Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 In 1 Mask Review

Great multi purpose product, easily accessible, affordable and last awhile. Feels lovely on, smells lovely, wouldn’t say it did much to my blackheads compared to a good glycolic peel or wipe but otherwise a nice inbetween treatment.

Liked this product as it lasted a lot longer than expected, and it suited all our skin types! Which was so awesome! My teenage daughter loved it! Will definitely use again x

I was honestly a bit worried about the colour of this scrub and if it would stain my face because I’m super pale and the scrub is basically black. But it completely washes off which is a relief ;)

It has a really masculine smell to it which I’m on the fence about.

I found that it has improved my skin tone and helped reduce redness using it as a wash and scrub.

When I tried using it as a mask it made my eyes water badly from the smell or something in it so I didn’t like leaving it on for very long. I definitely prefer it as a scrub or wash!

Charcoal is very on trend at the moment and I’m loving it. I was intrigued to be chosen to be part of the trial team for the Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 in 1 Mask, due to the fact that I haven’t used Garnier products since I was teenager. So, I was very curious to see how well this would work for me as an adult. The Garnier Pure Active Charcoal is a 3 in 1 Mask, which means it’s a facewash, scrub and mask all in one product. I’m not sure if there are ones suited for other skin types, but I received the Oily to Combination Skin Prone to Imperfection and I have oily skin. It comes in a 150ml black tube and costs $13.99, which I reckon is a reasonable price, considering I’ve used it every day for the last 3 weeks and I haven’t even used half the tube yet. The 3 in 1 mask is a thick black consistency, with course particles.

It’s crucial to remove all trace of makeup before applying it, especially the eye area as it’s not pleasant when the product goes into the eyes. Firstly, I used it as a face wash, which essentially is a scrub at the same time. I used a pea size amount and rubbed it on a wet face. My face felt fresh and clean afterwards. As the days went on, I noticed the little blackheads on my nose disappeared and the breakouts I had on my first week of using it, those disappeared as well. I also didn’t have any more breakouts during this whole trial period, which was amazing, because I would get breakouts on a weekly basis otherwise. The down side of it all, which I assume is due to the daily use of a scrub on my face, most of the oil on my face had been stripped off and left dry, flaky skin on my t-zone area. I also hoped that my scars left from previous breakouts would diminish due to the daily use of this product, but it didn’t.

I, then used the mask 2 times a week. It’s important to remove makeup which applying the mask as well and avoid the eyes. I used an almond size to cover my whole face and let it dry for 5 minutes before washing it off as instructed on the tube. I found that the mask didn’t dry out my skin and my face felt a lot fresher and awake. I applied the mask at night, because I was advised during a facial that the best time to rejuvenate the skin is at night because that’s when the skin is repairing itself and working it’s magic.

So, I do believe the Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 in 1 Mask does what it says it would and I think overall it’s a great product. Since it dries out my skins, I won’t use it every day as a face wash, but I’ll use it as a scrub and a mask 2-3 times a week. I recommend this to people who have extreme cases of breakouts and blackheads as I think it will benefit them the most to use it on a daily basis, especially teenagers. I wish I had this when I was a teenager, it would have made my awkward teenage years much easier.

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.

This was a nice gentle scrub with the added bonus of charcoal. It felt great on my skin, not too drying. Haven't used it for very long so not sure how effective it is yet, but I'm excited to see results. The charcoal smells a bit and tends to stain light coloured flannels though!

Having finally purchased my first charcoal product.. i was so excited to try it. It does say it was recommended for those with oily to combination skin.. My skin is not usually oily.. but it does tend to undergo quite a few seasonal changes... and i realised my skin is growing more sensitive. Most of the time it’s normal.. sometimes i get dry patches... sometimes breakouts.. and always have blackheads on my nose.. so thought i’ll give it a go anyways.

When i first opened it, it did give a smell as what i expected charcoal products to smell like, not surprised there... It was dark grey (also as expected)... Consistency was smooth. Easy to dispense.

First, i used it as a mask and i just loved it. It was just so relaxing.. However, when i was washing it off, i then realised the charcoal product took me slightly longer to get it off my hands (especially around my nail beds) and basin compared to other products. Despite this, my face felt soft, smooth, and purified.

I enjoyed the mask so much that i decided to do it again the next day.. then i realised.. little breakouts started appearing more frequently as i used it for a third day. I wonder if this was due to the effect of this product drawing out the dirt and oil from the skin, as the breakouts kept popping up. So i decided to give it a break for a few weeks and see what happens. Maybe my face just needed some time to adjust to using this product for the first time?

When my tiny pimples were gone, i decided to give it another go. Unfortunately i was in the stage of having dry patches... but i was just so tempted to try it again. When i rubbed it on, it actually gave my face a stinging sensation.. so i didn’t leave it on for too long... and washed it off quickly.

After my dried skin was healed, i gave it another go.. This time i used it as a quick scrub ‘n’ wash... My skin did have a slight stinging sensation while scrubbing.. but it wasn’t too bad. After washing it off, my skin felt relaxed, clean and purified... while soft and supple. I just loved this feeling. I didn’t see the sudden breakouts the next morning... which was good.

Although no random breakouts this time.. there havn’t been any changes to the stubborn blackheads on my nose so far... I can’t blame the product though... as i always found it difficult scrubbing tiny granules on and around my tiny, flat nose where those blackheads are hard to reach... Maybe i just need to change my scrubbing method, such as using a scrub applicator for my nose and see if that will work better than using my fingers.

It’s a shame i can’t use this lovely product everyday.. as part of my daily wash/scrub routine due to my stubborn skin... but i will definitely keep using it with a few breaks in between to keep my skin happy. And maybe only as a mask once in a couple of weeks.

Definitely recommended to friends with oily/combination skin that also doesn’t mind the not-so-feminine scent.

I really enjoyed this what for it said it did. I certainly minimised the amount of black heads and made them less visible, I cannot fault that. My skin looks really clear without make up, which is an awesome bonus! It has a nice feeling when putting it on and feels really refreshing on the skin. So cool that its a wash, scrub and mask! Awesome to have 3 products in 1

It was exciting to review this product as I have incredible mix of super oily skin around my T-zone and almost-too-dry around my U-zone area. I gave this product a good nearly 3-weeks trial and following is my observation:

Function as wash I personally prefer those extreme bubbles which I move around my cheek - like my hands rarely touch my face for my U-zone. This is so that I minimise the impact of face-rubbing on stressed out days. For T-zone area, I personally prefer to just set the bubbles for like 5-10 secs and then move around to clean off.

As a wash, there was absolutely no bubbles to my personal taste. However, since this washes off my cleaning oil in previous step, I can safely say that even without my bubbles, it does perform as wash as promised.

Function as scrub I personally prefer smaller scrubs that are not too damaging my skin for U-zone but not extremely small so that it’ll get stuck in my massive pores - like the ones that leaves me with blackhead-looking pores on my nose.

As a scrub, this product really hit my sweet spot. It did exactly as I wanted it to work as and I can feel instant smooth skin after the use. Even my husband started noticing my smooth skin so that should tell you that THIS REALLY WORKS.

Function as mask I personally prefer a mask that won’t be too drying (yes, even if it’s a coal one because that’s just not right) but has enough of oil-control elements that will keep my excess oils away.

As a mask, I found this to be really moisturising (yes I know!) yet my oils were controlled. It did what I hoped it to be but it did feel a bit too ‘minty’ for me and my husband and didn’t leave it for too long (or as it was recommended).

Overall, I would use it again because of the wonders it did as a scrub. But will I recommend this to others? Hmmm really depends on what the others like in their skincare. 3 in 1 skincare seems like a great cost-saving wonder but I am not sure if it actually hits all the sweet spot as wash, scrub or mask.

I first trialled this product as a face mask and as I often do, left it on waaay too long. The instructions say to leave it for 5 minutes and I left it on for about 15. It's safe to say that this made my skin very red and quite irritated, and the granules rubbing against my sore skin did not help. I really would not recommend leaving it on for too long! However, when used properly, it leaves your skin feeling smooth and not irritated, but a little bit tight.

I've been using this as a wash as well in the shower and am aware that it does take a while to see results when it comes to blackheads. Over time I've noticed my skin getting softer, and my pores have reduced a little in size. My breakouts are also less ferocious when they happen.

That being said, I have oily skin that normally isn't easily irritated but I find that the exfoliating particles are just too much. I barely scrub my face at all but found it left my skin looking red and feeling dry and sore if I used the scrub everyday. I cut down use to twice a week and this has helped reduce the dryness, but it's also slowed the rate that I see results.

As I have other face washes that also help minimise blackheads without irritating my skin as much, I will probably not repurchase. That being said, it did definitely help improve my skin and at such an affordable price it is definitely worth giving a try.

I think this product would be a lot less harsh without the exfoliating particles as salicylic acid is already a chemical exfoliator, and the combination of the two is what I think irritated my skin. Overall, still a good product but not right for me.