Review: Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off

Manual exfoliators. Some people love them, some people hate them. I have friends that use them every day and I have friends who never use them. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, my skin is sensitive and the overuse of manual exfoliators can be irritating. On the other hand, when my skin is healing from a breakout I find that I have patches of rough dry skin that are difficult to cover with makeup. Ultimately, rather than following a strict schedule when is comes to using a manual exfoliator, I try to "listen" to my skin and use a manual exfoliator only when I notice I could use one. Usually that is once or twice a week as part of my nighttime routine but if I feel like my skin is already inflamed and sensitive it could be longer. All manual exfoliators have the same basic premise. The product contains something rough that when rubbed against your skin, removes a layer of skin. Some products may be more like a scrub, whereas others are more like a pad, brush, or stone that you rub against your skin. There is a second type of exfoliator too, the chemical exfoliator. Rather than rubbing away a layer of skin, these products use chemicals that cause your skin to shed its upper layers... but I'm sure we'll talk more about this in the future ;)

I didn't have much experience using exfoliators before I began using Skinfood's Black Sugar Mask Wash Off, and because of that it's difficult for me to draw comparisons to products that may be more familiar to people in America or outside of Asia in general. At various points in my life I have used scrubs like St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Clean & Clear's Morning Burst Cleanser, and the L'Oreal Go 360 Clean. If you're reading this expecting Skinfood's Black Sugar Mask Wash Off to be similar, you'd be mistaken.

(Side note: do American products still use microbeads? Because if they do, you should not be using those products. Microbeads are small enough to pass through sewage filtering systems and end up getting dumped into our oceans and lakes. We all love beauty products but there will be no beauty products if Earth is no longer an inhabitable place. /rant) My rant on microbeads isn't totally irrelevant, actually. Although microbeads are (or at least were when I lived there) dominating the American manual exfoliator market, not using microbeads is not the end of manual exfoliators. There is a plethora of natural ingredients that can be used as exfoliators. Salt, sugar, coffee grounds. Think of all those DIY masks you did in your early teens (or maybe that was just me XD) and the possibilities are endless. Skinfood has done just that with this scrub. As you remember from my previous review of Egg White Pore Foam Cleanser, most of Skin Food's products have a certain food theme. Skinfood's Black Sugar Mask Wash Off, as I'm sure you can guess, uses sugar. What exactly is black sugar? The truth is, I don't know. My best guess is that they mean unrefined brown sugar, also know as muscovato. It's similar to brown sugar but coarser and even less refined.

This product is packaged in a simple, wide-mouthed plastic container. Open the container and you'll find a thick, gloopy product that is about the same color as coffee grounds. After double washing your face, apply the product. At first you'll notice the feeling of fine grains of sugar rubbing against your skin. As you rub it in, you'll notice that the sugar begins to dissolve. Once all of the sugar is dissolved and the product is left feeling smooth on your skin, let it sit for 10-15 minutes (this product is an exfoliator and also a face mask, 2 for 1 xD). Once the time is up, rinse your face and begin layering up your nighttime skincare products.

I absolutely LOVE the fact that this product dissolves into the skin. My biggest problem with manual exfoliators is that I just never know when is enough. If I rub too much then it will irritate my skin, right? But if I don't rub enough it won't have any effect, right? T^T With this product you know exactly "when" because you can't rub it in anymore. Even a noob like me can do it XD

If you're worried that a manual exfoliator would irritate your skin, know that the other ingredients are there to soothe the skin. Aside from sugar, this product contains ingredients that are meant to seal moisture into the skin like glycerin, which is even effective at combating skin ailments such as psoriasis and lanolin, which is used to relieve heat rash. Note that some people are allergic to lanolin. Although the lanolin used in cosmetics tends to be refined in a way that removes the primary allergen (wool alcohols), if you suspect you might be allergic, it's best is you don't try this product.

Here's the rundown on how I feel about Skinfood's Black Sugar Mask Wash Off. Going from never using an exfoliator, I noticed great changes in my skin after using this product. My face feels smoother and softer. I was worried about it irritating my skin, but that hasn't happened at all.

The price: This 100g container costs 7,700₩ ($7). A little goes a long way, and for someone like me who only uses it once or twice a week, one container can easily last several months. My ratings Price: 5/5. Cheap, yet effective and lasts a long time. Everything you could ask for in a product. Effectiveness: 4/5. It definitely left my skin feeling smoother and softer but I can't give it full points without comparing it to other exfoliators. Packaging: 4/5. I generally appreciate the simple, no-nonsense Skinfood packaging and this is no exception. Overall: 4/5. Great product for someone like me who has no experience using exfoliators. Repurchase? Yes! ^^ TL;DR Skinfood's Black Sugar Mask Wash Off turned me into a believer (in exfoliation?) xD

What your favorite exfoliation method or product? Leave your recommendations in the comments ^^

How often do you use a manual exfoliator?

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