Review of new The Ordinary 2% Salicylic Acid Masque for oily skin and clogged pores.

Any new The Ordinary product gets an excited reception. Usually because Deciem teases anything new for months preceding a launch. The 2% Salicylic Acid masque is no exception. Keen observers may remember a video of Brandon using a black face mask that was released last June. This is a new style of product for The Ordinary- their first clay based mask, so there is a bit of a buzz around it.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been set a sample of the mask to try out before it’s released, so this is a bit more teasing but it’ll be available to order really soon- on the 29th May 2019.

Here is what we know about the 2% Salicylic Acid Masque-

• £9.90 for 50 mls from Deciem.com
• It’s alcohol, silicone, nut, gluten, oil and cruelty free, vegan
• But does contain fragrance
• It is a rinse off mask for exfoliation of dead skin cells and removal of oils and impurities
• The pH is an excellent 3.5-4.5
• Good for oily, acne prone, those with closed comedones and blocked pores
• Apply to clean DRY skin, leave on for up to 10 minutes, for once or twice weekly use
  

  

WARNINGS- 

• Do not use if your have very sensitive skin or raw healing patches (such as after acne)
• Make sure you are using a good spf
• Patch test on a small area for 10 minutes and observe for 24 hours. Deciem now has a handy patch testing guide
• Avoid contact with the eye area

I think that The Ordinary has to be so cautious and descriptive with it’s warning for this product because there have been numerous reports of burns after using their 2% Salicylic Acid Solution. I think one of the most important pieces of advice, as well as the patch test is to always make sure acids are applied to dry skin. Moisture on the surface of the skin can allow acids to penetrate even deeper and cause irritation. Daily SPF is a must of course no matter what you’re using.

The Ordinary 2% Salicylic Acid Masque Review

I guess the most attractive thing about this product is the control you get with it. As I said, a lot of members of the Deciem Chatroom experienced burns and redness with the salicylic solution. The Salicylic Masque would make it easier to use salicylic acid in a safer way- easier to apply to specific areas and then rinsed off. 

Here is the all important ingredients list-

This list has gone from the Deciem site for the moment. Maybe they’re updating it to not include fragrance, fingers crossed. Apparently the clays are Amazonian, which sounds good. Clay and charcoal is meant to absorb impurities and dirt, I am not sure whether it can actually remove anything from within the pores and the worry is that they’ll just desiccate the skin. Lab Muffin has written a good post about activated charcoal, the upshot of which is that she’s unsure whether it helps, but it doesn’t do any harm and it looks cool.

Salicylic acid at 2% has been shown to be moderately effective for mild acne, there is some limited evidence behind it. At 2% it’s also considered safe for pregnant women. The pH (3.5-4.5) is optimal to allow the acid to exfoliate effectively, this is great news, I love that Deciem always display their pHs.

What Is It Like?

Salicylic Acid Masque is an intensely black jelly like goo. The sample has a very mild, almost undetectable clean fragrance. It was a struggle to apply smoothly for the photo, which is neither here nor there. The fine gritty texture also lends to a gentle physical exfoliation. It doesn’t dry chalky like some clay masks and stays flexible and black.

After the 10 minutes is up and it’s rinsed off, my skin feels super smooth and clear. It felt great. I have literally received the sample and smashed out the review as quickly as I could to give you as much information as I could before it hits the internet shelves. I will update if anything changes for the positive or negative. I have a checkered past with salicylic, it’s never really done anything for me but so far so good with the masque. I get cystic acne and if I put a foot wrong skincare wise, my chin makes me pay for it. No such issues so far with the masque.

The Ordinary 2% Salicylic Acid Masque- The Long and Short of it

The texture and colour is very fun, I love the jelliness of it. It left my skin feeling awesome, clear and super smooth. It’s a great mask for prepping oily skin for makeup. Also could work as a handy way to use salicylic acid if the solution was too much for your skin. 

It’s a shame that Deciem have added fragrance but they have changed formula before under public pressure, so you never know. It’s not an obtrusive scent but I would still rather it wasn’t there. 

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Masque is £9.90 for 50mls, so a pretty good price, check it out if you have oily, clogged skin. (The sample was gifted by Deciem and the links are affiliate FYI.)