Review: The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask

I've always been a lover of a good clay mask, and I'm keen to try pretty much anything that claims to help clear out my pores! The Body Shop's Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask for Combination/Oily Skin is a product I've meant to invest in for close to a year, and eventually picked up in an in-store event offering 30% off. The Body Shop claim that, "This revitalising clay mask cleanses skin and controls excess oil; draws out impurities; clarifying and refreshing." So that's pretty much all my face mask must-haves in one tidy little screw-cap pot!

[Ingredients: Kaolin, Aqua, Heilmoor Clay, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Bentonite, Talc, Lithothamnium Calcarum Powder, Maris Limus Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Polysorbate 20, Myristamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Bisabolol, Parfum, Butylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Zinc PCA, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Denatonium Benzoate, Tocopherol, CI 77289, CI 42090.] 

I like the packaging, which is quite simple yet still looks nice on the shelf in my bathroom. The screw-cap style means you need to dig into the pot which could be unhygienic, although I tend to use a plastic spoon to avoid this; as long as you wash your hands before use, which you should be doing before applying a face mask anyway, you should be fine! The texture of the mask is lovely, really smooth and silky; it spreads easily and evenly over the face with a cooling sensation, and dries within around ten minutes. This is one of those masks where you can see the little spots of oil once it's dried, where it's absorbing excess oil from your skin. I tend to wash this one off in the shower but it's pretty easy to remove with a damp facecloth. Once removed, my skin is left feeling soft and smooth, clearer and calmer, but not tight or dried out, as can be the case with some clay masks. I've been using this once or twice a week and find that it leaves my skin looking much calmer for a day or two afterwards, which is nice! My skin has been horrible recently but this mask, in combination with another product I'll be reviewing soon, seem to have settled it down nicely *touches wood maniacally*
The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask is priced at £12 for 100ml of product, although you should easily be able to pick it up for cheaper than this if you have a Love Your Body card or in one of the store's frequent sales and promotions! I'd say it's worth the full-price RRP but wouldn't pay it, if that makes sense, because I know I can get it for less than that. Overall, though, this is a lovely mask for clearing out pores and calming down any breakouts, without drying out the skin; I'd recommend it for anyone with oily, blemish-prone skin. If you have combination skin, you could easily use it on any oily or congested areas and use another product on drier patches! Have you tried the Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask? What's your favourite skincare range from The Body Shop?

xo