The Best Clay Masks To Manage & Balance Oily Skin

Best Clay Masks For Oily Skin

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What’s more practical and fast-working than a clay mask to deal with oily skin and all those concerns that come with it? Clay masks are such treats for oily skin to reduce shine, ease congestion, detoxify, and mattify the skin. Clay absorbs excess oil and draws out impurities from the skin.

It controls shine, mattifies your complexion, clears out pores, and actually reduces their visibility. It’s like a fun and child-like roll in the mud for your skin at the convenience of a face mask.

So if you’re dealing with pores, oiliness, blackheads, whiteheads, and acne, a clay mask is usually the first thing you grab. While all clay masks do the bare minimum of mattifying your complexion, some exceed expectations.

And with so many great options, it’s not easy to find the best one for your unique skin. Here’s your quick guide.

How To Choose a Clay Mask For Oily Skin

Type of Clay

There are different clays used in masks. Kaolin and bentonite clays are the two most common.

Kaolin is a gentle clay that absorbs excess oil and regulates oil production. It has a skin-friendly pH level, so it’s tolerable for most people.

Bentonite clay, on the other hand, is significantly more absorbent than kaolin. It also has skin-tightening effects on the skin, which is great for pores. But usually, clay masks contain both of these.

Other Ingredients

Some clay masks contain active ingredients such as chemical exfoliants. These can be salicylic acid or glycolic acid. So they both balance the skin’s oil production and exfoliate it too. Others have physical exfoliants, which make them work like scrubs.

So if you need something more potent than just an oil-balancing clay mask, go for these types of clay masks. Because they can be more helpful for acne and hyperpigmentation too.

Best Clay Masks For Oily Skin

Below are the best clay masks for people with oily skin.

1. Innisfree Super Volcanic Clusters Pore Clearing Clay Mask

Innisfree Super Volcanic Clusters Pore Clearing Clay Mask - Best Clay Mask For Oily Skin

This clay mask gives you skin detox on all possible levels. Bentonite clay from volcanic ash draws oil and dirt away from the skin to mattify your complexion. Lactic acid removes the dead skin cells accumulated on the skin while increasing the skin’s hydration levels.

Fine, non-irritating powder from walnut shells gives your skin the physical exfoliation to buff any remaining impurities away. The clay is incredibly rich in minerals and the mask gives you clean, smooth, and matte skin. The best part is that the mask comes in a mousse form too so that you can say goodbye to congested skin in any way you like.

Type of Clay: Bentonite, kaolin
Other Ingredients: Lactic acid
Size: 3.38 oz/100 mL
Good To Know: Fragrance-free, alcohol-free

2. Youth To The People Superclay Purify + Clear Power Mask

Youth To The People Superclay Purify + Clear Power Mask - Best Clay Mask For Oily Skin

And speaking of acne, it doesn’t get any better than this. This clay mask contains 2% niacinamide as well as salicylic acid, which are both known to help with acne. Niacinamide helps with excess oil and salicylic acid exfoliates and is superior to glycolic acid because it better penetrates the pores.

So right off the bat, the clay mask is amazing for people with oily skin, acne, and large pores. The vegan mask contains skin soothers like aloe and allantoin too. It’s exfoliating, mattifying, and refining. It’s also fragrance-free and packs antioxidant-rich algae extract.

Type of Clay: Kaolin, bentonite
Other Ingredients: Niacinamide, salicylic acid, aloe
Size: 2 oz/60 mL
Good To Know: Fragrance-free, vegan

3. Caudalie Pore Minimizing Instant Detox Mask

Best Clay Mask For Oily Skin - Caudalie Pore Minimizing Instant Detox Mask

When it comes to reducing pores, it’s the least this natural clay mask can do for your skin. It’s formulated with pink clay, aka French clay. It’s a combination of white and red clay; a pinch of clay from either side of the spectrum to give you gentle cleansing action without drying out your skin. In addition, the hypoallergenic mask contains papaya enzymes, which are natural exfoliators that sweep the dead skin cells off the surface of the skin.

It also has antioxidant-rich caffeine, which tightens and energizes the skin too. Its texture is incredibly creamy and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable after it dries. And because it’s fragrance-free, it’s great for sensitive skin too. I have rosacea and this one does not cause any flare-ups. Plus, it leaves the skin incredibly soft and smooth. They’ve updated their packaging for better sustainability.

Type of Clay: Bentonite, kaolin
Other Ingredients: Grape extract, coffee extract
Size: 2.5 oz/75 mL
Good To Know: Vegan, fragrance-free

4. Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask

Omorovicza-Deep-Cleansing-Mask

Combining kaolin clay with pure Hungarian mud, this mask offers a natural and mineral-rich formula to clean and detoxify the skin. The vegan mask is also infused with thermal water.

The minerals in thermal water are incredibly diverse and help hydrate, nourish, and condition the skin. By taking care of your skin with essential nutrients your skin already loves, the mask clears out pores, minimizes them, and refines the skin texture.

Type of Clay: Kaolin
Other Ingredients: Hungarian mud, Hungarian thermal water
Size: 1.7 oz/50 mL
Good To Know: Contains fragrance, cruelty-free

5. Fresh Umbrian Clay Pore Purifying Face Mask

Fresh Umbrian Clay Pore Purifying Face Mask - Best Clay Masks For Oily Skin

This one contains another type of clay -namely fuller’s earth. Leaving aside the weird naming, it’s very similar to bentonite clay. The mask draws oil and sebum like a magnet and purifies the skin. As the clay digs out the dirt stuck in the pores, it leaves the skin pure, bright, and fresh.

Plus, the mask contains lavender water and chamomile oil to calm and soothe the skin too. It has olive oil and grape seed oil, which makes the clay mask very creamy and moisturizing for the skin as opposed to drying and irritating.

Type of Clay: Umbrian clay
Other Ingredients: Grape seed oil, chamomile oil, lavender water
Size: 3.3 oz/100 mL
Good To Know: Contains fragrance

6. Indie Lee Clearing Mask

Indie Lee Clearing Mask

This one is a more targeted clay mask for oily skin that’s prone to acne. Besides bentonite clay, it also contains sulfur, which is amazingly helpful in treating acne. To make the mask even more effective, there’s also a blend of glycolic acid and salicylic acid to clean the skin inside and out.

The super-charged mask exfoliates congested skin, clears out pores, and reduces shine. Additionally, it contains hyaluronic acid to amp up hydration as well as chamomile extract to calm the skin, leaving it fresh, plump, and even.

Type of Clay: Bentonite
Other Ingredients: Glycolic acid, salicylic acid, sulfur
Size: 1.7 oz/50 mL
Good To Know: Cruelty-free

7. Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Clay Mask

Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Clay Mask - Best Clay Masks For Oily Skin

This luxurious mask is made with kaolin clay to give your skin that much-needed matte look. To make the mask even better, it’s infused with nutrient-rich sweet almond oil and rosehip seed oil. It balances the complexion without drying the skin and leaves your complexion smoother, softer, and brighter.

It applies easily and evenly and doesn’t create a mess after it dries down. The mask truly brings that healthy, glowy, and youthful look to the skin. If you have very sensitive skin, the prominent fragrance of the mask may be irritating to the skin. So keep that in mind.

Type of Clay: Kaolin
Other Ingredients: Sweet almond oil
Size: 2.54 oz/75 mL
Good To Know: Contains fragrance, vegan-friendly

8. Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask With Rose Clay

Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask With Rose Clay - Best Clay Mask For Oily Skin

Another gentle clay mask that’s perfect for oily skin is this one by Origins. The pink clay practically absorbs a whole layer of the skin, revealing clear skin free of blackheads. Packed with several antioxidant-rich essential oils that have anti-bacterial properties, it helps with acne too. The mask also has tiny jojoba beads to exfoliate and polish the surface of the skin.

It’s more like a treatment than a mask and works wonders for oily skin to target oiliness, roughness, and dullness. It smells like roses and the gritty beads feel so satisfying and are super gentle on the skin. If you apply the mask in a thin layer and really work it into your skin, you’ll get more out of your product and make it last longer.

If you’re dealing with particularly clogged or enlarged pores, have a look at our round-up of the best face masks for pores.

Type of Clay: Kaolin, bentonite
Other Ingredients: Sugar cane, willowherb extract
Size: 2.5 oz/75 mL
Good To Know: Contains essential oils, vegan

So these are some of the best clay masks for oily skin. Overall, Caudalie’s Instant Detox Mask has been a favorite of mine because it’s mess-free, fragrance-free, and suitable for sensitive skin. It’s also easy to rinse off.

If stubborn acne is your main concern, you’ll love what Youth To The People Superclay Purify + Clear Power Mask can do for your skin.

Clay masks can be expensive, especially when they have active ingredients and work like treatments. So remember to check out the best drugstore clay masks if you’re on a budget.

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