Daiso/Saizen: Charcoal Face Mask Review

Prepare to be grossed out with today's post! *evil laugh*

I normally have crazes over certain products in any given period of time. I think I mentioned that I used to have a tint craze, milky tint craze, lippies that change color craze, facial wash craze, eye cream craze, make-up remover craze and concealer craze. But did I mention that I also underwent a blackhead remover craze?

Oh yes. I did. And one of my purchases was Saizen's (Daiso's) Charcoal Face Mask.

The internet is full of raves on this product, and those raves enticed me to pick this up. And this also costed me P85 (roughly $2.04) which is not bad. If some of you aren't familiar with Saizen (Daiso), it's comparable to a dollar shop in US, wherein everything is priced at $1. The store also contains a lot of different nifty objects, from cosmetics to skin care, to house wares, school supplies, etc. In my country, this store is labeled as Saizen since the name "Daiso" is already taken up by a store with a similar concept. But in Japan, this store is really called "Daiso".

What is this charcoal face mask is exactly? It is a peel off mask made out of charcoal that promises to remove blackheads, whiteheads and other facial impurities. It also tightens pores. Ok, too much promises. 

For a price of P85 ($2.04), you get a 80g tube of black goo. What's weird about this thing is that, it came from a Japanese store, but it's made in Korea. Odd! 

I had to research some stuff on this mask since most of the inscription is in Japanese. So here's the product description from A Day to Forget:

This is a Charcoal Mask is made by Daiso that is formulated with Natural ingredients from Oak trees. It removes oils, dirt, keratin and sebum in the sebaceous follicles of the skin. It deeply cleans the pore, leaving your skin clear and smooth with less visible pores.

How to use this:

1. After you do your facial cleansing regimen, apply this evenly on your face (or in my case, area of concern).
2. Let it dry for 10-15 minutes. I made mine 20, since it wasn't 100% dry by the end of 15 minutes.
3. When it's dry, peel it off. You know it's dry when your skin feels very tight. 
4. After peeing it off, cleanse your face with cold water to close the pores.
5. Use it once per week.

Frankly, I was really on the fence on using this when I realized that the goo is all black. It also smells horrible - chemical-y and alcohol, which sticks around minutes after you apply this. But I did jumped in to try since I was really curious on the effects. 

Upon application, it felt cold and yes, it smells horrible. But after a few minutes, the smell dies down and you start to feel your skin getting tight and itchy. 

When it's all dry, it's a little tough to remove it if you're a beginner, like me. 

Did I achieve a cleaner face? I sure believe so. When I removed the mask, I can see whiteheads on the film. It's gross, so I didn't post it here. It hurts a little when you remove the mask. I think it also included some of the hair on my face. But what I did notice, however, is that it didn't do much to remove those darn whiteheads buried deep in the pore. 

And after 2 weeks of use, I noticed a little red dot sprout out of my targeted area. No, it wasn't the time of the month nor I changed some of the products I used on my face.

Will I recommend this? For those with sensitive skin, you may want to step back. I never had a chance to finish my product, until I had to throw it out. But if your an adventurous person, this might be just for you. I have a ton of photos on this, but I rather not display them since it's not very pleasing. >.<

I really don't understand why this got so much raves. Maybe it didn't match me quite well. Sob.

How about you? Do you use this kind of mask?

For those interested with the ingredients, check it out here. But if you just want to view it, less the analysis and can understand Japanese, check it out below.

I'm not loving the new interface of Wordpress on photos I uploaded. They won't allow me to resize them bigger. ARGH! Plus the linking to the photo's horrible. >.< Change it back!