Garnier Pure Active Charcoal Peel-Off Reviews

I have just recently started experiencing some stubborn blackheads across my forehead, so was super excited to give this mask a go!

The mask has activated charcoal so is dark and quite sticky, which makes it a little bit difficult to spread. I applied it to my whole face intially which was a big mistake!! When I tried to peel it off, it snagged on all my hairs and I ended up having to wash it off because it was just so painful!

The next time I used this mask, I just placed it in my T zone and over my blackheads and had much more reasonable results. When I peeled off the mask, I was disappointed to find that it failed to pull out any of my blackheads, and instead it just left my skin looking red and shiny.

I know that salicylic acid is good for breakouts so if you have sensitive skin that will react to tugging when you remove the mask, it might be worth using as a spot treatment and then washing off the mask.

I do have to say that it is incredibly satisfying to peel off, despite being a fair bit of work and leaving behind some residue. In terms of results, it didn't seem to make much of a difference to my blackheads but I might keep using it to see if it just needs longer to work.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience but it is quite a lot of effort to use and I don't think I would buy this again.

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.

This is far thicker than any other charcoal mask I've used before. It takes quite a while to dry, and is freaking sore to peel off!! Once I finally wrestled it off my face, it certainly left my skin feeling silky-smooth, but after 5 uses, I have noticed no difference at all to my blackheads. Not worth the pain!!!!

I can't say I enjoyed using this product, although I do like the sleek dark packaging. It smelt nice and the instructions were easy to follow. The consistency was thick so applying it with my fingers was easy. I wouldn't say I have a lot of build up or blackheads, maybe just a bit on my nose but I applied it on my T-zone anyway. Once it dried I peeled it off my forehead and then chin which was a little painful, it looked it had pulled out a lot of my face fuzz; it was almost like waxing myself. The last part was to peel it off my nose (this was painful!) my eyes were watering and I had to give up and just wash it off with warm water. I personally would not recommend this to anyone unless you have crazy build up of blackheads etc... there are more gentler ways to cleanse your face.

First off packaging is simple squeeze the product out of the tube nothing pretty about the packing which is fine as its about how it works. The smell is odd I don't know how to describe it. Consistency is very thick and hard to apply. Application you have to use a lot of product to apply a thick enough mask to allow easy removal. It recommends 20 to 30 minutes to dry then peel off. The first time I did not apply a thick enough layer and it took so long to remove it and it was painful. It did remove some blackheads and dry skin patches also some fine hairs my face was a little red afterwards. I think I will continue to use it on my nose area only in future as that's the most trouble some area. The price is cheap for the product so it's worth trying out the product won't last too long as it is a small tube. I wouldn't buy it again myself or recommend it to anyone else.

I was so excited to trial this product as I wear a lot of makeup everyday day I thought this would be good to clean my skin properly. This unfortunately was not the case.

The 1st time I used it I don't think it was 100% dry as it pealed off rather easily. From what I had heard i was expecting it to hurt a lot. The 2nd time however it was definitely dry as it hurt like heck! It definitely pulled all of my peach fuzz hairs off my face. Ouch!

Immediately after my skin was nice a smooth. However the next day where I had used the product had lots of break outs. I am wondering if it pulled all the dirt to the surface but not removed with the mask. I waited till my skin was nice again and tried it again, unfortunately with the same result.

I will not be using this product again. I had such high hopes but was very let down.

I generally like peel off masks, and really wanted to like this.

Things I did like - was reasonably easy to apply, dried pretty smoothly, didn't feel really tight.

Things I didn't like as much - doesn't peel off evenly - any spots where you've applied the mask less thick will break off, and you'll end up having to peel it off in tiny chunks. It also left me feeling pretty dry and hot and red which is unusual for me because I don't have particularly sensitive skin.

Ingredients-wise, it's pretty good, the only thing that concerns me a bit is the added fragrance. It seems a bit unnecessary.

In terms of how well it works - after a couple of uses, it did seem to do similar things as other peel-off masks. Seems to be pretty reasonably priced and easy enough to find, so not a bad option.

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.