Is it okay to use 1 sheet mask pack per day?

Any skincare fanatic has probably heard the advice to ‘use 1 mask sheet per day.’  Doing so requires a crazy amount of effort…   And not to mention time and money.  It’s no small feat to accomplish, especially if you’re not passionate about skin care.

All intensity aside, we wanted to see if 1 mask sheet per day was even okay to do in the first place.  

Like most things in life, it’s a gray area.  One pack per day is not good for everyone.  And not all masks are okay to use every day.  We’ll give you our best advice for how to use all sheet masks healthily and safely.

Sheet masks are usually divided into moisturizing, soothing, and functional.

Hyaluronic acid, ceramide, glycerin, etc. are mainly composed of ingredients that replenish moisture.  That is, they help moisturize the skin.  It is okay to use 1 pack of these sheet masks per day.

*See our post on finding the right moisturizer for your skin type 🙂

Functional sheet masks include all masks that are rich in nutrition or designed for brightening.  Excessive nutrition, just like anything, can cause more harm than good.  When applied too frequently, functional masks may cause skin trouble.  

It is best to use a functional sheet mask only about once a week.

If your skin is irritated with redness or itchyness, even mild ingredients will cause further irritation. It’s tough to know which ingredients in the mask will worsen your dermatitis.  So to be on the safe side, you need to reduce the number of mask uses.

We also recommend to only use a mask after cleansing your face and removing your sebum with a toner.  And avoid functional sheet masks.  The excess nutrition can worsen your condition.  So it is best to use either a moisturizing or soothing sheet mask. 

You might think, the longer I leave on the mask sheet, the longer my face will absorb the nutrients.

Or, if the mask sheet is still moist, it’s a waste to take it off.

Take it off anyway!

The recommended time for a regular sheet mask is 10-20 minutes.  Why?  If you wear the mask longer than this, the sheet actually starts absorbing moisture from your skin.  So it will cause your skin to lose moisture and begin to dry your skin out.  

This being said, there are some specially designed mask sheets that are meant for longer periods.  These masks will specifically state the time period, and usually can be used for over 20 minutes.  Usually these masks contain much more essence than the typical mask and are gushing with moisture.

Always be sure to follow the recommended mask time.  It’s also a great habit to apply any residual essence to your neck and hands for extra moisturizing greatness.

Some people put their masks in a refrigerator for an extra cooling effect.  You should store your masks in a cool place, but the refrigerator is not one of them.  

The ideal storage temperature for sheet masks is around 60 degrees.  This is much warmer than most refrigerators.  Much colder and many of the ingredients begin to degrade and lose their effectiveness.  And ingredients that can’t survive in a cold environment become completely useless.  So store your mask packs in a cool drawer, out of direct sunlight.  

If you want to have an extra cooling effect, you can quickly put the mask in the refrigerator.  But only at a maximum of 20 minutes before use.

A sheet mask contains many great ingredients.  But just like wearing a mask for too long, the same goes for the ingredients.  After you take off the mask, there still will be some residual ingredients from the sheet mask left behind on your face.  Your face has already absorbed everything it needed to.  Excess exposure to some of these ingredients wasn’t the intended purpose of the mask sheet.  

So the best thing to do after wearing a mask is to wipe your face lightly with a toner.  This will wash away all the excess residues from the mask, while still leaving your skin moisturized and bright.

The sheet mask is designed to deeply replenish moisture in a short period of time.  It lets the moisture soak deep into your skin after all your oil and impurities have been cleansed away.  So what about after you take the mask off?  All that moisturizing greatness might just evaporate away if left open in the air for long.  You need to seal all that moisture into your face with a moisturizer after you use a mask pack.  A moisturizer can prevent your moisture from flying away after the sheet mask.  It can also bring a clean oil to your skin, not only balancing your oil and moisture, but also building your skin barrier.

So after removing a sheet mask, make sure to gently wipe with a toner, and then apply moisturizer immediately.

How have you been using sheet masks correctly?  We hope you could learn something and this was helpful.

Among the hundreds of thousands of masks, it’s hard to find the one that’s perfect.  But it’s also fun to try them all out 🙂

So whether your skincare routine includes 1 mask sheet per day or 1 per month, the destination is certainly worth the journey.  And we are sure that your efforts will have lifelong returns.