If you wear a face mask but don’t Instagram it, do your pores even really get clean?
The increasingly popular form of self-care—especially on social media—gets the double-tap treatment in part because the pore-cleansing, soothing, hydrating masks are good for your skin. But also because, TBH, they’re really fun (and photogenic). And now, with the carbonated bubble clay mask (which originated in the Korean beauty scene), it’s safe to say your Insta Stories will never be the same.
Just ask Pretty Little Liars actress Lucy Hale, who recently had her first foray into the K-beauty cult fave, and documented the experience for her followers.
“I’m going to do this every day.”
“You guys, I thought that this was a scam,” she said in the Instagram Story video, as the mask started to rise (which means it’s working). “I had no idea it was going to bubble up this much. If you listen closely, you can hear it breathing.” By the end of the process—which takes around five minutes—Hale was hooked. “I’m going to do this every day,” she said. “It’s just too fun.”
Basically, bubble masks (Hale used Elizavecca Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask, a clean formulation with ingredients like green tea extract, aloe vera leaf extract, matcha powder, and charcoal powder) act as a foaming cleanser as they slowly puff up, making you look like a cartoon character. And it’s not just a gimmick: The mask is great for unearthing the mounds of gunk that gets stuck in your pores on the daily, ultimately exfoliating and removing blackheads.
So when beauty expert (and S.W. Basics founder) Adina Grigore told Team Well+Good you could try recreating Hale’s fizzy face simply by adding carbonated water to a powder-based face mask, we hit the kitchen to give it a shot.
Did it work? Read on to find out.
The Great DIY Carbonated Clay Mask Experiment
Ingredients
1 can of La Croix (It’s what was readily available in the office refrigerator…)Fig + Yarrow Rose Clay Mask
Combine the powdered mask (we went with one that was on our desk, but any powdered clay mask should work) and a few splashes of sparkling water in a small bowl and mix quickly with your hands before applying to your face. (It goes without saying, but be sure to avoid contact with the eyes.)
The mixture will quickly form some tiny bubbles as you stir it. “Not like the ones Lucy Hale had on her face, but you’ll definitely feel the carbonation on your skin,” says Well+Good’s Associate Editor (and beauty guru) Rachel Lapidos. “Mine felt slightly tingly, and I felt a sort of ‘snap, crackle, and pop’ sensation as the water fizzled away.”
“As I gradually added more powder and more seltzer, it started to form some of those satisfying bubbles. They weren’t nearly as large, dramatic, or cartoon-like as the masks you may see on Instagram, but it’s a pretty fun feeling—especially if you’re looking to make face masking even more satisfying.”
The masking doesn’t have to end here: Check out the watermelon-potato concoction Miranda Kerr loves, or Kendall Jenner’s sheet mask hack.
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