Cocoon Apothecary Ancient Mud Facial Mask Review

Clay/Mud masks are fantastic for detoxifying and pulling out impurities from deep below the skin's surface. I think using them once to twice a week is essential for keeping skin clear or at least trying to. It's no secret that Pretty makes my absolute favourite clay mask that I've repurchased many times, but for the sake of my blog I thought I'd branch out and try something new.

Description: Detoxify, exfoliate and tighten skin with two of nature's most potent beauty treatments, Dead Sea mud and Canadian glacial marine clay. Dead Sea mud has been used since ancient times as a health and beauty treatment. It remineralizes the skin with essential nutrients and purifies pores of toxins and pollutants. Glacial marine clay from the coast of British Colombia is an extremely fine powder that absorbs deep into pores to pull out contaminants and excess oil. Both the mud and the clay work synergistically to pull out the bad and leave the good. Use once per week avoiding eye area.

The Good:

• Canadian company!
• amazing spot treatment
• clears up acne
• brings crap (black heads, white heads, etc) to the surface for easy extraction
• 4 ingredients

The Bad:

• harsh (at least on my sensitive skin)
• drying
• pretty small amount for price (unless you just use as just a spot treatment)

Verdict: I'm on the fence about this product. It burns my face and makes it really dry when I use it all over, which is not pleasurable. I'd much rather be able to use a clay mask 1 - 2 times a week without any negative side effects.  It works wonders as a spot treatment though! I put it on any pimples that I have and it quickly brings a white head to the surface and/or dries them out entirely.  This would be a great product for anyone who does not have sensitive or dry skin. It's way too harsh for me and therefore I will not be repurchasing.

Add on: I was at Big Carrot a couple of days ago and actually asked one of the girls about this mask.  She mentioned that it burned her face as well, so she contacted the company and was told that's what it does.  It's so stimulating and detoxifying that it almost feels like an intense chemical peel, however, the redness subsides within a few minutes to hours depending on how sensitive you are.  Best time to use it would be at night and no more than once per week.  I still will likely not repurchase :)

Retails for $24 CAN for 100g.  Can be purchased at Big Carrot, Well.ca and through Cocoon Apothercary.

What's your favourite clay/mud facial mask?

Ingredients: Dead Sea mud, glacial marine clay, neroli essential oil, rose absolute.