Garnier Pure Active Charcoal Peel-Off Reviews

I was really intrigued by this product as I’ve seen similar charcoal peel off masks, especially the ones by korean beauty brands. I’ve watched beauty gurus use them on YouTube and I went down a rabbit hole watching girls peel off the masks and gasp at the impurities it left behind on the masks one you peeled it off and you can see the little spikes poking mg up above the sheet.

I have combination oily skin that is also acne prone. I used this on my nose. I found that it made my skin feel really soft afterwards but I didn’t see any “spike” left on the underside of the mask after so I was a little disappointed by that. On the other hand it could also mean my pores weren’t as blocked as I thought they were.

The product is a get black thick gel like consistency. It comes out of the bottle easily and you can spread it over your skin easily. Once applied to my skin I could feels cooling sensation, it wasn’t a burning feeling or tingling but a slight coolness as if you ate a really strong mint. I have sensitive skin and I didn’t get any reaction. If you have sensitive skin I would definitely patch test as it does contain salicylic acid.

It took about 20 minutes to dry, which is consistent with what the instructions indicate. When it came to peel it off I struggled a bit. You have to peel the masks upwards and I found it really hard to peel it away from my skin as it was stuck on pretty hard. It was also a bit painful to peel off. It wasn’t unbearable pain but be careful if you have a low pain tolerance. I don’t think is specific to this particular brand but I would imagine the same thing would happen with other brands. The idea is to suck the impurities out, so it has to really stick to your skin to do that. Because of this it felt like it was too harsh on my skin.

Overall this price did what it said it was meant tk. I will continue to use it to get the hang of peeling it off. It’s a great price and worth the shot. I would recommend this to those that have oily skin in particular. I think this product would dry out your skin even more if you had dry or dehydrated skin.

I’ve used this 3x in the past 1.5 week

It is a squeeze tube so its quite hygienic. The texture/consistency is quite watery and then dries up into a mask after a few minutes.

After the first use, I can feel my skin is smoother but I did not see a difference in reducing blackheads or pores being unclogged. After 3 uses, I can see that blackheads are reduced but there are still quite a few left, the mask didn’t totally remove all the blackheads, and I don’t see my pores looking totally unclogged. I will continue to use this product and see if it lives up to its claims that in 4 weeks, my pores will look tightened and blackheads visibly reduced.

It’s not perfect and I am not ‘wowed’ by this product, but its not that bad either.

I was lucky enough to receive this face mask to trial, and I was super excited as I really enjoy peel-off face masks and it seemed like the ones which are almost a substitute for pore strips! I do think it is a good face mask, however it did not quite live up to my expectations of what it is marketed as.

This face mask comes in a black squeezy tube, which is great as there's no fiddling around with packets and you can easily seal it to get many uses after application. You do need a decent amount for it to dry properly and peel off in one piece, and as a result of this it does take a while to dry so perhaps put it on before watching a TV show or doing other jobs around the house. It does have a chemically smell, so beware if you aren't a fan of scented products.

Once dry, peeling it off was slightly painful as some of my baby hairs got caught in the mask, but I did find my skin felt smooth and soft and there was less surface dead skin. However, it didn't really do too much to reduce shine or blackheads, which I found a bit disappointing. I expected it more to be like a pore strip, but it wasn't. However, I will definitely use this mask up, but perhaps not repurchase as I have used other products in the past which have done the same job or a better one.

Overall, this is not a bad product, I just expected better results. When removing the mask my skin did look noticeably smoother, cleaner and more matte, which was positive. However, this appearance wouldn't last long, I would wake up the morning after application and my skin would be back to 'normal' (I am very oily). The product was easy enough to apply, but make sure you allow plenty of time for it to properly dry down - I waited around 40mins. The first time I used the mask I didn't use enough product, you really need to put on a thick layer - because of this, the tube wouldn't last long (I'm guessing less than 10 T-zone applications). I also found the product quite hard to remove, it really stuck to my skin!

I found this product really smooth and easy to apply, and not too sticky. The product itself feels cool and pleasant, and not too tingly on the skin! However I did find that this mask took quite a long time to dry down.

While it did tug on the skin a little when removing it (this is to be expected!) it wasn't too bad, and while I found that it left my skin really nice and smooth, I can't honestly say that I saw a huge reduction in blackheads and the size of my pores, particularly on my nose - I think it was effective at removing dead skin, though.

Overall its worth a try, and I certainly liked how smooth my skin was afterwards! I will keep persisting with this product to see if there is more of an effect over multiple weeks/months, though if you're wanting a fast-acting product, this might not be the one for you.

Very messy to apply this face peel and it only removed minimal blackheads. Did leave my skin feeling nice though so was not too bad however I do wish it would've removed more blackheads.

The mask doesn’t smell and is easy to apply but you need to make sure to put plenty on so it dries and peels properly. On my first use, it was too thin and it was hard to get a piece up to peel.

The second time, I put a lot more on and I felt like I used a lot of product. I don’t think it will go super far. When I pulled it off, it was a bit painful and I am not sure how I feel about tugging on the skin on my face.

The mask works and pulled a lot of hair off! But I wouldn’t say it was so miraculous that it’s worth the pain and hassle of applying it. It gets everywhere.

Overall, if you like peel masks, you’ll probably like it. They aren’t my jam, though.

The instructions say to apply generously and you definitely need to, to have enough coverage to be able to peel it off.  The first time I tried it I didn't do enough and it didn't dry properly and pretty much did nothing.  While you need to spread it thickly, I don't think it felt thick or heavy while on my skin drying.  You do use a lot, though if using the recommended 2 times per week it could still last a month.  The consistency isn't gluggy, it's easy to smooth on and when drying and taking off it doesn't seem thick.

You need to wait a minimum 30 minutes, not the 20-30 minutes, in my opinion to be able to pull it off. After using not enough after 20 minutes it wasn't dry at all.   When dry, and you can visibly see when dry, it was able to peel off, though not quite cleanly for me.  My skin felt  smooth and tight after, though I've not yet seen any evidence on it's effectiveness on blackheads, I feel that it must be as while it didn't hurt or anything taking it off, once I did my skin felt sort of "pulled" for a while afterward, like the tightness of the dried mask had definitely pulled at my pores so must have pulled out any impurities. I can't be sure if the charcoal aspect, while used widely in today's products, had any significant impact in this product.

I notice it seems this product is very similar to a 3 in 1 charcoal cleanser/exfoliator and mask from the same brand that I have almost all used up which also is charcoal based and claims to unclog pores fight black heads and acne etc. I then see on the side of the box a picture of then 3 in 1 is printed there as a suggestion for daily use. So putting the mask on my face: the difference I noticed compared to the 3 in 1 is this texture is not gritty it is smooth the other charcoal one has exfoliating granules however it is the same colour and very similar packaging and additives being both charcoal products and having the acne fighting salicylic acid. The anti-black head peel off tube is much smaller sized too and on the back of the tube it says use the mask up to twice a week and to layer it on generously. This product is not only a small size but a little bit no not going to go a long way with you needing a thick layer in order to be able to peel it off in large pieces or as one piece. So you are going to run out of this product quickly especially if you are using it twice a week. I tried a thin layer and peeling it off was fiddly and I had to get a wet face cloth in the end. So about how this product works for black heads and skin: Yes I feel you will be fighting acne, oil and sebum and helping to give pores quite a deep clean because the additives in this are backed by science and clay is quite drying. In saying this you might stimulate your skin to produce more oil by giving it a shock with this product. Your skin will have to get used to it. I have not been able to notice my pores get any smaller - the back of the box says this is proven to occur after 4 weeks and this is the same with reduction of black heads so I cannot personally confirm this. I think by then if you were using the product twice a week you would need to buy or already have had to buy another tube. This product does work like the 3 in 1 charcoal product in the bigger tube that I mentioned earlier in the sense that my skin is tighter, mattified and somewhat dry after use. You might want to skip the exfoliant if you are using this because it could cause over drying. You are supposed to wash your face before using this which makes sense but if you already have a really harsh cleanser I think you are going to dry out your skin / cause it to produce more oil. In summary I would personally prefer the multi use of the other charcoal product - it does the same things this would do and more such as it cleans, fights blemishes exfoliates, you can use as a mask too, you do not need to wait 20-30 minutes for it to dry and you can use much much less product and get the same effects plus you get a bigger tube and it smells exactly the same. All in all I will not buy the mask I would just use the 3 in 1. I would recommend both products to help fight acne and if you have oily skin and are trying to fight blemishes but mostly the 3 in 1 is better this is not really required in my opinion.