. By removing the dead skin cells that coat your skin, the other products that you apply will be able to dive on in without having to fight past any barriers first. Exfoliate your skin regularly and you should soon find that your entire skincare routine becomes all the more effective.
Why Use an Exfoliating Mask?
If you’re already regularly exfoliating your skin, you may be wondering what an exfoliating mask can offer that your current exfoliator doesn’t. When it comes down to it, this all depends on the type of exfoliating mask that you choose. Just like other exfoliators, exfoliating masks contain various ingredients and some of them will complement your existing exfoliating efforts.
Of course, a mask also remains on the skin for longer than a regular exfoliator. This gives the exfoliating ingredients in the mask more time to work, which is how they’re often able to provide results that look even more impressive. Pair an exfoliating mask with your regular exfoliator (not at the same time!) and you’ll do a much better job of removing dead cells, along with other impurities, from your skin.
Choosing an Exfoliating Mask
Exfoliating masks work in different ways depending on the exfoliants that have been incorporated into each formula. While exfoliating sheet masks, which are usually infused with hydroxy acids, are popular, clay masks are even more so due to their gentle nature. Clay is a relatively mild exfoliant, meaning that you’re less likely to run the risk of over-exfoliating your skin.
At Avinichi, we have a couple of exfoliating masks to choose from. The first is the CamuGlow Transforming Mask, which makes use of two types of clay; bentonite and kaolin. It’s packed with several hydrating ingredients too, along with plant extracts that minimize the look of pores, lighten the appearance of pigmentation, and offer a vast selection of antioxidants. Apply this mask to your skin, wait for ten minutes, and then rinse it off to reveal a brighter complexion.
The Avinichi Phyto Remedy Thermal Mask takes the exfoliating properties of clay even further. Although this formula only contains one type of clay (kaolin), its heating effects really power up the exfoliating results that the clay provides. By leaving the pores feeling relaxed and more elastic, the gentle heat emitted by the mask encourages absorption, leaving the skin looking deeply refreshed and revived. With a blend of potent vitamins and antioxidants in this formula, it’s a must-try if your complexion could do with a boost of radiance.
Adding an Exfoliating Mask to Your Skincare Routine
Wondering where an exfoliating mask fits into your skincare routine?
As always, just like before you use a regular exfoliator, start by cleansing your skin. Since you’re going to be exfoliating afterward, pick a gentle cleanser. Irritating your skin at this stage will only cause even more irritation when you apply exfoliating ingredients to your skin. A moisturizing cleanser, like the Avinichi Noni Mousse Cleanser, would be a good choice.
After this, go ahead and apply your exfoliating mask. Follow the usage directions that come with your chosen mask, ensuring that you leave it on for the recommended amount of time. Don’t be tempted to allow the mask to remain on your face for longer than this. Once again, this will only end up irritating your skin and damaging your skin’s protective barrier. As we’ll soon discuss, the symptoms of over-exfoliation can be difficult to recover from.
Once you’ve removed your exfoliating mask, you can then continue with the rest of your skincare routine as normal. With that said, don’t forget that freshly exfoliated skin will feel more receptive to the other products that you apply, making this a good time to go in with plenty of antioxidants and hydrating ingredients. The Avinichi Hydrating Multifruit C-Serum offers both, making it a great formula to use after exfoliating your skin.
Whether you apply a serum or not, a moisturizer is a must post-exfoliation. Exfoliation leaves the skin barrier feeling temporarily more vulnerable – a moisturizer will help to counter this by forming a seal over the skin’s surface. Pick a cream that’s designed to leave the skin feeling calm and protected, just like the Avinichi Noni Night Repair Cream.
When to Use an Exfoliating Mask
Wondering whether you should use an exfoliating mask in the morning or evening? There are pros and cons to both…
Exfoliating in the morning means that you’ll be able to start your day with skin that looks bright and fresh. It will also give you a much smoother base for applying makeup to. The downside to exfoliating in the morning is that exfoliation can leave the skin feeling a little more sensitive to the sun. Those dead skin cells that you remove would have otherwise provided an extra physical barrier between your skin and the sun. This means that SPF becomes even more important.
Meanwhile, use your exfoliating mask in the evenings and you won’t have to worry about sun sensitivity. You’ll also be able to remove any impurities that have built up on your skin over the course of the day. Sure, your cleanser will do this to an extent but it won’t pull pollutants and other debris out of your pores in the way that exfoliating ingredients will.
In the end, it all comes down to what works best for your skin. When you first add an exfoliating mask to your skincare routine, experiment with both morning and evening use. You should soon be able to figure out which your skin prefers, after which you can then do that regularly.
How Often Should You Use an Exfoliating Mask?
Love how smooth and bright your skin looks after using an exfoliating mask? This is a common reaction and one that often leads to people over-exfoliating their skin.
So, how often should you use an exfoliating mask? Usually, face masks are used once a week, including exfoliating masks. However, once you add an exfoliating mask to your skincare routine, you may need to adjust how often you use your other exfoliators. An exfoliating sheet mask that contains hydroxy acids would count as a normal exfoliation session. Therefore, if you usually exfoliate three times a week, use your regular exfoliator twice a week and an exfoliating mask once a week.
If you’re using a clay-based exfoliating mask, you may be able to get away with exfoliating at your normal frequency and adding the clay mask in as a weekly extra. This can be a good way for people with oily skin to keep their skin’s greasiness under control. However, if you have dry or sensitive skin, an extra exfoliation session, even with a gentle clay mask, might still be too much for your skin.
The Dangers of Over-Exfoliation
We’ve mentioned over-exfoliation a few times now, but what exactly is it?
Simply put, over-exfoliation is when you exfoliate your skin too much. Whether this is because you’re exfoliating too often or you’re using an exfoliator that’s too harsh for your skin, the results are the same – you’ll damage your skin’s natural protective barrier to the point where a number of other issues arise.
Some of the most common symptoms of over-exfoliation are:
- Skin that feels more sensitive
- Redness and inflammation
- Dryness and flaking
- Excessive oiliness and breakouts
- Skin that feels tight and uncomfortable
- Fine lines and wrinkles look more prominent
What should you do if you suspect that you’ve over-exfoliated your skin? Stop exfoliating immediately, which includes holding off on any exfoliating masks for a while. Your focus at this point should be to give your skin barrier some time to recuperate. This means that all of the products in your skincare routine should be super-gentle, moisturizing, and contain plenty of barrier-loving ingredients. A formula like the Hydrating Antioxidant Serum from Avinichi’s Phyto Thermal Collection, which contains the likes of peptides and complexion-soothing plant extracts, will help your skin barrier to feel stronger much faster.
Summary
There’s no getting away from the fact that an exfoliating mask can be a very useful addition to a skincare routine, even if you’re already regularly using another type of exfoliator. The key is to ensure that you integrate it into your routine correctly so that you don’t end up over-exfoliating your skin. Be strategic with how you mask, however, and you should see nothing but benefits from your efforts!
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