Shopping for a new face mask when you have sensitive, redness-prone skin can be tricky since many formulas include some type of clay at the top of their ingredient list. While these gentle clays are great for detoxifying the skin and soaking up oil, they tend to leave sensitive skin types with a face that's redder than it was to begin with. Generally, the best face masks for redness are labeled as "calming" and "soothing," instead of "cleansing" or "purifying" — but there's more to it than that.
For sensitive and rosacea-prone skin types, you should ideally be looking for a gentle hydrating mask that's hypoallergenic and free of common skin irritants like parabens, alcohol, and fragrance, which typically just make redness worse. Ingredients like glycerin, squalene, and hyaluronic acid, on the other hand, will keep skin soft and moisturized without clogging your pores.
Then, of course, there's what's currently contributing to your redness. If it's the winter trifecta of freezing-cold temperatures and harsh winds outside, plus the drying heat indoors, you want to stick with a mask that's full of hydrating ingredients like the ones mentioned above. In the summer, if being overheated is what's causing extra redness — or maybe you spent too much time in the sun with too little SPF — try a soothing mask with a gel formula that you can store in your fridge for an instant cooling effect. Hydrating ingredients like cucumber and aloe vera extract will calm irritation while helping to combat that overheated feeling.
Here are some of the best masks for redness that will help calm inflamed skin, whether it's in need of gentle hydration or a soothing treatment at home or on-the-go.
1Best Mask For Sensitive, Redness-Prone Skin
Before it became a French pharmacy staple, Avène's thermal spring water was being used to treat skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis as far back as the 1700s. Though they've developed a line of products in the years since, the brand's naturally-soothing spring water is still its star ingredient in everything it makes, from cleansers to this Antirougeurs Calm Soothing Mask. Its super gentle formula is hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and fragrance-free, making it suitable to treat skin concerns ranging from dryness and redness to post-procedure inflammation.
Spring water and glycerin work to hydrate and soften skin while key ingredients like TRP-regulin, dextran sulfate, and hesperidin methyl chalcone (don't worry, they're a lot less scary than they sound) reduce redness, swelling, and the appearance of vascular capillaries. And because this formula was specially made with sensitive, redness-prone skin in mind you can be confident it won't cause any irritation. Store in the fridge for an even more calming, cooling effect.
2Best Face Mask For Redness With Acne
Treating skin that's prone to both redness and acne can be complicated because so many ingredients that are tough on blemish-causing bacteria also tend to be on the more irritating side. Boscia's matcha mask, however, was specifically created to treat both of these conditions using gentle ingredients like willow bark extract, which is a natural source of salicylic acid that can also help reduce skin inflammation and redness. While the mask does include kaolin clay, it also contains several hydrating ingredients like glycerin and jojoba seed extract, as well as matcha green tea to protect the skin from free-radical damage.
3Best Sheet Mask For Redness
Dr. Jart+ created this hydrating sheet to treat redness and dryness in a snap, making it an ideal choice to bring with you on your next trip, since it treats the conditions that typically go hand-in-hand with travel. Not only are sheet masks small enough to take up minimal space in your toiletry kit, but they're also TSA-friendly also and easy to use on a plane. Made with cellulose fiber to help your skin better absorb the ingredients, this particular mask contains aloe vera and phytoncide to soothe skin, and aquaxl and xylitol to hydrate and prevent moisture loss. Once you've had the mask on for the recommended 15 to 20-minutes, you don't even have to rinse it off your face. Instead, massage the remaining serum into your skin and across your decolletage.
4Best Soothing Face Mask For Redness
Another French pharmacy favorite, Bioderma's Sensibo Mask reduces redness and helps protect the skin from future flare-ups. Tolérdine is the brand's patented natural complex that makes skin less reactive to inflammation, and when combined with moisturizing ingredients like glycerin, the mask relieves redness and tightness in just 10-minutes. It's also fragrance-, surfactant-, and paraben-free, as well as hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic, making it a safe choice for even the most sensitive skin types. This is another great mask to keep in your fridge for mornings when your skin is feeling (and looking) particularly angry.
5Best Cooling Face Mask For Redness
This cooling gel mask is especially heavenly during the hot summer months or after a sunburn or brow wax. Peter Thomas Roth uses cucumber, chamomile, and aloe vera to soothe and de-puff while also working to keep skin clear and hydrated, thanks to botanical ingredients (like sugarcane and papaya extract) that mildly exfoliate. Like some of the others on this list, this slime-green mask can be kept in the fridge for the ultimate cooling effect, or it can be applied in a thin layer just before bed for a more intense overnight treatment.
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