6 Clay Masks Worthy of Your Next ‘Everything Shower’ Routine
Deep clean, spa energy.
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I don’t think I’m alone here when I say that clay masks have earned a permanent spot in the coveted “everything shower” routine, which is a time when self-care reaches its peak, and every step feels intentional. Clay masks are the perfect addition, offering a deep detox for your skin while you tackle the rest of your beauty lineup.
Simply apply a layer before hopping into the shower, and let the steam enhance its pore-cleansing magic. By the time you’ve exfoliated, conditioned, and shaved, your skin will feel clean, soft, and completely rejuvenated. Whether you’re battling oily skin, acne, dryness, or dullness, clay masks work every single time!
They’re not just for oily skin types either! There’s a clay mask for everyone. For example, creamier formulas are ideal for dry skin, offering easy removal and hydration, while more potent masks absorb excess oil and draw out impurities, making them perfect for oily or congested skin.
And let’s not forget: clay masks are simply fun. For me, they’re the ultimate pick-me-up when my skin feels ‘blah.’ I have several of them stashed in in my beauty cabinet and I always reach for a clay mask when my skin needs a reset.
So if your skin could use a little TLC, no worries—I’ve got you covered. Below are some of my all-time favorite clay masks that are tried, tested, and effective. Whether you’re dealing with clogged pores, oiliness, blackheads, or acne, these picks will help your skin get back on track.
Best Clay Masks
1. Caudalie Vinopure Purifying Clay Mask
I’m saying this as someone with sensitive, acne-prone skin with large pores: this is one of my absolute go-to masks. It’s like applying a thin layer of ‘chill pill’ on reactive skin. It’s made with green clay and anti-bacterial zinc and both of them calm acne and redness instantly! It has a faint scent but it’s not bothering me.
More importantly, it dries down relatively fast but doesn’t create any mess on your shirt. It’s not super hard, so it comes out very creamy as you squeeze it out of the bottle. It’s easy to remove too, so I don’t need to rub my face too much. I’ve never experienced any irritation with it. It simply leaves my complexion balanced, shine-free, and redness-free.
Key Ingredients: Green clay, zinc
Size: 2.5 oz/75 ml
Good To Know: Vegan
2. Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Minimizing Cleansing Clay Mask
This is another all-time favorite of mine for my sensitive skin. It’s a huge jar of skin-clearing clay mask made with kaolin and bentonite clays. It’s a pretty minimal formula and it’s fragrance-free too. So if you have dry skin or sensitive skin and all you need is a mattifying clay mask, you’re going to love this.
It dries down evenly without any patchiness and it’s easy to remove too. Because it doesn’t contain any active ingredients, I can comfortably use it several times a week. It’s instantly mattifying and leaves my pores looking clear and smaller.
Key Ingredients: Kaolin clay, bentonite clay, aloe
Size: 4.2 oz/125 ml
Good To Know: Fragrance-free
3. Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask
Combining kaolin clay with pure Hungarian mud, this one offers a natural and mineral-rich formula to clean and detoxify the skin. The vegan mask is also infused with thermal water. The minerals in thermal water are incredibly diverse and help hydrate, nourish, and condition the skin.
By taking care of your skin with essential nutrients your skin already loves, the mask clears out pores, minimizes them, and refines the skin texture. It’s on the pricier side but the texture does have a very luxurious feel to it.
Key Ingredients: Kaolin clay, Hungarian mud
Size: 1.7 oz/50 ml
Good To Know: Cruelty-free, vegan
4. Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask with Rose Clay
I absolutely love this because this is like a 2-in-1 formula that works both as a gentle clay mask and a scrub. It has pink clay in it, which is very absorbent and you can almost feel it refine and smooth the outer layer of the skin. It also contains tiny gritty jojoba beads which work like physical exfoliants.
I like to rub the mask onto my skin when I’m first applying it and then I let it dry down. You can do the rubbing when you’re rinsing it off too. It’s a rose-scented formula and it’s incredibly effective in reducing excess oil, roughness, and dullness. If you’re dealing with particularly clogged or enlarged pores, have a look at our round-up of the best face masks for pores.
Key Ingredients: Kaolin clay, willowherb extract
Size: 2.5 oz/75 ml
Good To Know: Vegan
5. Fresh Umbrian Clay Pore Purifying Face Mask
This one contains another type of clay -namely fuller’s earth. Leaving aside the weird naming, it’s very similar to bentonite clay. The mask draws oil and sebum like a magnet and purifies the skin. As the clay digs out the dirt stuck in the pores, it leaves the skin pure, bright, and fresh.
Plus, the mask contains lavender water and chamomile oil to calm and soothe the skin too. It has olive oil and grape seed oil, which makes the clay mask very creamy and moisturizing for the skin as opposed to drying and irritating.
Key Ingredients: Umbrian clay, grape seed oil
Size: 3.3 oz/100 ml
Good To Know: Contains fragrance
6. Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Clay Mask
This is a super luxurious mask made with kaolin clay to give your skin that much-needed matte look. It’’s infused with nutrient-rich sweet almond oil and rosehip seed oil, making the formula very moisturizing too. It balances the complexion without drying the skin and leaves your complexion smoother, softer, and brighter.
It applies easily and evenly and doesn’t create a mess after it dries down. The mask truly brings that healthy, glowy, and youthful look to the skin because it has vitamin C too. If you have very sensitive skin, the prominent fragrance of the mask may be irritating to the skin. So keep that in mind.
Key Ingredients: Kaolin clay, vitamin C
Size: 2.5 oz/75 ml
Good To Know: Contains fragrance
So these are some of the best clay masks I can recommend. Whichever you choose, you can’t go wrong because I can swear by each formula. If you’re new to clay masks and aren’t sure which one would work for your unique skin, below is your guide on how to choose one.
How to Choose a Clay Mask
Type of Clay
There are different clays used in masks. Kaolin and bentonite clays are the two most common. Kaolin is a gentle clay that absorbs excess oil and regulates oil production. It has a skin-friendly pH level, so it’s tolerable for most people.
Bentonite clay, on the other hand, is significantly more absorbent than kaolin. It also has skin-tightening effects on the skin, which is great for pores. But usually, clay masks contain both of these.
Other Ingredients
Some clay masks contain active ingredients such as chemical exfoliants. These can be salicylic acid or glycolic acid. So they both balance the skin’s oil production and exfoliate it too. Others have physical exfoliants, which make them work like scrubs.
So if you need something more potent than just an oil-balancing clay mask, go for these types of clay masks because they can be more helpful for acne and hyperpigmentation.
Texture
Clay masks differ in texture too. Some are very creamy and apply like a cream mask whereas some are a bit thicker and apply like, well, clay. Lighter, creamier clay masks work better for people with normal, dry, or sensitive skin. They’re non-drying and non-irritating.
Other thicker formulas tend to be more absorbent and usually work better for people with combination, oily, and acne-prone skin. They’re more mattifying and oil-balancing.
