From Clogged Pores to Dryness, These Peel-Off Masks Are Satisfyingly Effective

There is something entirely gross but also satisfyingly amazing about any kind of beauty product you can peel from your skin. (I'm not wrong, am I?) Although it's definitely not glamorous to talk about, there is something about seeing what was in or on your skin suddenly not in or on your skin that makes a product pretty dang enthralling. And peel-off masks have to be at the very top of said product list. 

Of course, peel-off masks also fall into that slippery-slope category of beauty products that some experts deem entirely ineffective (aka strategic marketing gimmicks) while others deem them entirely fine and potentially beneficial. What truly matters are the formula, ingredients, and aggressiveness of the mask. As celebrity facialist Renée Rouleau points out in this blog post, certain "viral" peel-off masks can be far too intense for the skin barrier and will likely do more harm than good. (Putting charcoal and glue on your face is never a good idea, folks!)

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(Image credit: @kristengracelam)

That said, the best, high-quality peel-off masks on the market these days are formulated to be gentle and safe, offer great ingredients with lots of different skin perks, and if nothing else, help exfoliate the skin during the peel-off step. Plus, they're just plain fun to use. 

Since there are quite a few popular peel-off masks vying for your dead skin cells and hard-earned cash right now, we've selected our top 10 picks based on our personal experience and testing and hours spent combing through ratings and reviews (so you don't have to). Ahead, the 10 best peel-off masks to address your different skin concerns. Keep scrolling! 

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Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.