Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 In 1 Mask Review

[ First impression ] The texture is a little grainy, and gloopy. Looks like a very dark grey almost black matter considering it is derived from charcoal. Actually, the first time I saw it it took me back to Year 8 science class when we were using magnets to attract the iron filings!

Considering Garnier states it’s a 3-in-1 Wash/Scrub/Mask I tried to use it separately for each of those purposes. However, I felt like even when I was “washing” my face, due to the finely milled particles, it still felt like I was exfoliating albeit lightly. I tend to only do physical exfoliation once or twice a week so this was a little concerning considering they claim it can be used as a daily face wash. From the first use it didn’t make my face feel super tight and I did feel extremely cleansed which is great.

As a mask I love how time-efficient and fuss-free it is. You only need 5 minutes or less for it to dry then you can rinse it off just using water - no need for an extra cloth. However my face did feel quite tight after use, but that’s to be expected with these kinds of masks.

In terms of removing makeup, which isn’t its sole intention, it didn’t do a good job, but I wouldn’t remove brownie points as the product is geared towards the removal and prevention of blackheads.

[ Review ] I don’t have blackheads to begin with so I’m not sure how effective it is against that, but I do suffer from whiteheads. Unfortunately this hasn’t diminished some annoyingly persistent closed comedones underneath my left eye or some papules I’ve noticed which is disheartening. But then again, I can probably attribute this to my earlier point of it focusing on blackhead prevention.

I’ve noticed that the skin on my cheeks has become quite soft which would have likely been caused by the overexfoliation. Also due to overexfoliating since using this every day and night as a “face wash”, my forehead gets extremely shiny by the end of a work day and quite oily around my nose.

One thing I did really like about it was how easy and efficient it is to use. Just squeeze out a smidge and spread it all over your face then rinse off. What I don’t like is how they proclaim it to be a 3-in-1 solution.

Overall, I’ve taken into account what Garnier have claimed, and my experience of using this product for all 3 purposes, and I do like it, but only as a scrub or mask - most especially as a mask! I can’t get over how quick and easy it is to do especially if you’re like me and start to get antsy about taking more than 10-15 minutes on just a mask. However, considering all the factors, I probably wouldn’t repurchase as there are other scrubs and masks in the market that I prefer over this, and that I personally feel work better for my skin.

I was excited for this product as it contains salicylic acid which is known to be good for breakouts and blackheads. My skin is clear with the odd spot here and there. The tube is a generous size and your typical garnier product size tube. The product has a strong sea scent smell, quite similar to men’s products which may be off putting to some. Make sure you kind of mold the tube as the textured scrub parts can sink to the bottom meaning when you’re running low the texture will be almost all liquid. This is definitely a scrub at first glance and dries pretty quickly depending on how much you use. As a mask it is quite dense. I liked this product for its cleansing properties and how it left my skin feeling clean afterwards. I haven’t noticed a huge reduction in pore size but will be keeping an eye out!

First of all the size of this product is MASSIVE which I really appreciate. The consistency is very thick and a little goes a long way! I used it as a wash and scrub every morning and night for the past few weeks and did a mask about twice a week. As a face wash it is effective at washing the day's grime off but didnt really remove my concealer without some help from a face brush. Nevertheless my skin always felt smooth and soft after every wash. As a scrub I would not say that it contains enough exfoliating particles to do a thorough job, because we all know how they slip out from under your fingers when you try to scrub your face. Annoying, but can be expected. My favourite step was the mask because I don't usually do masks so it made me feel pretty fancy. It also has a nice bland fragrance so it doesn't annoy you when you do leave it on. I always left it longer than the reccomended 5 mins because it depends on how thick of a layer that you did. For $13.99 I think this product is worth it because you have the 3 in 1 options. Overall I enjoyed using this product but I did not see any changes in my blackheads or pores, and I think that it is just a matter of the amount of exfoliating particles it contains. It is however a very good thick mask.

This is possibly my favourite cleanser for 2018. After trying many cleansers and scrubs to remove my blackheads and shrink my pores I had quite low expectations for this product. But this product blew me away. After my first time using this product my skin felt smooth and most of my blackheads were gone. I've been using this product for about 3 weeks and I will definitely repurchase. I use it either every second day or whenever I wear makeup. The scrub feature is my favourite part as the particles are fine enough that it can be used every second day without damaging the skin, but is also coarse enough that it exfoliates the skin leaving it nice and smooth while removing your blackheads. This product also helps reduce shine which is perfect for me who personally has oily skin. I love how this product doesn't leave the skin feeling tight and dry. I also tried this as a mask on my teenage brother's chin after seeing he had a couple blackheads. I left it on for about 5-10 mins and after washing it off most of the blackheads were reduced.

My first impression of the mask was that it smelled really good considering it was charcoal based. To me it had that typical Garnier skincare product smell. I also thought that the colour of the mask was awesome, that dark grey colour gave it a level of excitement.

When first applying the mask, I found that it had a semi thick texture and it was very easy to apply. Due to the reviewing process, I used it as a wash, scrub and mask as it says it can be used for. However, I did prefer using it as a mask only. This was mainly due to already having a holy grail cleanser and scrub.

Once the mask was fully applied to my face, I found that it had a nice cooling feeling on the skin. Although, when drying it has a slight heating sensation on the skin. I was worried about this, but it never escalated into discomfort or a rash.

I noticed that after about 10 minutes the mask was fully dry with slight cracks appearing. I then used a damp facecloth to remove it and this method worked a treat. This also enabled a slight exfoliation from the particles in the formula.

I really liked this mask as it didn’t break me out any further and kept any pimples I had at bay. I didn’t find it to remove them any faster than other products, but this didn’t bother me that much. It kept my skin super smooth. I would definitely recommend this mask, especially for people with oily skin.

I received the 3 in 1 mask from Beauty Review as part of a trial team. I quickly put it to work, eager to test out the exfoliating action as I was feeling some texture on my forehead. My skin tends to be combo-oily.

The packaging is pretty standard for a drugstore cleanser. The cap closed very securely, making it difficult to open at times.

The product itself was black, as charcoal cleansers tend to be. It is a bit disconcerting massaging black cream onto your face though! The exfoliant in this product is perlite. I was alarmed at first because of the very plastic-like feel of it and thought it may have been micro beads. Google tells me perlite is NOT micro beads, but can be problematic in their own right. Garnier is also not cruelty free.

As for how it works, my skin felt really nice and smooth after washing but after a few hours there was much more sebum than I'd typically have, and it was a thicker consistency. Due to this, I felt that I did not want to use it as a face mask in case it ramped up the oil production even more. I did use it a few times as a cleanser though, just to be sure that it was what caused the sebum issue.

I will not be using it again. I might pass it on to my niece who is an oily skin sufferer so might have more success with the cleanser than I did.

The product claims to be 3 in 1 however I personally felt it worked for me best as a scrub.

I didn't love it as a wash as it still had the scrub particles and felt like I was doing a scrub anyway.

As a mask it wasn't terrible, it left my skin feeling quite soft and fresh, however there are other masks I would reach for before using this.

I loved this as a scrub! It left my skin feeling refreshed, super clean and tingly. I felt like it really helped clear my pore and after a few weeks of use I noticed a visible reduction in breakouts on my face. However I did find it too harsh for daily use which made my skin go a little dry, every 2 or 3 days was perfect for me.

The smell of the product it's quite manly, it reminded me of hubby's body wash which I didn't love but it wouldn't stop me using the product.

Overall a pretty great product, got some good results once I figured out how it best suited my skin and will keep using it.

Background to my skin type - I'm 24 years old with oily/combination skin that is prone to the occasional breakout. I also get breakouts on my chest and back. I get blackheads sometimes, but not often. Before using this product I hoped that it would be able to help with the breakouts I get on my face, chest, and back.

The product is a black-blue colour because it has both charcoal and blueberry extract in it. It has a thick consistency with little natural exfoliating particles in it. It has sort of a manly scent to it, but the smell goes away once you've washed it off. It contains salicylic acid which is good for clearing up pimples.

I've now been using this product daily for around three weeks on my face, chest, and shoulders/back. I have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin. I don't seem to breakout as much as I did prior to using this product. It also controlled a lot of the excess oil I usually get on my face.

This is meant to be a 3 in 1 product, but I think there's only two ways to use it. It's supposed to be used as a wash, scrub, and mask. However the wash and scrub method are basically the same thing. There's no way to use this as a wash without it also being a scrub since it has little exfoliants in it.

I've used other face washes before that have said they can also be used as masks, but they've never properly dried down. However the mask aspect of this product was very effective and actually did properly dry down. I would only use this as a mask once a week though, as I didn't want to strip my skin of its natural oils and get too dry.

Overall I really enjoyed this product. I didn't notice any improvements in blackheads, but I'm not really prone to them anyway. I'll definitely continue to use this to prevent breakouts and reduce excess oil.

I was excited to try this product and I found it really good for my skin, I noticed the difference after a week of using it, also my 10 year old daughter is using it and likes it. I have tried all 3 steps, and I like the mask because it just washes off, unlike a charcoal mask I have used before and really hurt to peel off. I would recommend this to others that want a good face cleaner, it's easy to use and leaves your face nice and soft. Small negative I didn't find it smelt that great but I love the product.