$55 1.7 oz / 50 ml
Ingredients: Polysorbate 60, Glycerin, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Leaf Extract, Lecithin, Lactic Acid, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Passiflora Quadrangularis Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract, Alcohol Denat., Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Maltodextrin, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Parfum (Fragrance), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Flower Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Oil, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Tocopherol
This mask received a lot of hype especially in the UK beauty community. With the rising popularity of glycolic acids and chemical exfoliants, I'd always wanted to try such kind of exfoliaters but was skeptical about the hype and it would be a quite expensive purchase. I finally gave in, bit the tongue and bought it.
Unique packaging. It looks like a plastics bag inside containing all the products.
Application
It's not a clay. It's more like a creamy gel consistency. It will not dry up or make your face stiff, which is nice. I do put it around the eyes because I want to exfoliate my milia. I don't recommend doing this at first because it is an acid and will burn/sting your eyes a little. Gradually putting it closer as your skin gets more comfortable with the product is the way to go. After putting it on, I let it sit for at least 20 minutes and then massage my skin a little before I rinse it off.
I need almost a full pump per application, which is a lot considering how big and how deep the pump is.
How my skin feels
I've heard that it stings on some people's skin. I've never experienced any stinging sensation on my face using this mask. Glycolic acid is supposed to loosen up the glue holding the dead skin on the face so the dead skin comes off. Here is a very good video on glycolic acid. My skin does feel very smooth afterwards, as most people experience. I'm not sure if it's the exfoliation or the hydrating ingredients in it that make my skin smooth afterwards.
The impact
I was using it once a week, as suggested on the bottle. The description on the packaging and on official websites don't indicate how the glycolic acid concentration in the product, so I didn't want to use it more often than suggested just in case it's high. If I use it once a week, it only makes my face really soft and smooth afterwards. I would still have little blackheads and pimples as usual. I would say once a week application gives really temporary impact on the skin.
REN replied to a customer review on their official website that this particular product contains 6.5% glycolic acid, which isn't very high, so I started using it a few days in a row. At first it dried my skin out so I started using it every other day instead and my skin is pretty comfortable with it. Still, I didn't notice that it stopped my skin from getting black heads and pimples. But my skin was definitely soft and smooth.
Overall, I'm very unimpressed with this product. It doesn't harm the skin but it does very little. The only it really does is making the skin soft and smooth, which it does so fantastically that it made it in my July Most Loved 10. So if you want smooth skin, it does a great job at it. But it's also at a high price because it does run out very quickly if you use it every other day or so. If you already have blackheads and pimple before starting using it, it will not fix the existing ones, same as other exfoliaters. But if you want to prevent future blackheads and pimple, I would suggest look somewhere else. This mask won't do it, either. 6.5% is very mild.
Is it worth the hype? No, I don't think so.
Do I regret buying it? Just a little. It was my first chemical exfoliater and I'm glad that I tried it because I really like the idea and it is definitely more gentle then physical exfoliant. My only regret is that I paid so much for something does little and runs out fast.
Would I repurchase? Definitely not.
Recommendation
I would recommend it for people who haven't tried chemical exfoliant before and want a good taste of it. There are some products categorized on the mild side that only contain 2-5% glycolic acid and then the next level is 8-10%. Personally I think 5% would have been too mild for me to even notice any effects, so I think this REN mask with 6.5% concentration would be a good start, IF you're willing to spend the money...
I HIGHLY recommend pairing it up with VERY gentle physical exfoliant, such as REN Micro Polish Cleanser. This will help the dead skin come off when the "glue" isn't loosened up completely.
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