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Most of us think of face masks as 10-minute therapy sessions in a sheet form in the bathtub. We’re more focused on their mental benefits because they make us feel pampered, spoiled, and relaxed. If you can look past the cute packaging and the nice smell, they’re actually incredibly helpful in dealing with skin issues. The best face masks for your 20s give you a practical and effective way to ease your most irritating skin concerns.
But rather than grabbing the fanciest, cutest, or most expensive one, you’ll get more out of your face mask in your 20s if you know what to look for in one.
If you’re dealing with noticeable acne in your early 20s, a simple hydrating sheet mask won’t do more than, well, hydrating.
Or if you’re dealing with excess oil and congestion, slathering your face with an overnight shea butter face mask will make things worse.
Similarly, a potent face mask with lots of nourishing ingredients may qualify as an anti-aging mask in your early 20s. However, a retinol mask or an exfoliating mask is going to be a lot more effective in your late 20s.
As always, we wanted to worm our way into your skincare routine to introduce you to the best face masks for your early, mid, and late 20s to deal with specific skin issues.
The Best Face Masks For Your 20s
Below are the best face masks for your 20s to tackle acne, congestion, wrinkles, and more!
1. Glamglow Supermud Charcoal Instant Treatment Mask
Oily skin can be hard to manage with its unpredictable excess oil production that ruins your makeup and the pores that seem to get bigger and bigger. It’s annoying to deal with and is more common in your early 20s than late 20s. However, a good clay mask for oily skin can be your most effective tool to balance your skin.
This clay & charcoal mask is infused with salicylic acid. It’s a beta-hydroxy (BHA) acid that loves to unclog pores and balance the skin’s oil production. And it has additional alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) like lactic acid and glycolic acid as well. The mask detoxifies the skin and reduces the look of pores without drying your skin out.
What It Has: Charcoal, salicylic acid, mandelic acid, lactic acid
What It Does: Exfoliates, mattifies skin, clears up pores
Suitable For: Normal, combination, oily, acne-prone
Size: 1.7 oz
Good To Know: Contains fragrance
2. Sunday Riley Saturn Sulfur Spot Treatment Mask
Whether you’re dealing with breakouts in your early 20s or hormonal acne in your late 20s, a sulfur-based product is a must-have in your routine. But it can be too drying for the skin when you use something like that on a daily basis. Instead, apply this 20-minute anti-bacterial spot treatment to ease up acne and blackheads.
It contains sulfur, zinc PCA, and tea tree oil to tackle acne. And to avoid disrupting your skin’s protective layer, it has the barrier-repairing niacinamide for its additional oil-balancing properties, making it one of the best face masks for your 20s.
Remember that acne is not exclusive to oily skin. Dry skin types also deal with it. And if you have dry skin, you can benefit from using a spot treatment as opposed to a face mask. That way, you get all the benefits without drying your skin.
What It Has: Sulfur, niacinamide, clay, tea tree oil
What It Does: Absorbs excess oil, calms acne
Suitable For: Normal, combination, oily, acne-prone
Size: 0.5 oz
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
3. Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Mask
Dry skin may not be an issue in your early 20s. But in your mid to late 20s, it’s bothersome because it makes the wrinkles visible and gives you a dull complexion. If you have very dry skin or a compromised skin barrier that seems to have trouble keeping moisture in, don’t go to bed without putting this on first.
It’s made with skin-replenishing hyaluronic acid in different molecular sizes. This ensures that your skin is hydrated on all possible levels. It also has squalane for a non-greasy moisture boost.
And the best part is the botanical extracts that are rich in fatty acids to nourish the skin. The mask softens the skin and bathes it in moisture while providing the antioxidant benefits of olive oil, sunflower oil, and calendula extract. The face mask is also great for reducing redness caused by dehydration.
What It Has: Hyaluronic acid, shea butter, coconut oil, mushroom extract
What It Does: Boosts hydration, moisturizes, plumps skin
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 1 oz
Good To Know: Cruelty-free
4. Herbivore Prism 20% AHA + 5% BHA Exfoliating Glow Facial
Hyperpigmentation, whether by acne scars or dark spots, can mess up your overall complexion by giving you an uneven skin tone. The best way to deal with them is by using exfoliants that resurface the skin through skin turnover. And they have secondary anti-aging benefits as well.
Because exfoliating helps with skin texture, fine lines, and dullness too. This one is a multi-purpose face mask to deal with dark spots, scarring, wrinkles, and a lack of radiance. It is formulated with naturally-derived AHAs and BHA to exfoliate the skin, so it’s very gentle.
The mask also has aloe gel that gives it that light, jelly texture. Packed with rosewater to soothe the skin, the face mask is perfect for your 20s to deal with scarring, pigmentation, tired-looking skin, and early signs of aging.
What It Has: Sugarcane extract, willow bark extract, gluconolactone
What It Does: Gently exfoliates, smoothes skin texture, brightens
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 1.7 oz
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
5. Ole Henriksen PHAT Glow Facial Mask
This one is perfect for 20-somethings with sensitive skin that reacts to mainstream exfoliating acids like AHAs and BHAs. Rather than further irritating your skin with those acids via trial and error, try gluconolactone for exfoliation. It’s a poly-hydroxy acid so gentle that it’s even recommended for rosacea skin.
This mask is formulated with gluconolactone for a non-irritating resurfacing treatment in a clay form. And it’s enriched with skin-brightening licorice extract, skin-soothing chamomile extract, and skin-restoring niacinamide. It’s a glow-boosting face mask to keep in your beauty arsenal in your 20s.
What It Has: Clay, gluconolactone, vitamin B5, niacinamide
What It Does: Gently exfoliates, softens skin texture, evens out skin tone
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 1.7 oz
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
6. Patchology Rejuvenating Eye Gels
These eye patches are perfect for getting rid of under-eye bags and dry skin around the eyes, which tends to magnify your crow’s feet. The under-eye patches plump up the under-eye area with collagen, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin.
Plus, they have caffeine for energizing the eye area and reducing the visibility of dark circles. Remember to keep these patches in the fridge for instant depuffing benefits.
What It Has: Caffeine, Centella Asiatica, collagen, amino acid blend
What It Does: Depuffs, hydrates, plumps up under-eye wrinkles
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 30 pairs
Good To Know: Contains fragrance
7. Kiehl’s Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Mask
This brightening face mask is for targeting uneven skin tone that could use a radiance boost. The face mask is formulated with clay. And it contains micro cranberry seeds to work as a physical exfoliant too. The skin-brightening turmeric extract helps with discolorations by evening out the skin tone and increasing the skin’s natural luminosity.
The super energizing mask freshens up the skin and brightens up your complexion. Early or late 20s, who doesn’t love a good self-indulgent glow-boosting mask?
What It Has: Cranberry seed, turmeric extract
What It Does: Evens out skin tone, reduces dullness and dark spots
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 3.4 oz
Good To Know: Fragrance-free
8. Bliss Pumpkin Powerhouse Resurfacing & Exfoliating Enzyme Mask
For a more affordable drugstore face mask any 20+-year-old can benefit from, Bliss rises to the occasion. The vegan mask gives the skin physical exfoliation with microbeads and chemical exfoliation with natural pumpkin enzymes.
The simple yet equally effective face mask gets rid of the build-up of dead skin cells that cause congestion and dullness. It is a great, budget-friendly face mask to get smoother, clearer, and healthier skin.
What It Has: Pumpkin enzymes, papaya enzymes, hyaluronic acid
What It Does: Gently resurfaces skin, clears up pores
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 1.7 oz
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
9. Farmacy Honey Potion Plus Ceramide Hydration Mask
Your early and mid-20s are a great time to incorporate potent antioxidants into your routine. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals that damage your skin and cause early signs of aging. They help diminish existing wrinkles and fade dark spots as well as prevent the formation of new ones. For a quick skin-restoring face mask that’s brimming with antioxidants, get one of these.
It’s a warming face mask with a jelly texture that magically transforms into a creamy texture on application. It’s made with moisturizing honey extracts and pro-vitamin B5. Plus, it has ceramides, niacinamide, and cica to care for the skin. The face mask is your skin’s daily dose of nutrients in your 20s.
What It Has: Ceramides, vitamin B5, niacinamide, honey
What It Does: Moisturizes, leaves skin glowing
Suitable For: All skin types
Size: 4.1 oz
Good To Know: Cruelty-free
So these are some of the best face masks you can use in your 20s to manage your skin concerns such as fine lines, acne, and pores. Remember that even though face masks give quick results, a proper skincare routine suitable for your skin type is the best way to maintain healthy skin.
Read Next: The Best Retinols To Use in Your 20s
