The unknown dark side of sheet masks that many are not aware of

Sheet masks are one of the very popular skincare products used widely in today’s time. Curated by the Korean beauty industry, sheet masks gained fame due to its hassle-free usage where a pre-soaked face mask comes with cut out holes for your eyes, nose, and mouth areas. Laden with a thick serum-like hydrating substance, face masks claim to address everything from dry skin to acne problems to signs of ageing. While these miraculous face masks are quite addictive, there is also an unknown downside of sheet masks that many might not be aware of.

Besides our love for wearing sheet masks and flaunting those on Snapchat looking like a psycho-killer straight from Hollywood, the whole purpose of the sheet masks is to hydrate and nourish your skin. Unlike other clay face masks, sheet masks can’t cleanse or exfoliate your skin. In simpler words, sheet masks are only effective to revive your skin for a short time. It can give you an instant glow, however, it can’t reach the deeper layer of your skin.

These single-use face masks are not as wondrous you think. From its packaging to the sheet mask itself is not reusable or recyclable. After getting used and dumped in the waste bin, it continues to live in landfills for years to get decomposed. The outer packaging of these masks usually comes coated with a layer of aluminum and plastic to protect the content that sits in the garbage for a long time to get decomposed.

If you’re conscious about the environment then you won’t like the fact that these masks itself are not eco-friendly. While mostly made out of synthetic, some companies produce these sheet masks out of cotton or other natural fiber, however, it still contains some amount of plastic in its content that makes it last longer while staying drenched. This means the face mask can itself decompose but the time taken can directly depend on the contents or ingredients it was soaked in. With very limited information provided on the cover of these sheet masks, it’s difficult to be certain if at all the ingredients are organic or biodegradable.

Added to these, each sheet mask comes attached with a thin plastic film that one needs to discard before putting the face mask on. This plastic layer too harms the environment.

Photo credit: Google