A few weeks ago, I impulse bought a tube of this, Pig-Nose Clear Black Head Peeling Massage Gel, from Marshall's for $3. At first, I thought it was a pore strip kind of thing--like those black latex peel off masks. It was, in fact, not that at all. No, no, this mask... this mask is different and special.
As I mentioned in my blog post on skin congestion, I added this mask weekly to help deal with my rough, dehydrated skin (followed up by super hydrating, of course).
But the question, of course, is: what does this mask do? Does it work?
Oh, does it work.
Here's what it promises:
“Pig Nose Clear Blackhead Peeling Massage Gel is a mineral oil free mild pore cleanser that exfoliates and dead skin cells and loosens trapped impurities, making it easy to extract and remove blackheads and whiteheads without damaging skin in the process.”
When I bought this, I thought it removed blackheads or sebaceous filaments (they're not the same thing, although they're occasionally confused); it actually doesn't. It does, however, help exfoliate my skin better than any other product I've ever used.
Here's how I use it:
- After I wash my face, I apply a thin layer over my forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and jaw. It feels close to what I would call gelatin, which is why I thought it would peel off at first. However, it doesn't dry down.
- Wait 5 minutes. In that time, my face usually starts to tingle a bit. It isn't painful, but it definitely feels like something is happening.
- After 5 minutes, if I look in the mirror, I will see patches of dead skin lifted off from my face. Yep, you read that right: patches of dead, dry skin. I start massaging my nose, cheeks, forehead, and chin, and bits of dry skin pick up on my fingers.
- After a few minutes of massaging, I take one of my charcoal face sponges and use it to exfoliate the rest of the dead skin off and leftovers of the mask.
- Afterwards, my face feels softer than it has in years.
Yes, you read all that right. This mask removes all the dead skin from the top layer of your face; it exfoliates so magnificently that I've dropped all other methods of exfoliating from my routine. This is all I need! I have to be careful not to overdo it, because the results are so fun, it's easy to want to use it all the time.
I love this mask so much that I've already become paranoid about what will happen when I run out of it. It's a Korean beauty product and finding it legitimately online has been a challenge; Amazon seems hit-or-miss in terms of being the real deal. I did find a dupe at Marshall's that I will be reviewing soon. However, if you need a good exfoliant, this is your holy grail. I promise. It's that good.
